Accounts
First, and probably most important for most people, is how to create an account. Either select "New user" from the User Functions block in the left-hand navigation bar; alternately, you can click here to create a new user.
On that page, enter your desired username and your e-mail address. It's very important to use your real e-mail address, because a password will be generated and sent to you there. (Without this password, you won't be able to log in.) Once you receive the e-mail, use your username and assigned password to log in.
Changing your password
Because the password you're sent is generated by a computer, it's not very memorable. If you want to change your password to something different that you will remember, click on "Account Information" in the User Functions block in the left-hand navigation bar. Here you'll find a whole set of information you can fill in if you want, including a pasword field. Enter whatever password you want and then click "Save Information" at the bottom of the page.
What if I forget my password?
If you forget your password, don't panic. Enter your username and anything at all into the Password field; alternately, go to the user log-in page. Regardless of the way you arrive there, you should see a "Did you forget your password?" link. Click it, and then enter your e-mail address or username. An e-mail will arrive with instructions on how to re-set your password.
If you don't remember your username, enter your e-mail address. If you don't have access to your e-mail address anymore, please e-mail Joe Drew, who will help you out.
How do I post comments?
Once you're logged in, you will probably (eventually) want to post a comment. If you want to post a new comment to a story, click the "Reply" button below that story (but above its comments.) If you want to reply to a particular comment, click the "Reply to this Comment" link below that comment.
There are two types of comment modes: Plain Text and HTML formatted. If you choose plain text, when you press enter, a linebreak will be put into your comment when it's posted. If you enter any HTML, it will show up as the raw tags. This is different from the way Greymatter worked.
If you choose HTML formatted, your whole comment must be formatted in HTML. That means that, instead of just pressing enter for a line break, you have to enter the HTML to format it. This isn't as hard or imposing as it seems. Here's a brief example:
<p>This is a paragraph. It contains some text, which might be <i>italicized</i> or <b>bolded</b></p><p>This is a second paragraph. It'll have space between it and other paragraphs. This is a linebreak:<br>and it works just like pressing enter.</p>
will be rendered as
This is a paragraph. It contains some text, which might be italicized or bolded
This is a second paragraph. It'll have space between it and other paragraphs. This is a linebreak:
and it works just like pressing enter.
Does this mean no more COMN?
COMN, or Click On My Name, was a common method of posting links when Batter's Box used Greymatter. Using Geeklog, the new software, it's impossible. You now need to enter all links using the HTML code for links. Here is a very brief example:
<a href="http://www.battersbox.ca">Visit Batter's Box!</a>
will be rendered as:
Visit Batter's Box!
Any other questions?
If you have any other questions or problems, please post to this thread. I'll do my best to solve any problems you encounter as soon as I can.
If you can't or don't want to post to this page (for example, because you can't create an account), please e-mail Joe Drew. I'll summarize all common issues as follow-ups to this thread.
Have fun, and enjoy the new features of Batter's Box Version 3!
