Welcome to the NBC.com Message Boards

In order to post on any forum on this message board, you must register for an account at my.nbc.com.

Each message board has a full set of rules and guidelines, but here are the basics:

Please refrain from posting any of the following types of content:

• spam, advertisements (posting is for non-commercial purposes only)
• profanity, adult material or other sensitive content
• material that you do not have the rights to (eg. pirated content)
• flames, insults, rude behavior/commentary, slanderous remarks about others, including talent and other users

Please be aware that some forums are more sensitive to spoilers than others. Do not post spoiler information in topic titles. Check the rules and guidelines specific to the forum(s) you are posting in.

The Terms of Service for the NBC.com Message Boards can be found here, under #16.


Lost Passwords
If you've forgotten your password, CLICK HERE to have your password reset and sent to your registered email address.


Display/Username Changes
If you wish to change your message board display name (the name that appears next to your posts), you may do so ONCE only, by going into your my.NBC.com account settings. Scroll to the very bottom of the page and fill out the form to change your username.


Help Index:

• Post #2 - Searching
• Post #3 - Posting (Add Reply, Fast Reply, Reply, Quote, Edit)
• Post #4 - Control Panel Options (Friend list, Ignore list, Board Settings)
• Post #5 - Topic Options / Subscriptions
• Post #6 - Personal Messenger/Messaging (PMs)
• Post #7 - Personalizing your Profile in My Controls: Personal Profile Options (Signature, Avatar, Personal Portal Information)
• Post #8 - Personalizing your Profile by Viewing Your Profile (Personal Photo, Personal Statement, Website URL, Visitor list, Friend list, Comment list)

Searching

Before posting new topics, please check to see if another similar topic has already been posted.

Here are some search tips...

Quick Search
You can do a quick search within a subforum or topic by entering your search term in the box that reads "Enter Keywords" at the bottom left of the page and then click the Search Forum/Search Topic button.

Another way to search in a subforum is by by clicking on the Search link at the top of the screen. If the option "Search this forum only?" is checked, it will search only the current sub-forum.


Advanced Search
Click on Search at the top of the screen and "More Search Options" to go to the Advanced Search screen.

The Advanced Search has many options not available to the Quick Search:

• You can specify the name of a poster (by username)
• You can choose to search in one or more forums or subforums
• You can refine the search results based on:
  • Date (before, or after a specific period of time. eg. 7 days ago and older, or 7 days ago and newer)
  • Searching in topic titles (does not include sub-titles) or entire posts
  • Results may be sorted in ascending or descending order
  • Results may be listed as topic titles or as individual posts

Tip: When using the forum's search feature, all words must be 3 letters or more. Try to think of the most uncommon word you can remember from a post and search on that.

Note: even though the search screen says "keyword" it always does a search based on a phrase, thus if you enter the same words in a search but in different order, you can get different results -- see this post for an example.

eg. search The Office for:

dwight bobblehead = many threads
bobblehead dwight = 4 threads

If that doesn't work, try Google!

1. Click Google Advanced Search
2. Type your search terms
3. In Domain put boards.nbc.com
4. Click Search

Displaying Topics or Posts Made by a Particular Member

You can click a Member's name next to a post or under "Options" their Profile and select one of the following options:

• Find Member's Posts
• Find Member's Topics

Happy searching!

Posting New Topics

Before posting a NEW TOPIC, please check to see if there is already a similar thread you can add your thoughts and comments to. See Post #2 for tips on searching.

Tip: The topic title is required, but the topic description is optional and can be left blank.

Posting Replies

Using Add Reply, Fast Reply, Reply and Quote Buttons

If you want to post a "general" reply to a thread, without addressing a specific point someone else has made, use the button. It can be found at the very top or very bottom of each page (when viewing a thread). Alternately, you may also use the button to open a reply window at the bottom of the page.

If you want to reply to someone's specific post, use the button. This will automatically quote the person's post to whom you are responding to. Please edit the quoted text to ensure you are leaving only the section you want to respond to. No one wants to re-read a long post just so you can make a one sentence comment about it!

If there are several different posts within a thread that you want to respond to, this is where the button comes in. Click this button for each post you want to respond to. Then, click .

Note: There is a maximum of 10 quotes you can make per post.

Editing Your Posts

The button is only available on your posts for a short period of time (10 minutes from the original posting time). This is because some posters on some forums are misusing their editing privileges to go back and add in objectionable content that was removed by a Moderator. If there is something that truly requires editing after this 10 minute window, like a broken link, please PM a Moderator, requesting them to edit your post.

About the Report! button

On occasion, the moderators receive a reported post, but it turns out someone has simply accidentally hit the button instead of the button.

If you've had a post "disappear" it may be because it was never posted in the first place!

The Report button should be used to:

• Report spam (Do not post/respond to spam threads!)
• Report a troll (Do not feed a troll by giving them any attention!)
• Report a spoiler outside the spoiler and speculation sub-forums
• Report flaming or other personal attacks
• Report anything else that violates the forum rules

Images and Links within a Post

To have a few words in your post link to another topic or website, highlight the text you want to be a link, then click the (Insert Link) button and paste the URL.

To include an image in your post, click the (Insert Image) button and paste the image's URL.

Note that when a HUGE image has been posted, a Moderator may replace the [img] tag with a url tag out of respect for other members' time and bandwidth.

BB Code

For a full listing of available BB Code, go to the BB Code Help page.

The most commonly asked question is how to use spoiler bars:

CODE

[spoiler]This is sample text[/spoiler]

= This is sample text

How to post a poll

When you post a poll, the poll title can be left blank. It is optional.

The important setting in a poll is whether or not you want to allow people to choose multiple poll answers or only one answer out of the options listed.

If you want people to choose only one of the options, then Multiple choice question? should not be checked.

If you want to allow people to choose multiple options, then Multiple choice question? should be checked.

Where did my post go?

If you cannot find a post you made, a Moderator probably either merged it into an existing thread on the same topic or moved it to another sub-forum, where it is more appropriate.

For recent posts, go to the upper right where it says:

My Controls . View New Posts . My Assistant . My Friends . # New Messages

Click on My Assistant, and click on the link for: My last 10 posts

For older threads or posts, go to the upper left side where it says "Logged in as: <name> ( Log Out )" and click on your name to bring up your profile. Go to Options on the left side and choose Search for member's topics, or Search for member's posts. (This works for yourself or anyone's name you click on.)

For more help on Posting click here to read the Help file.

Control Panel (Options)

To access these options, click on My Controls at the top of the screen. Options which are crossed out are not applicable, or not accessible by the links in your Control Panel.

Options

. Purchase Paid Subscriptions
. Manage Your Attachments
. Manage Friend List
. Manage Ignored Users
. Email Settings
. Board Settings
. Change Email Address (This can be changed at my.nbc.com)
. Change Password (This can be changed at my.nbc.com)

Manage Friend List
You can approve pending friend requests from here (if you have set your profile up to require approval) as well as view and manage your existing friends from this page.

Clicking the "Manage your friends list" link will launch a new window. Click the Friends List tab to see a list of all your friends. From this list, you can further specify whether you want to View All, or just view those friends who are Online or Offline.


Manage Ignored Users
You may view, add and remove ignored users from this page.

When you add a user to your ignore list, any posts they make will be masked until you specify that you wish to read them. You may not be able to ignore users if they are in a member group which doesn't allow them to be added (Root Admin, Administrators, and User Moderators).


Board Settings (Click HERE to change your board display options.)
You can manage settings related to how the board is displayed/operates from this page. You can choose your timezone and various view options here, such as how many topics to show for each forum page (increase the number to see more threads per page).

Time Zone
Specify your base time zone, and whether or not to correct for daylight savings time (DST).

Board Display Settings
. View members signatures? (yes | no)
. View images in posts? (yes | no)
. View members avatars? (yes | no)
. (Pop-up) Board notification when you get a new personal message? (yes | no)
. Number of posts to show for each topic page (up to 40)
. Number of topics to show for each forum page (up to 40)

Personal Messenger Options
. Disable your personal messenger? (yes | no)

Posting Settings
. Open Fast Reply automatically when available? (yes | no)
. Type of text editor to use when posting (Standard editor | Rich text editor)

Topic Options

At the top of each topic, there is a 'Options' menu. Clicking this menu will expand the options menu.

From this menu, you can select from the following options:

• Track this topic - this option will allow you to receive e-mail updates for the topic (SEE the "Subscriptions" section below for MORE INFO.)
• Email this topic - from here you can email a link of this topic to someone by entering their name, email, and desired language.
• Print this topic - this will present the current topic you are viewing a printer friendly format, removing most images and using a standard layout.
• Download this topic - will show the topic in a number of different formats. 'Printer Friendly Version' will display a version of the topic that is suitable for printing out. 'Download HTML Version' will download a copy of the topic to your hard drive, and this can then be viewed in a web browser, without having to visit the board. 'Download Microsoft Word Version' will allow you to download the file to your hard drive and open it up in the popular word processing application, Microsoft Word, for viewing offline.
• Subscribe to this forum - will allow you to receive e-mail updates for any new topics posted in the forum (SEE the "Subscriptions" section below for MORE INFO.)

You can also select one of three topic Display Modes:

• Outline - shows you one post with a list of the remaining posts at the below it, in tree format.
• Standard - this (default) display mode shows the topic in the standard layout of one post above another, in the order selected by the administrator.
• Linear+ - is similiar to standard with the added benefit of having the first post of the topic always shown at the top, no matter what page of the topic you are on.

Subscriptions

This board can notify you when a new reply is added to a topic. Many users find this useful to keep up to date on topics without the need to view the board to check for new messages.

Tip: Subscribing to a topic is like having your own personal bookmarks for specific threads. If you find a thread interesting and want to keep track of it, subscribe to it, with the option "No Email Notification" and then use the View Topics option (see below) to view all your "bookmarked" threads.

There are three ways to subscribe to a topic:

• Click the 'Options' menu at the top of a topic, and go to 'Track this topic'
• On the posting screen when replying to or creating a topic, check the 'Enable email notification of replies?' checkbox.
• From the 'Email Settings' section of your User CP (My Controls) check the 'Enable Email Notification by default?' option, this will automatically subscribe you to any topic that you make a reply to.

Please note that there are five different subscription options, four which will send out an email notification:

No Email Notification
This option will not send out any email notification but will retain the topic or forum in your subscriptions panel.

Immediate Email Notification
This option will send out a notification immediately after a new topic or reply has been made regardless of your activity.

Delayed Emailed Notification
This option will send out a notification if a new topic or reply has been made and you're not active on the board.

Daily Email Digest
This option will send out a daily digest showing all new replies or topics for that day.

Weekly Email Digest
This option will send out a weekly digest showing all new replies or topics for that week.

You are also able to subscribe to each individual forum on the board, to be notified when a new topic is created in that particular forum. To enable this, click 'Forum Options' menu at the top forum you wish to subscribe to, and click the 'Subscribe to this forum' link.

To unsubscribe from any forums or topics that you are subscribed to - just go to the 'Subscriptions' section of 'My Controls' and you can do this from there.

Viewing New Activity in Topics or Forums You've Subscribed To

Under the My Controls link, there are two Subscription options:

• View Topics: View topics that you have subscribed to here, or change the way you are notified for each topic. You can also remove topic subscriptions from here.
• View Forums: View forums that you have subscribed to, or change the way you are notified for each forum. You can also remove forum subscriptions from here.

Messenger (Click HERE to compose a message.)

All forum members have access to the Personal Messaging (PM) system. You can display your messenger by clicking the My Controls, then Inbox or the x New Messages links at the top of the screen.

Similar to most e-mail programs, you have the folders Inbox, Sent Items, and Saved (Unsent) PMs. You can create new folders for your PM's using the Edit Storage Folders link.

There are two ways to send someone a PM - either by clicking the Compose New Message link from within the messenger, or clicking their name next to a post, then Send Message. The Send Message link also appears in the Member Profiles.

When composing a message, you have the following options:

• Add a copy of this message to my sent items folder - saves a copy to the Sent Items folder.
• Track this message? - you'll be able to view whether or not the recipient has received the message by clicking the Message Tracker link. Note that tracking messages also allows you to Delete messages that have not yet been read by the recipient.
• Save (Send Later) - saves a copy to the Saved (Unsent) PMs folder.

There are three other options in the Messenger:

• Empty PM Folders: CAUTION: this permanently deletes the contents of your PM folders. THERE IS NO UNDO.
• PM Block List: Allows you to add members to block from sending you a PM.
• Archive Messages: Allows you to archive your folders. The archived messages will be compiled into a single file and emailed to your address as an attachment of your choice.

Note that the Archive Messages feature is useful should your folders reach 100% capacity. If your folders are full, you will not be allowed to receive additional PM's until you have removed some of the messages.

What if I need to forward PMs to a Moderator or Administrator?

Hopefully, you won't receive any harassing messages, but if so, you can click the Reply button as if replying to the Sender. Simply change the Recipient's name to your Moderator or Administrator of choice. Ensure that the drop-down says "Other" (it will have the Sender's name if that person is saved in your Address Book). You can then type your message and send it.

Customizing Your Profile (Personal Profile options)

The following options are available under your Control Panel, which is accessed by clicking on the My Controls link at the top of your screen. Options which are crossed-out are not (or are no longer) available for customization.

Personal Profile

. Edit Profile Information
. Edit Personal Portal Information
. Edit Signature
. Edit Avatar Settings
. Change Personal Photo*
. Change Display Name**

*This link doesn't work but there is an alternate way to change your Personal Photo. See below in post #8.
** To change your username, see post #1.


Edit Personal Portal Information (Click HERE to edit your Personal Portal Info)
There are 3 separate sections:

• Personal Statement: If you wish to enter a personal statement which others may read when viewing your profile you may enter it here.
• Notifcation options for New Comments, and New Friends: If you want to be notified via PM or e-mail that someone has left a comment in your profile, or someone has added you as a friend, here is where you can set your notification method on (e-mail, or PM) or off.
• Moderation options for New Comments, and New Friends: If you want to be able to approve (allow or deny) new comments in your profile, and/or approve (allow or deny) other users from adding you as their friend, here is where you set your preference.

Edit Signature (Click HERE to edit yours.)
You can type a signature line that will appear under all your posts. Be sure to click the Update My Signature button when done. You may also include a picture in your signature. The picture must be located somewhere on the Internet.

Some forums have size restriction for banner images, please refer to the forum rules for each specific forum. Signature images which do not adhere to these guidelines may be edited by a forum Administrator.

Tip: If you don't want your signature to appear on specific posts, un-check the Enable signature option. (You may want to do this when posting on a forum other than your "regular" one, for example, or if you are posting multiple consecutive posts in a single thread.)

Q: I changed my signature, but the old one is still showing. What happened?
A: Sometimes you need to click the Refresh button on your browser (or press the F5 key on your keyboard) after you update your signature.


Edit Avatar Settings (Click HERE to add/change yours.)
An avatar is the image that appears next to each of your posts, beneath your username. The maximum dimensions for this image is 100x100.

Q: I uploaded a new avatar, but the old one is still showing. What happened?
A: In the event that you upload an avatar and it is NOT appearing, click the Refresh button on your browser (or press the F5 key on your keyboard) from the Edit Avatar Settings page after clicking the Update Avatar button. This solves the problem in 99.9% of the cases.


Other/Miscellaneous Info:

Q: What are all the Forum Ranks and what is the post count that corresponds with each?
A: Before 500 (and after 500 if you chose not to edit it), the Member Title that appears under your avatar will read as follows for the following milestones:

Rank / Post Count
Newbie / 0
Member / 50
Advanced Member / 500
Full Member / 1000
Premium Member / 5000
Superior Member / 10000


Q: I can't edit my Custom Member Title - what's up with that?
A: This option used to be available, upon reaching 500 posts, under the "Edit Profile Information" link which is no longer available. The Custom Member Title, replaces the default rank title that appears under your avatar. If you send a personal message (PM) an Admin and ask very nicely, they can edit it for you.

Personalizing Your Profile on the Forum by Viewing Your Profile

The second way to update your personal profile is by viewing your own personal profile page.

To see your own profile, click your name at the top of any forum page where it says:
Logged in as: Your name ( Log Out )

Under Personal Info, you can set the following information:

. Gender (Gender Not Set, Set as Male, Set as Female)
. Location
. Birthday (This comes from your my.NBC.com profile)

In the middle section of your Profile screen are several gray tabs: Topics, Posts, Comments, Friends, and Settings.

To access your Profile Settings, click on the Settings tab. From here, you can change:

• Personal Photo (Note: Your Personal Photo only appears in your profile, to change the image next to your posts, you need to update your Avatar settings)
• Personal Statement
• Your Website
• Notification Options*
• Moderation Options*
• Settings (See below)

*See post #7 for details about the notification and moderation options.

If you are under 18, please NOT post your full name or location. In fact, everyone should be careful about the amount of personal information they make available online.

The options in the last section can ONLY be accessed by viewing your profile settings:

• Show x Sidebar Last Visitors
• Show x Sidebar Comments
• Show x Sidebar Friends

The default value of "x" is 5, however it can be changed to 3, 5, or 10. This number is the number of Last Visitors, Comments, or Friends that will display whenever someone comes to your Profile to read it.

Don't forget to click Save Settings if you make any changes.

This is a work in progress. Comments welcome, please specify Message Board FAQ as the Message Title.