Navigating PtR: How Do I ???

How many times have you wondered where to find an old post, how to insert an image in a comment, or how to change your settings?  Then this is the place for you.  Think of this as a PtR manual (or for you young'uns, the help button).  So grab your coffee, tea or Sunkist, and follow me after the jump for a rather long, but hopefully, pertinent post.

Note from the Author:  This is geared to new(er) members.  However, unless you are an inveterate button-pusher like me, older members should also find some good information.

Some of this information can be found in the SBNation Welcome Guide, but I'm going to highlight a few of the more helpful tricks and tips.

Your Profile

When you log onto SBNation, your user name and avatar show up in the upper left of the page.  Clicking on your user name takes you to your profile page.  At the top of your page are 4 different tabs:  Manage FanShots and FanPosts, Edit Profile, Edit Settings, and Edit Account.  Go ahead and click on them.  You can find your latest posts and comments, change your avatar, and add a signature line all in your profile.

With the amount of traffic on PtR lately, everything falls off of the front page faster.  To prevent having to delve in the archives, go to the Edit Settings tab (this is what you'll see):

Use this window to change how many Stories, FanPosts and Fanshots display on the front page when you log in, as the default setting is only five, which in my mind is too few.

On the Front Page, you also have the ability to determine how SBNation blogs look visually.

I recommend the Wide format, especially helpful for viewing long conversations in the comments.

Getting Around PtR

Sections

Usually when we post Stories for the Front Page, we tag them for a particular section.  In the left margin, under the Pounding The Rock icon, are links to these sections:

If you want to peruse a Game Thread you missed, click on Game Threads.  If you want to find some of davis' epic previews or reread LD's beautiful recaps, go to Game Threads & Recaps.  If you're bored and want to read all the crazy stuff we've written over the last year, head to Off The Wall.

PtR Fun Pages

Now this is where you can kill some serious time.  Further down on the left margin, are the PtR Fun Pages.  Here's where you can read about the various Nicknames, the origins of our most beloved typos (The Lexicon), and the Quotes by Pop that made us all laugh.

As always, if any of you have suggestions for additions to these pages, you may either list them in the comments or e-mail CapHill or jollyrogerwilco.

So, go click on any link and explore what PtR has to offer.

FanPosts/FanShots

LD has already laid some of this out in his PtR FAQ, which I recommend that everyone read.

FanShots

Any member may create a FanPost or FanShot.  If you want to share a link, quote, video or image, use a FanShot, instead of a FanPost.  FanShots are for quick hits, so for this reason, before posting please read the previous submittals, so that we don't have numerous links to the same story (i.e., when Manu signed his extension).

FanPosts

FanPosts are a place to express your thoughts or to start a new discussion.  A well-formatted post is much more likely to be read and commented on than one that is illegible.  SBN has a comprehensive FanPost Guide, but here are a few items that are not covered.  This is the Visual view for a new FanPost, with the editing tools along the top of the pane.  Use the icons under Media & Assets on the right side to insert images, videos, and other types of files.

I've circled a couple of icons along the top that are important to use when copying text from another program.  Use the "Paste From Word" icon when copying text from that lovely program known as Microsoft Word.  Otherwise, the imbedded Word formatting will come along for the ride and make your post an unreadable mess.  Also helpful for formatting questions is the the Editor Help, shown at the bottom of the image above.

Note:  We reserve the right to edit a post for formatting purposes.  Or if it is too messy or unreadable, we may hide it and ask that you edit it yourself before republishing.  We prefer not to have to do this.

On that note, here is the most important button to use while composing a FanPost:

Before pushing the big green Publish button, please push the orange Preview one.  This will allow you to review your post before publishing and to see any possible formatting problems (there is also a Preview button for comments).  When you are happy with the way everything looks, then push the Publish button.  You may also edit any of your posts after publishing.

Linking

A couple more tips, and then I'll let you go on your merry way.  When using the link button in either comments or FanPosts, a dialog box similar to this should pop up:

Please check the box for "Open in New Window".  This just makes life easier for everyone, rather than having to right-click on every link (or whatever Mac users have to do).

Also, if you would like to link to a particular comment, click on the time and date stamp.  This will give you the unique URL for that comment and, when used, will send someone directly to that point in the thread.

This image also shows the ubiquitous reply button that everyone here at PtR loves.  Using this button when replying to someone will nest your comment under the original one, making it much easier to follow conversations.  However, when these conversations get really long, you may use the up button to determine who is responding to which comment.  Also, clicking on the actions button will give you the ability to either rec or flag a comment.

If you have any other tips or tricks you think everyone should know about, please add them in the comments.