A lot of people still seem to be getting lost on how to use the upgraded AllPoetry, so below are the most common questions the Greeters have been asked and the solutions to these problems.
Site Glitches / Known Problems that have not yet been rectified are shown at the bottom of the page.
If you have anything you want to add, any things you wanted answered or whatever, put a comment here and I will add the reply within 24hrs.
Addlines
Addlines should now be showing on your author page, just above your poem list. Some people have reported they cannot see their addlines since Kevin corrected the problem. Leave it a few hours and if it still doesn't show then put a ticket in to the mods.
Applauds
How many applauds do you get each day and how do you use them?
You get five free applauds per day, and you can choose if you want to give a poem one, two or three applauds. These are automatically provided by the site.
Once you have used your free applauds then you will need to pay three points per clap, which is sent to the other user. Each applause is woth 3 points.
Avatar / Face
How do I add a face?
You need to click on : "My Page" at the top of the screen
On the new page, on the right it will say edit you profile
In the same place on the new page it will say "add face"
click on this, choose your image, and then click "add face" on the new screen.
It may take a few mins to update on your author page. Updates in other areas (forums etc...) may take a few hours.
Author Pages
I was wondering how to change the font colour on my author's page.
If you go to MY PAGE on the top bar, you will see an option that will allow you to 'edit your account' on the right hand column. Here you will be able to edit your font and change your colors to be visible on the background.
How do I add secondary images? (Paying members)
For your secondary picture, you will go to settings, then to secondary pictures, along the side bar you will click "add secondary pictures" it will give you an option to browse your computer and to give the picture a title. Give it something simple that you will remember and then save. You will notice it will give you a the title in brackets. When you are posting a project and would like to use this image you will simply need to write your picture title in brackets and it will appear where you place it
How do I approve/remove testimonials?
Go to settings and then in the first section under approve/remove testimonials where you will find your controls.
How do I change my background?
Click on "My Page" at the top
Then on the right, "Edit your account"
And then on the right again, "Customize background".
What are the green trophies?
The green trophies are honorable mentions
How do I use "Poems I'm Focused On"? Is it just for gold members?
This feature is for anyone. To get a poem, column, contest etc... into this section go onto the poem page. On the right-hand side there will be view options, and one of these says "Pin to Author Page". Click on this and the piece will be put into the "poems I am focused on" section.
Why is no-one leaving comments on my author page?
Comments on author pages are now called testimonials. You have to approve these first. In order to do this, go to : "settings" at the top of the page, then about half-way down is "approve/remove testimonials". Click on this and you will see if anyone has commented on your page, and you can approve them if you want them to show as a testimonial.
You can now set it so that testimonials are automatically approved. To do this, go to "My Page", then on the right "Edit Account". About halfway down the main page are "filter and display options". One of the choices here is to automatically approve testimonials. Tick this, then clcik "edit" at the bottom of the page, and then comments on your author page will automatically show.
Backgrounds
How do I add a custom background?
Click on "settings" at the top of the page. Go down to the "manage custom backgrounds page". Here you can add backgrounds to your work, and upload them to AP. This feature is for paying members only.
Chatterbox
To see what behavour is and isn't acceptable in the CB please check out the following column by Topaz135 : http://allpoetry.com/column/show/1496272
Why does it keep sending downloads when I type in the CB?
This is probably because your browser security settings are too high. Try switching them back to default and this should sort out the problem.
Contests
I can't seem to judge the contest. There is no judge entries to put the winners in order.
You need to go through each entry and above the comment box is a link saying “add finalist”. Do this for all your finalists and then return to the contest page. You then click and drag the winners into order and then it can be judged.
On my contest, is it intentional that the names of the entrants are not showing?
Yes, contests are now judged without you seeing the entrants' names.
Poems entered in my contests have trophies attached – I haven’t even closed it for judging yet!
Poems which have previously won trophies will have the trophy pinned to that page. It only works if you allow pre-writes but doesn’t affect your contest at all.
I am not able to scroll through contests by hitting the "next in contest" button anymore.
This is not working at the moment, but should be corrected soon
How do I remove a finalist from the finalist area in my contest?
This feature is not available. Just pretend they are not there, put through your actual finalists and put them into order. Only the top three (more if you have Hon. Ment’s) will get trophies.
Is there a way to cancel a contest if no one is in it?
If your contest has no entries, then click on "edit" on the contest page on the right, and then, on the right again, click on "delete contest".
Emoticons
Where could I get a list of the emoticons?
If you check out this link : http://allpoetry.com/column/306041
About halfway down is a list of all the new emoticons.
Groups
How do leave a group?
Right at the bottom, right corner of every page, you will find the list of groups, you are in. Click on the one you would wish to leave, that would take you to the group page. There again at the right, you will find a menu which says, Leave the group , click on that and your name will be removed from the group
How do I make a group?
Paying members only - Click on the Groups tab, and select list of groups.
Then on the right it will say "add group"
How do I get onto the application page for my group?
When you are on the group's page, in your right side menu there is a Group Actions section for you. The second link allows you to process applications when they come in. The third link is "Edit Group" and there you can edit that application/group info page. Also on that page at the top right there is a link that says "Preview group info page" so you can preview that page.
Images
In order to add secondary images (Paying Members)
Go to the page you want to edit, and click "edit" on the right.
On the right it says "secondary images", and below that it will say "cancel edit and add secondary image". Click on this.
The new page will ask you to choose a title for the image (something simple, like 'cat' if it is of cats etc...
You will then need to browse your computer for the file, and then click "add image"
You will then be redirected back to the page you were editing. If you look on the right, by secondary image section it will now show a preview of the image you just uploaded. If you want to add this image, you just look below it, and it will say "To add this image type in the following : (image title). Please note, you don't actually use the brackets - you use the ones which look more square, but when I type them here they don't appear. Have a look under the secondary image section once you have added a pic - you will see what symbol to use.
Type that into the poem/page whatever, wherever you want it to show (you don't need to judge the gap or anything - just take up one line and everything will automatically deal with it).
If you want to use a different image that you have already uploaded, there is a drop-down list under the secondary images section which has all the titles you gave to the images. Chose the right one, check the preview and then enter the corresponding code.
Messages/Notes
I can't find system messages anywhere.
Your system messages will show up under “notes” located at the top of your screen. Notes are automated message notifications you get when a friend posts a poem, who has entered your contests, etc. Notes cannot currently be deleted.
Messages are like the old IM’s.
Poems
How do I edit a poem?
To edit a poem, simply go to the poem you wish to edit, then along the side bar second section down will be a place called "owner options" and there will be a link to edit your work.
I can’t find poems I have entered into contests!
Under the Contests tab there is a link that says "Contests you're in". Your contest poems should show up there.
How do i print out all my poems ?
My Page - Your Info - Print All
How do I delete a poem?
Click on "My Page" and select the poem.
Then in the right-hand it will say "owner options" and under this is edit poem.
In the same place it will then say "delete"
I have deleted two poems, but they are still showing up on my list.
This sounds like a caching issue - they should disappear automatically after a few hours.
How do I delete comments now?
The way to delete comments now is to look on the far right side under whoever commented name, click on edit and you can delete the comment there
If you add your real name for the copyright stuff, is it visible to everyone on the site?
If you put your real name, it will be listed on your post. It will be visible to everyone that reads it, not just members on AP. You might consider using a “pen name” when you do this.
Can I still applaud comments?
No. If they are on your work you can rate them though.
Which way to the Free Write option?
Click on "My Page" at the top of the screen. Then, on the right will be your info and "Freewrite practice". Click on this to get to the Freewrite page.
Where has the spell-check gone?
The spell-check feature has been removed temporarily. Kevin is looking to add it back.
If you are a gold member, click on the rich text options, highlight the poem/piece and click on the spell-check icon showing in the rich text options.
How do I do bold/italics/underline?
Check out this column and the comments on it : http://allpoetry.com/poem/2335917
Promoting Poetry
There are three ways to promote your piece:
1) The featured box. Click on “add yours” under the featured box on the right-hand side of any page, choose the poem you want to feature and for how much. This is cost per click. If you want to add someone else's poem to this list go to the poem page and on the right click "add feature".
2) Rewarding Poetry. On the front page, choose “add yours” under the rewarding poetry box. Choose the poem you want to show, and the cost, and it will be added. This is cost per comment.
3) Spotlight . Again on the front page – this is where you can feature someone else’s poetry free of charge. You just type in a link and why you think it should be read.
How do I see all the poems in the featured box?
Click on “add yours” under the featured box. On the right hand side it will say “view all features” and it will show you the top fifty pieces.
Ratings on Comments
Why is a comment on me already rated?
The site automatically awards so many stars, and thus so many points, depending on how long the comment is. You can then change it to a higher or lower rating if you want.
How do I rate a comment?
You swipe the stars across, to choose how many you want to give. Thanks to NoWayJo for conducting extensive testing on this. If you increase the amount of stars, you will not lose any points, but the member who left the comment will get their points increased (2 points per star). If you lower the rating then the member will lose some points depending on how many stars you remove.
Please note : at the moment you can re-rate comments, so if you forget if you have rated someone, or if you rated incorrectly then you can change the amount of stars you awarded as much as you want.
Reports of Current Glitches/Problems
This is a list of the most commonly reported glitches/problems. If you are experiencing these, please either wait for them to be rectified, or put a ticket in to the moderators to inform them that you are also experiencing problems.
To contact moderators to report problems : http://allpoetry.com/ticket/add
To contact greeters to ask for help : http://allpoetry.com/ticket/contact
Or leave a note here as a comment.
This section on glitches is only updated in response to comments on this page/IM's/greeter tickets. If you have reported a problem on the forums, send me a link and I will mention it, but I am afraid that I don't have time to go through all the forums checkin for glitches.
:)
Chatterbox log is not currently showing to members - this is being rectified
Dropdown menus for featured box/entering prewrites into contests etc... are not showing all posts - the featured box currently only shows poems, not contests or columns. Beyond that there were glitches where it could not retrieve all your poems and so would only show a selection. This is being worked on, but put a ticket in to the mods to let them know that you are still affected, as apparently not everyone is.
Page limit when trying to view all your poems - At the moment you can look through a maximum of thirty pages when looking at the long list of your poems (show all), which means that if you have a lot of poems they will not all show. This is a known issue and is being worked on.
Trophies - There have been problems where people have not received trophies or have got too many trophies but no notification of how they won it. If you experience this then you should put a ticketin to the mods.
Classes - There have been problems where classes in which you have done some of the assignments show you as not having done anything, or where class trophies are not showing up. Be patient, wait a few days, and if the problem is still there then put a ticket in to the mods.
Contests - Collaborators in contests not being informed of when someone enters the contest - known issue.
Contests - contests are supposed to be blind judging, but yet you get notifications of some entries into your contest, but not all. When you get the notification you know who entered that piece, which means it is half-blind and half-known. Also, there have been concerns about contests which say you have to have a certain number of trophies/be a certain age/been on AP a certain amount of time etc.... These are all valid points. With regards to some notifications and not others - I have passed it on to Kevin to see what the outcome may be. Kevin has also said that he will look at blind contests maybe being an option instead of enforced, but he wants to wait and see how people get used to the system. I will update this when I get more info.
I hope you find this helpful. If you have any questions, please put a comment here or send a message to the greeters or mods. Also, please check the front page for updates, and the FAQ's (under the help tab).
:)
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