Frequently Asked Questions: Newbie 101

Where all the new WOWAYers can learn!

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scottidog
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Frequently Asked Questions: Newbie 101

Post by scottidog »

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the owner of this forum? WHiZZi is our wise and wonderful leader.

[quote=""WHiZZi'"]
First, let me introduce myself. My name is Bart v/d Akker but i'm called WHiZZi on the internet. I'm a very big dutch fan of Weird Al Yankovic so I thought, let's make a forum for him. And you just found it.
[/quote]


Heeeey, I can't open topics in [fill in the topic] when I'm logged in
Correct. You can only reply in topics when you have less than 10 posts but you can create a new topic in Newbie Zone. This is done to prevent topics in General Chat like 'Look, I'm new', this can be done in Newbie Zone in the correct topic.

I have a really great Al collectible/concert tickets that I'd like to sell/trade here, is there a topic for that? Nope. And there never will be. While there are several fans here that might be interested in your items, we don't allow selling/trading here. You might want to check out some of the other Weird Al groups that do allow trading/sales. Or try eBay. We hear this is a very popular way to buy and sell items online.


While we are talking about things you can't do on WOWAY, let's not post any personal information about Al, his family or co-workers. And by personal, we mean stuff that's not connected to his career or not readily available on Al's very own website. In your surfing you may indeed come across items that are of a more personal nature. But out of respect to Al and the band, let's not broadcast them on the open forum. If you're not sure, PM a mod and ask. If we think the information shouldn't be posted, we will edit it out.

Al and Suzanne have been very gracious to share their non-Weird-Al lives with us. But they've made it clear that Nina is off limits. The only pictures they've shared with us have been such that you could not see Princess Yankovic's face.

Until such time as Al and Suzanne release their own photos of her, the policy of this forum will be to respect their wishes.

If you happen to see pictures out there on the 'net, keep them to yourself. You will not be allowed to post them, or link them here.


NEW RULE (6/30/2010) Posed pics during a staged public event like the toy story premiere, where it's clear Al or Suzanne gave permission are fine. Paparazzi and private pics, including fan or backstage pictures, etc., are still a no.

Expect a swift smack-down if you disregard this policy.


Why can't I use images and links in my signature? The signature function is restricted to text only, no URLs and no graphics. That's just the way it is. You should be happy though. Up until October 31, 2004 no one, except a lucky few who had signatures in place when we switched to the new Invision software, got to have signatures. And even so, they were stuck with what they had. Now you're free to use up to 127 characters and change it whenever the mood strikes.

Can we have an Off Topic Forum? No. WHiZZi has said that there will never be an OT forum in the Free WOWAY. But don't despair, there are a few limited number of OT topics that have been allowed, please don't start any more, as they will be locked. Where are the OT topics, you ask?

The Big Absence Topic 4.0
The Big Age and Genre Topic
The Big Avatar Topic 6.0
The Big Introduction Topic 3.0
The Big Photo Topic 3.0
The Big Signature Topic 3.0
Getting to Know You...and You...and You
Obligatory Holiday/Birthday/Anniversary Topic 4.0
Posting Milestones 4.0
Your MySpace Page

So if I want to talk about my cat's apendectomy, I can't? You sure can, but only if Al performed the surgery. Otherwise, no.

I can't find a topic I started. If it was a topic that was likely to have been locked, look for it in the Trash Can (Darryl Hall's Career....it's a long story). Otherwise it might have been merged with an already existing topic. You can also go to your own profile and view all posts by that member (you.) That should take you right to it. If you still can't find it, Private Message one of the Mods for assistance.

I want to start a new topic, is that ok? We ask that you spend some time getting acquainted with the board before starting new topics. And before you start a new topic make sure you search first to make sure that you aren't making a duplicate topic. It's very likely that any topic you want to discuss already exists on the board somewhere.

I'm new here, remember? How do I do seach for topics? I'm glad you asked! There are a couple of ways to find out if the topic you want already exists:

1)Use the Search function. The search engine can be a tad temperamental, but we do have a topic that will teach you how to use the Search Engine.

2)We have a topic of frequently used topics. Clicking on the links will take you right to the topic you want if it's there. You might also want to check out this topic, which will direct you to some popular topics where you can discuss the best and worst of just about everything Al has done.

3)Familiarize yourself with the stickys on the top of each Forum as well. They contain a lot of helpful information on where to post, and important things you probably don't want to miss.

4)Still not sure? You can ask here. Mods or older members can help you figure out where to post.

I don't want to go to all that trouble. I just want to post my topic. Well, ok. If you must. But don't be surprised or offended if it gets locked. It isn't personal, please don't take it that way. And if you post too many topics that have to be locked or merged, your posting ability can and will be taken away.

Everyone has those cool picture thingies by their name. Can I get one of those? You sure can. We only have a few limits on what is allowed.

1)No pictures from weirdal.com, Al's twitter account, twitvid, mySpace, facebook or any other online venues Al uses to post his personal pictures, unless you are the rightful owner. Don't think we'll recognize a pic? We will. We are rabidly obsessed fans. We KNOW pics from Al's website.

2)No pictures that belong to other members without their permission. If you do "borrow" a pic and we get a complaint, we do have the ability to take the picture down, and to take away your ability to use an avatar.
Kristine wrote: Copyright Law 101:

All photos are protected under copyright law from the instant they are created. It doesn't matter if you're a professional photographer or not- your photos are yours.

"Official" copyright can be registered (many professionals do this for legal purposes) through the US Copyright Office. But, this is not necessary in most cases since copyright is implied. An unregistered photo is still copyrighted.

Just because you own a photo, however, doesn't mean you get to use it however you want. The subject of the photo has rights, too. Take celebrities, for example. I can't go selling my Al concert photos without his permission because he "owns" his likeness. BUT, I still own the copyright to the photo itself, so the reverse is true. Al can't go selling my photo without MY written permission (and royalties). And, since I own the copyright, I can post the photos wherever I want (as long as no revenues come from said posting), but nobody else can without my permission (wa.com has been licensed to use them). I can use my own photos of Al as an avatar, but you can't use mine for yours.

If Bermuda and Al don't want people using their photos, they hold that right.

http://www.copyright.gov


3)Your avatar can be of anything, just keep in mind that this is a family friendly forum, so keep it clean. We have some really nice avatars in our Avatar Gallery. They were made and donated by other forum members. Feel free to use them. If you'd like to contribute an avatar to the gallery, you can share that here.

4)If you are updating your avatar, you may have to CTRL F5 to be able to see the newest avie.

NEW Guidelines (11/18/06)

Avatars: Will be under 14 kb.  If you need help resizing them, please ask for help in this topic. There are several members who have the skills and the software to help you out if you ask nicely.  Bribery also works.  Or so I'm told.   |)

Photos/Graphics embedded in a post: Will be under 27 kb. Anything larger needs to be linked, and members will click the link to view.   Imageshack has a nifty thumbnail feature that allows you to embed a thumbnail picture that links to a larger view if you click it.

If you quote a post that contains an image, edit out the image. There is no point in asking the server to download the same image more than once. 

If your image is edited or removed, it's not personal. Please don't take it that way.  If you do get upset and argue with a mod about it, you may lose posting privileges for as long as the mod deems necessary.

If you see an image that does not conform to the new rules, hit the report button, or PM a mod with the link,  and we will take care of it.

Please note that you can no longer link to avatars directly from other websites/photo-hosting sites. You may select an avatar from the Gallery, or upload one directly to WOWAY.

So how do I use them? Well, almost any question concerning how to use pictures in the forum can be answered by reading the Photo Tutorial. I spent over an hour working on it, so humor me and read it before you ask any photo related questions.

I was looking through old posts and found a really neat topic. Can I bump it? It depends. Before you do, ask yourself, "Is the topic still relevant?" If it's a topic about Al's name being mentioned in an old issue of some magazine, trust us: it's no longer relevant. Then ask yourself, "Do I have something meaningful to add to this conversation?" And before you ask, a lone smilie or a "Man, this topic is old!" isn't really going to get the conversation started again.

Eye reelie nead a speel chekker, cin wee git won ov thoze? No. The free version of Invision does not support a spell checker. You have a few options, though. 1) You can read your post before you post it, to check for errors. Or you can edit it afterwards. 2) You can download a spell checker for your toolbar. It only works on IE, sorry. 3) You can type your replies in your word processing program and then paste them into the reply box. 4) Ignore your poor spelling and grammar and hope that the rest of us will care enough to decipher your posts for ourselves. Option 4 seems to be the most popular. (Added 10/08/07)Firefox comes with a built in spell-checker. Does anyone use IE anymore?

Member 27 is Weird Al. Is it really him?? I see he's posted once on this forum. Where can I see that post???? In the early days of this forum, WHiZZi and Bermuda had the forsight to register Al as member 27. Yes, it's our boy. But as far as we know he's never actually used that account. The single post accredited to his account was an admin thing, so his account wouldn't be purged for inactivity.

Oh. So does Al ever read WOWAY? Yes. Yes, he does. Usually under the name "Guest." So next time you're online and see a gaggle of guests listed at the bottom of the page... you never know. One of them might just be our beloved Polka Meister.

Do the other band members know about this forum? Yes.

Can I write to any of them here? No. You can write to Al at Close Personal Friends Of Al. We don't know how you can write to the rest of the band.

I'm looking for a rare Al song....hook me up!

Hey that's not a question! :stern:

Anyhoo, Al doesn't like having his rare, early stuff available. And while a lot of it is readilly available, we'd really like to respect his wishes on this forum. Simply put, if you know how to use the internet, you don't need our help hearing stuff Al would rather you not hear, so don't bother asking, because we're not gonna tell you.

The same goes for live bootlegs. If Al ever changes his mind and says he's "taper friendly", we'll change our policy of removing bootleg links. Until then, Al has never officially commented on the situation, but he has mentioned he doesn't like it, and Bermuda has said they are NOT taper friendly.

Is the band taper-friendly?
<bermuda> Do you mean, tapir, those cute little varmints?
Or, 'taper' as in stinking bootlegging audio thieves??
<bermuda> Yeah... no. Of course we'd prefer that people do not record our shows.
next

Oh, and if you're looking for MP3s of released stuff :@*

What's with all the locked old topics that have been relaunched as (Topic name here) 2.0?

There's a number of explanations for that. The biggest being that moderators have difficulty moderating larger topics. The cosmetic reason is to simply identify the newer topics.

Yonkavickacheizzy.......ok, what the monkey is that?

Simple. You're on a Weird Al forum, learn to spell Yankovic or pay the consequences....well, at least be humiliated by our word filter. '

What's a WOWAY Lover, and how do I become one? It’s a top-secret elitist group that you can only be invited to join by private invitation or figuring out their secret secret handshake. :ph34r:

Nah, just kidding! Anybody can join! All you need to do is scroll to the top of any page and find this button Image and click on it and follow the directions from there. The donations you make help keep this Forum up and running, plus you get a really neat bonus for donating!
Last edited by scottidog on Wed Jun 30, 2010 8:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Updated Nina pics rule.
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scottidog
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Post by scottidog »

This is still a work in progress, so bear with me.
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scottidog
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Post by scottidog »

I did some minor rewording on the FAQ. We are officially discouraging newbies from making new topics until they've been on the boards a while. I will be checking with WHiZZi to see if there's anyway we can restrict making new topics until the member has been around for a while.

WHiZZi: There is
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scottidog
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Post by scottidog »

I made some minor changes and additions.
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Elvis
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Post by Elvis »

Updated the signature question and fixed some links.

Dave
UFLM! Unverified Fan Lives Matter!
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scottidog
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Post by scottidog »

I added a bit about not posting personAL information on the forum...
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anthontherun
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Post by anthontherun »

I added a question on bumping old topics.
I'm ranking every Beatles song on my new pop culture blog. Check it out!
https://anthonycusumano.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Post by Teh Dingo »

Added questions about 2.0 topics and Yonkavickacheizzy and updated links
You have quickly thought up such matchless phrase?
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Post by Teh Dingo »

Added long overdue MP3 question
You have quickly thought up such matchless phrase?
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Post by Teh Dingo »

Added a section on live bootlegs to the MP3 question.
You have quickly thought up such matchless phrase?
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