darkSpyro

Welcome to the help files for the darkSpyro Forum, occasionally updated with new features and gizmos. This page is designed to answer most of those small questions you might want to know about the forum and the website, if your question is not answered here, feel free to ask it in the forums themselves.
What are the codes for all of the smilies?

There is a limit of 40 smilies per post, smilies over that limit will not work. It may seem a bit unpredictable as to which smilies stop working over the limit as it does not pay attention to their ordering in your post.
What are the different user levels?

Well, we currently have quite a few different user levels, any they are as follows:
Spyro the Admin
There's only one of these: dark52. Has the ability to delete other user's posts and topics as well as banning the more unruly folk.
Hunter
Moderators can delete other user's posts and topics as well as suspend people.
Sparx
The normal users of the forum. The colour Sparx depends on how many gems a user has gained.
Fodder
Visitors to darkSpyro who aren't logged into an account.
Gnorc
A temporarily suspended user, cannot post or send Private Messages. Usually returned to the Sparx user level after a week or two.
Ripto
A permanently banned user. Anyone who gets banned is unlikely to be allowed to return.
Crystallised
An account simply waiting to be activated by email.
Rhynoc
An account that has been terminated even before validation.
So what are the Sparx ranks?

The ranking is based on the current number of gems that an account has and is as follows:
0-99 Gems - Red Sparx
100-499 - Green Sparx
500-999 - Blue Sparx
1000-1999 - Yellow Sparx
2000-2999 - Gold Sparx
3000-4999 - Emerald Sparx
5000-7499 - Platinum Sparx
7500-? - Diamond Sparx
What are gems and how do I gain them?

Gems are a method of determining how active a user has been on the site and serve no other purpose beyond that.
To earn gems you just simply have to visit the website at least once a week as they are given out early Sunday morning / late Saturday night. It simply calculates whether or not you've visited during the past week and if you've posted or not (the number of posts is ignored). You get 7 for visiting and 3 for posting, it then generates a random number between 0 and 6 to give you as a bonus. So the maximum you can get in a week is 16 and you're guaranteed to get at least 10 if you visit and post.
How do I become a 'Hunter'?

Very occasionally I will open up the application process to hire new moderators, the last such application period was in January 2015 with the new batch of Hunters chosen shortly after. The next application process is not expected to be opened for at least another year.
What are the forum rules?

You can find the rules here.
I've lost my password! How can I get my account back?

Use the Recover Password link below the login boxes, if you used a valid email for your account then a new password will be sent to the address once you provide it again for the form. You will need to remember your account name for this though.
I've discovered a bug/exploit with the site/forum!

Report bugs in the Site Help and Suggestions forum and exploits to me via Private Message.
What kind of formatting are we allowed to use?

The forums, comments and signatures employ the following BBCode for you to use:
Bold Text
This text will be bold.
This text will be bold
Italic Text
This text will be italic.
This text will be italic.
Creating a Link
This is a link.
This is a link.
www.example.com
www.example.com
Posting an Image

Image
For large images please link to them rather than using this.
Quoting
Quote: dark52

This text will be quoted.

dark52 wrote:
This text will be quoted.
Quote:

This text will also be quoted.

This text will also be quoted.
Marking out Spoilers

Reveal Spoiler
This will be hidden from view.
Creating a List

• This is a list
  
• It sure is
  

This is a list
It sure is

1. This is an ordered list
   
2. It sure is
   

This is an ordered list
It sure is
Posting a Youtube video


Badly written or disallowed code gets broken by the board (except bad nesting) but there isn't a warning besides using the preview button to see what your message will look like.
How do I edit a post?

Click on 'Edit' at the bottom of the post and make the changes on the page there.
How do I delete a post?

Click on 'Edit' at the bottom of your post and then click on the Delete button.
How do I close a topic?

Provided the topic is over 1 hour old and nobody has posted in the last five minutes you can close a topic. To do so click on 'Edit' at the bottom of the first post in the topic and then click the 'Close' button. You cannot reopen a topic once it is closed.
How do I delete a topic?

If a topic is completely empty of other posts you can delete it in the same way you would a normal post. If anyone has posted then this will not work.
How do I send a Private Message to someone?

Either click 'PM' at the bottom of one of their posts, click 'Send PM' in their profile or just write out their username on the Compose page which you can get to through the 'PM Inbox' link in your userbox on the right.
How do I block someone from sending me Private Messages?

Add them to your Block List which you'll find in the Private Messages section. This also blocks them from posting in your Guestbook.

legend...

Don't tell me what to do.

A "Word" of Advice

I see.

You don't know me..