FAQ: Forums Usage Guide + Internet Safety Guide

[lisianthus]

Ahoy!!



So, forums are kind of... a new experience for some people? So this guide has been put together by me (Lisia), with the help of others in staff, to help you understand how forums work!!! There's going to be a few different sections here, divided up by posts!

• How to find a place you'd like to post in!
• How to post!
• How to quote and reply!
• Reactions, tags, userspace posts, and private messages!
• Reports, deletions, and bookmarks!
• Editing account details, following and ignoring, words to know, and our (abridged) Rules!
• A guide to internet safety!

 

[lisianthus]

This section will go over:

• Finding a place to post!

Sooooooo...

Finding somewhere to post!

This part is preeetttyyy important, isn't it... if you don't know where to post, you won't be able to say hi to anyone!
So! I'll give a brief overview of our places here~

Welcome Center
This is where you are right now!! More specifically, you're in The Garden Grotto, which is where people introduce themselves! (I moderate here~) :)

But we also have... Bulbagarden Announcements, too. There, you can make sure that you're in the know about things that're happening here! Like giveaways, holiday events, and sometimes things that happen to the forums or Bulbapedia!!

In addition, we have the Bulbawiki Forum, which is where you can talk about Bulbapedia or Bulbagarden Archives things!

And at the Bulbagarden Social and Multimedia area, you can talk about all of the cool things we have happening on YouTube or Twitch or even our super awesome Tumblr (I'm the handler for it alongside a very very special subway master~)!

Spotlight Forums
The forums in this area change from time to time, so I won't say anything about them specifically? But! If something is up here, it's related to something important going on in the Pokémon franchise or Bulbagarden as a whole, like the release of a new mainline game, or a forums-wide writing contest!!

Bulbanews
Bulbanews is where you can read anything about Pokémon that we publish! We have done stuff ranging from TCG content to Japanese merchandise news (that's what I do sometimes!)--there's a lot! And if you'd like to help out, you can submit anything ranging from something you'd like to see us write about, to an already-finished piece! (you'll get a nice shiny badge for helping too~)

Pokémon Video Games
This is a biiiiig one, so I'll go over two separate things! There's always going to be a few different game-specific forums in here (right now it's stuff like Legends: Arceus, but there's a lot more too!) and in those specific areas you'll be able to talk about those games!

But if you want to talk about an older game, or a side game, you can do it in Other Pokémon Video Games! There aren't any specific forums for games there, so it's basically an 'anywhere else' for talking about games that aren't super new~~

Pokémon Forums
Pokémon Forums is host to our super popular General Pokémon Discussion area!! It's basically a space to talk about anything Pokémon that doesn't fit the other areas! And if you'd like to talk about the Pokémon anime or manga, the place to do it is..... Pokémon Anime and Manga of course!! And to all the shippers out there! Please make yourselves at home in our Shipper's Paradise!!(^_-)-☆

The Creative Corner
The Creative Corner has our Art Gallery forum!! It's a place where you can post your own artwork, talk about others' artwork, and get help and ideas, Pokémon or otherwise! (I really love my big sister @Blanc's Bi-Weekly Art Challenge thread for prompts! Please check it out, she's super amazing~ ヾ(｡>﹏<｡)ﾉﾞ✧*。It also has our Writer's Workshop, where you can talk about writing, post your own writing, get help and prompts, for anything, whether Pokémon or not~~!

Bulbagarden Game Corner
This is where people play forum games! Fun and Games has a loooooot of things to do, so if you're on more of a silly side, please look there, okay!? But if you're a more strategical person... *slides The War Room over to you* that should suit you well too!!!

The World Beyond
Where we talk about things that aren't exactly Pokémon~. If you'd like to talk about anime or manga, A Certain Bulbagarden Section is ready just for you! If you'd like to talk about video games, The Arcade is all set up! If you'd like to send this message, please press 1, or press 2 for more options!
So remember when I said that General Pokémon Discussion is 'basically a space to talk about anything Pokémon that doesn't fit the other areas'? Outside the Box is like that, but for things that aren't Pokémon! And our BulbaBlogs are super nice places where you can say hi to friends, read their blogs, or make a blog (or two~) of your own!! If you're lucky enough to count yourself as part of the LGBTQ+ community, join us at Ho-Oh's Rainbow! And if you're in need of any Support and Advice at all, we can help you :)
(´｡•ω(•ω•｡`)ﾑｷﾞｭ

 

[lisianthus]

So after you've seen 'where to post', here is a 'how to post'!!!

To start!! Here is an example post I will be making! (it's in a secret staff area~) This is actually me posting a thread, but if you're just replying to a thread, it's almost just about the same thing~~



That's what it looks like when you haven't entered any text in yet, so I'll be doing that right now!!



Better, right!?

There's more, though! If you'd like to do a poll, that's super easy too! Just click the 'Poll' option...



And you get this!! Which I already filled out~

And here are the results!!



And a small update (October 30, 2023):

If you want to use smiley emoticons like :) without them being converted into emojis, you just need to type in [plain] stuff goes here [/plain]!

 

[lisianthus]

So you know how to make posts, but what about replying to them, or quoting them? I'll use the same one~ as practice~

When you click the button that says 'Quote', you get a little message at the top of your screen!



So, what happens now? You go to the message typing area, and then, click the Insert Quotes button!



If you have multiple things you'd like to quote, you can rearrange them, too! Convenient, right!??

But! There's actually an easier way to just reply to a message, and it basically does the same thing too. Just hit the 'Reply' button!



And this happens! You can put your message below, of course!

 

[lisianthus]

What about some social things you can do on forums? This time, we'll go over:

• Sending reactions!
• Mentioning others!
• Posting on userpages!
• Sending PMs!

So! First! Our reactions!

We have...seven of them? Seven! So, they are:

• Why not? (This is a silly one~)
• Hi (This is for saying 'hi!'! I use this one a loooooot)
• Like (Just a like, I guess?)
• Gold Star (A like, but even better!!)
• Hugs (When you want to show support or give a hug~)
• Love (This can be used like Hugs and Like!)
• Whaaaat (Whaaaat!?)

And that is it! You can add a reaction to another person's post by hovering over the 'Like' button! Like this:



Hey, I mentioned someone (very amazing~) in that post, too!!!

Mentioning Others!

This one is actually really really really easy~ all you need to do is look at someone's username, and add an @ before it! And once the post you did is uploaded, it'll notify them, like this!



For example, my tag is @lisianthus! If you were to tag me in a post, it'll show up in my notifications!

But... what if there's something you'd like to say, but it doesn't really fit in a thread? That's where userpage posts come into play!!!

Userpage Posts!



This was only a little bit ago~ but well, this is what happens when you post on someone's userpage? It gets shown on their profile, and...



On the front page! Pretty cool~~

But, what if there's something you'd like to say, that for whatever reason wouldn't fit a userpage post or a mention?

In that case, let's learn about...

Sending PMs!

So! Let me pull up a PM page right now...!



Oh... maybe first I should say what a PM is exactly? PM stands for 'private message', and... well, it's a message that you can send to anyone you'd like!!

So, I'm sending a message to... myself! Something important to know is that only you and the people you've sent it to can see it, although you're able to check a box to let others in too~

Oh!! Look! We have a message~

I wonder who it's from?



Me!

This is what you see upon receiving a message!



Make sure to be kind in PMs, too, okay? Just like in normal forum messages~~~ :)

 

[lisianthus]

So this part is going to be about more advanced things~, like:

• Reporting a post!
• Deleting posts!
• Bookmarks!

Reporting Posts!

So... sometimes, you'll see things on the forums that aren't the bestest. It would be nice if it didn't happen, but well, that's just kind of how it is sometimes, right!? So... when those things happen, please feel free to report it to us, using the 'Report' button! That way, the moderators can take care of whatever happened, and things will be okay again!!!!! :)

So!! Once you report something, there's going to be a text box asking you to give a reason for reporting! This helps us a loooooot, so please do that!!!




And, let me (quickly) show you what happens on the moderator side of things~








And that's how it works!!! So let's go over... deleting posts, too!

So... if you'd ever want to delete posts, you just click the 'Delete' button. Maybe making a habit of it wouldn't be good, though? Like... we want to be able to hear your opinions and ideas and words and that kind of thing!! Of course, it's totally okay if you need to~, it's there for a reason after all :)



And then, nobody will see the post anymore~~ (and nobody will have notifications for it too, also!!) (well, except for moderators! we can see deleted posts... i wonder, are we maybe ghosts?!)

And now!! Something else~

Bookmarks!

So, if you want to save a post for later, you can bookmark it! It's really convenient!!! And pretty easy, too~ Just click the little bookmark icon on the top left of a post!! And if you want, you can add a little message or a label onto your bookmark!



And your bookmark will show up like this!!

 

[lisianthus]

If you've read the above stuff, you're almost ready to participate to your heart's content~!! But there's still a little more to know, just a little longer, okay??

So!! Now it's:

• Editing account details!
• Following and ignoring others!
• Common words used here!
• An abridged version of our rules!

And after this, you're all ready~~

Editing Account Details!
I'll just provide a link so you can play around with these, but here's the link to edit your account's details! From here, you can edit your usertitle, about page, connected accounts, email, username, pronouns, etcetc!! Account Details Editor

Following and Ignoring Others!

So~ there's someone you think is pretty cool, and you want to follow them! Just to say hi~ it doesn't really do anything like alerting you when they post or anything, it's just something to do if you'd like? They also appear in your personal news feed, if that setting is turned on.

So here's our trusty BulbaBot's userpage. Hiiiii, BulbaBot~~



So as you can see, you can follow and ignore them. If you follow them... it'll show up in their Followers list!



I'm right there!!

But if you don't want to follow someone anymore, just use the 'Unfollow' button~, okay?

You can also Ignore people, too, just in case! This makes it so that you can't see their posts and that they can't PM you! Use this wisely please~

Common Words!

• Ban - You can't say hi on the forums anymore. Sometimes it's for a few days or longer, sometimes it's... forever. I don't think you'd like being away from here forever, though... :( So let's keep on good behavior, okay?!
• PM - Private Message (like a DM in some social media places!)
• Sticky - the thread goes to the top of the forum, like it's been pinned there!
• Mod - Moderator! They take care of their own little sections here!
• Super Mod - Super Moderator! (My amazing older sister @Blanc and I are both this!) Basically, we have mod powers over aaaaallll of here!
• Admin - Super Mods but... more powerful?! They're like Super Mods too, but they're more powerful of course!! And if you're having a technical issue with here, you can ask or tell them about it! (especially @Orchid he is our staff oak tree)
• BulbaBlog - A blog, but here! At our forums!! Where you are riiight now~
• Threadban - Like a ban, but you can't talk in a specific thread anymore! Oh nooooooo........
• Points - I don't know what these do, but it's fun to get more, right!?

Our Rules (abridged version)

Here's a link to our actual rules just in case, but this is... Lisia's Abridged Forum Rules!

1. Make sure your signature is okay!

• It has to be under 160 pixels tall, and 500 kilobytes in size. Please don't use scrollbars or spoilers or anything like that, okay?
• For giving credit to artists (and please do this!!) you can add one extra line of text, that's okaaaay~~~!
• If you're unsure, please check your signature here~

2. Please don't advertise other sites in threads!

• Well, if it makes sense for what you're talking about, that's fine!
• Linking is okay in a blog or profile or signature, though!!
• It's also okay in the Writer's Workshop or Art Gallery because they're creative spaces! (but please check ahead)

3. Please don't make disruptive posts~

• Don't make posts that don't pertain to the conversation, please!
• Or, the same post multiple times! (don't spam please!)
• Please don't talk about something if a mod asks you to stop!
• Don't 'minimod' and tell people to follow the rules, that's what we're here for~ if you see anything please report it, okay?
• Don't mention people unless if you have a reason to do so, okay?
• Don't do mean things like posting keyboard commands that close people out of tabs, and stuff... :(
• Don't post spoilers please! (or at least put them in spoiler tags, please~)
• And please put bigger images (1000x1000 pixels or more) in spoiler tags too!! Thanks!
• And don't post inappropriate things, too, please. I think you can discern what's okay or not, but this includes anything that'll make people uncomfortable.

4. Don't talk about or ask about illegal things!

• Ahoy!! Uhmm, this is... well, anything illegal. So anime piracy, manga scans, etcetc?
• Oh, and game ROMs too. Not talking about them includes websites too, please.
• Fangames (like ROM hacks) are okay, though! Just make sure not to link to them~
• (small parts of copyrighted things are okay, though. just make sure it's just the parts you absolutely need, okaaay?)

5. Don't plagiarize, and make sure to give credit!

• While we're talking about piracy, well...
• Please make sure to credit others for their artwork. They put lots of time into it, so it's important to let everyone know who made it, okay?
• The Art Gallery has more rules on this!
• And, if you can't find whoever made it, please make sure to say that!

6. Please be nice to others!

• Even if it's a tough topic, please be kind...
• So no insulting others, okay? Be respectful to all people, no matter what.
• Don't harass people.
• Swearing is actually okay here, but we do ask that you make sure to use it relatively sparingly, and not to put others down~
• Don't make sockpuppets! Those are alternate accounts, basically.

7. Offsite discussions and you

• It's fine if you have something troubling you or something that you'd otherwise like to discuss that took place on another site or elsewhere.
• However -- bullying others (even if not users) or spreading gossip that isn't necessary to include in a given discussion is not fine.
• Please avoid using inflammatory language in your posts, as well as including personal details of anyone involved in a given situation (i/e 'doxxing').
  • This includes information that was not consented to be shared with others, as well as information that is otherwise unsafe to share publicly.

Please make sure to follow the rules! That way, things will be okay~ and we'll all have a fun time here!!

 

[lisianthus]

Addendum:
Lisia's Guide to Being Safe Online!!

Ahoy!! The internet is a pretty cool place!! You can do A LOT there. Aside from playing games and watching videos and listening to music, you can talk to others! If you're on the forums here, you'll be able to talk with others of course!

Basically we want to make sure that people have safe, healthy relationships here—as an organization, we're proud to say that we've had a lot of users become friends (and even family!!) through us, and we want to make sure that continues happening in a good way~☆

Here are some basic things to keep in mind for being safe on the internet, and having good personal relationships here:

☆Make sure to be careful about giving personal info out! Of course, doing so is at your discretion, but it's not exactly the smartest idea to like... post your full address, or workplace, or school (etc) publicly here. Even when talking to others in private, make sure to be careful about that kind of thing as well—it's not bad all the time, of course, but just make sure to be mindful about who you're giving more personal stuff to! Also, make sure to use strong passwords on the internet!

☆Make sure that your relationships are healthy! Obviously it's a bit of a tough thing to figure out, but making sure that the people around you are making you happy, being kind and building you up is important, and is a good start in ensuring that things will be okay in that regard! Please respect the boundaries of those you interact here!

If someone's making you uncomfortable, it's totally fine to step back from talking or interacting with them! Some people just don't fit together, and that's OK!

The internet is reeaally big, and there's a lot of different people and things to do there. But the world is even bigger, and has even more people than the internet too, so make sure that you're taking breaks every once in a while and taking care of yourself, please! I'm sure you'll have more fun here if you do that IRL, too.

If someone's doing something that's... not good, please feel free to report them to our mod team. People have definitions of 'not good' that might be different from others, so some things to watch out for (this isn't an exhaustive list, but it is made up of things that would be report-worthy) would be: acting in a threatening or harassing manner, making others feel uncomfortable, or being inappropriate in any way.

We probably will ask you for more information, especially if you haven't given much in your initial report, but don't worry about any repercussions for reporting — it's better to be safe rather than sorry. Even if you're not involved, if you see something that brings you pause here, feel free to report it too—looking out for others is a great thing, and we appreciate the cooperation of everyone here in making Bulbagarden a nice, safe place to be.

Thank you!!