Frequently Asked Questions
General
- What can you do in this forum?
- Registered users can post replies in any topic, create new topics, send emails and private messages to other users (unless those users have disabled emailing/private messaging), subscribe to topics and forums and receive notifications of new posts, bookmark interesting topics, view other users’ info, thank other users for posts, and report offending posts to moderators.
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- What are the rules of this forum?
- 1. Do not offend other members of the forum, even if you think they are wrong.
2. Do not use this forum for spam.
Links to VMS websites, software and layered products even though they are not open source and/or do not belong to VSI are welcome on this website as long as they are relevant to the topic. Ads and Job Opportunity posts are only allowed within the “Ads and Employment Opportunities” forum area/channel and must still abide by all other rules of the forum.
3. Do not create duplicate accounts.
One person should have a single account on this website (and forum). If the moderators spot you using double accounts, a warning is issued to the original account and the duplicate is banned for life.
4. If you wish to thank a user, click the Thumbs Up button on the post; if you wish to express your disapproval, click the Thumbs Down button. Do not create posts whose only purpose is to express your opinion about the post.
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Customization
- How do I customize the way I see posts in a topic?
- Go to UCP -> Board preferences -> Edit display options. There you have the defaults; you can also change some settings like ordering posts for each particular topic when you are viewing it by clicking the Display and sorting options menu. You can also toggle the location of the members profiles in a topic (left or right) by clicking the Tools icon in the topic and selecting the “Postprofile on the left” option.
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- How do I customize my signature?
- Your signature is the text that (optionally) appears after each of your forum posts and personal messages. You can set it in UCP -> Profile -> Edit signature. Note that if the field is empty, the signature does not appear even if it if configured to appear.
To control whether it appears or not, go to UCP -> Board preferences -> Edit posting defaults and select “Attach my signature by default”. Note that some forums may disallow signatures.
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- How do I customize my profile?
- You can add your birthday (so that your age is displayed on your profile), location, and a few links (website, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, YouTube and Google+) in your profile: go to UCP -> Profile or go to Profile and click “Edit Profile”.
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- How do I customize my time and date format?
- Go to UCP -> Board Preferences -> Global settings.
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- How do I change my email address?
- UCP -> Profile -> Edit account settings.
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- How do I change my password?
- UCP -> Profile -> Edit account settings.
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- How do I set a userpic/avatar/profile picture?
- UCP -> Profile -> Edit avatar.
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Privacy
- Do users see my online status?
- By default they do. You can switch that off in UCP -> Board preferences -> Global settings. This will cause your status to be displayed as offline even if you are online.
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- How can I prevent anyone from emailing me?
- Go to UCP -> Board preferences -> Global settings. You can prevent users from contacting you by email and administrators from sending you information emails.
To switch off email notifications from the forum, go to UCP -> Board preferences -> Edit notification options.
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- How do I prevent users from sending me private messages?
- Go to UCP -> Board preferences -> Global settings and disallow private messaging. Note that administrators and moderators will still be able to send you messages.
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Features
- How can I get notifications about newly added posts in my favourite topics?
- The forum notifies you of any new posts in the topics that you are subscribed to – the notifications can appear in your notifications section, be sent to your email, or both. You can view your subscriptions in the User Control Panel -> Overview -> Manage subscriptions.
You are subscribed to the topics that you start automatically unless this option is switched off in UCP -> Board preferences -> Edit posting defaults. You can also subscribe manually by going to the topic page, clicking the Tool icon and choosing “Subscribe topic”. You can subscribe to a forum by clicking the “Subscribe forum” link in the footer in the forum view – in that case, you will receive notifications of all new posts in this forum irrespective of what topic they appear in.
To choose how you are notified, go to the UCP -> Board preferences -> Edit notification options. There, you can choose whether it is notifications, email, or both.
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- How can bookmark a topic and find it later?
- You can add a topic to your bookmarks by clicking the Tools icon in the topic and selecting “Bookmark topic”. You can view and edit your bookmarks in UCP -> Overview -> Manage Bookmarks.
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- What are forum ranks? How can I apply to a rank?
- Ranks are forum statuses given to you automatically based on the number of posts you have created in OpenVMS-related forums (not Miscellaneous), your role, or your status within the VMS community. You can view the full list of ranks by clicking the Ranks link on top of the page next to Quick links and FAQ. You will earn the next rank automatically as you write on the forum.
Apart from the ranks listed there, there are a few ranks granted manually by board administrators: VSI Expert granted to VSI employees, Site Admin held by site administrators and Legend granted to legendary members of the VSI community. If you believe that you qualify as a Legend, please use the Application Form to inform the admins of your status (note that you cannot see the Application Form link unless you have made at least three posts on this forum). If you believe that someone else should hold the Legend or VSI expert rank, please send a personal message to one of the site administrators.
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- What is my Friends list?
- Friends are essentially bookmarks for users you want to follow or send private messages to. Links to their profiles appear in the overview section of your User Control Panel. To add a friend, go to UCP -> Friends & Foes -> Manage friends, enter the username and click Submit. You can also add a user as a friend by clicking the “Add friend” link on their profile.
Other users (including your friends) cannot see your friend list.
To remove a friend from the list, go to UCP -> Friends & Foes -> Manage friends, choose their username from the list and click Submit.
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- What is my Foes list?
- Foes are essentially filters for people whose forum messages you do not want to see. Posts by these users will be not fully visible. To add a user as your foe, go to UCP -> Friends & Foes -> Manage foes, enter the username and click Submit. You can also add a user as a foe by clicking the “Add foe” link on their profile.
Other users (including your foes) do not know who is in your foe list. You still get private messages from your foes. You cannot add a moderator or an administrator as your foe.
To remove a user from your foe list, go to UCP -> Friends & Foes -> Manage foes, choose their username from the list and click Submit.
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- What is the purpose of the Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down buttons on posts?
- They serve to upvote posts that you find useful and/or relatable and downvote those that you find harmful. The total number of post upvotes is displayed on the author's profile. There are some restrictions on upvoting posts of the same user; downvotes are allowed if you have at least 50 upvotes.
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Reports
- What should I do if I see an improper post?
- You can report an offending post by clicking the Report button on that post. Your report will be sent to the moderators who will decide what should be done (they may delete the post and/or issue a warning to the user).
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Moderators and Administrators
- How is this forum administered?
- Moderators and administrators are here to watch over this forum, enforce the rules of this forum, and make it more convenient for you. You can become a moderator if you wish; becoming an administrator is trickier but also possible.
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- What are Moderators?
- Moderators watch over specific forums and can delete and move posts, split and merge topics, issue warnings and ban users. To become a moderator, fill in the Application form (click the link on top of the page next to Quick links and FAQ) – note that you can only see this form if you have made at least three posts.
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- What are Administrators?
- Administrators have all the powers of moderators, but they can also create new forums and categories, manage user permissions, manage forum settings, and modify forum code. You can contact the administrators with any questions about this forum and suggestions on how to improve it.
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