Welcome to SAYS! My name is Princess and I will be your guide today. I’m basically here to give you a quick rundown on how to get started on SAYS. I’m going to explain the guidelines, give you some hints and point you in the right direction.

The first thing you need to do is read these guidelines. Don’t worry; they are very quick and painless. These are the general guidelines for the forum and the rules we love to live by. Please take the time to read them.
*** waits patiently while you read***

Ok, now that you’ve read and absorbed that little list (most is pretty common sense, wouldn’t you say? Not too hard…), we will continue on with some information I think you might find helpful as you begin to look around.

Some helpful hints:

Avatars -- (this is the little icon/picture that you see under people’s names when they post in a topic….you will see mine right over there to the left at the top of this post.) Size should be no more than 100 x 100 px. You can upload your avatars through your control panel, as long as they are PG. Have fun!

Signatures -- (this is what appears at the bottom of all of your posts and you can create this through your control panel. You will see mine at the bottom of this post, it probably includes some sort of image, maybe a few links or blinkies.) The maximum signature size allowed by SAYS is 500px by 300px, and up to 500px by 200px are allowed to be made up of images. Sigs can easily get out of hand, so please be mindful of these rules, as we will not hesitate to warn you about this. ;)

Spamming -- We have a fond place in our hearts for Spam here at SAYS. Since you’ve just finished reading the guidelines, you will remember that spamming includes one word posts, double posts, adverts and nonsense. You are allowed to spam in your common room, in the Room of Requirement (when it is open) and in the Off Topic section. However, make sure that you read the Off Topic guidelines HERE and the forum games section guidelines HERE to make sure you understand how the section works. Please be mindful of your Spam habits, and keep it where it is allowed.

Getting Sorted -- Once you have made ten posts you are able to get sorted into the house of your choice. Choose wisely, since once sorted you will have access to your common room filled with games, house pride and Bologna galore. To get sorted, visit the Sorting Hat, located in the Welcome thread, HERE. Once you're sorted, feel free to PM one of your staff (Prefect, Admin, Mod etc) for the password to allow you access!

Personal Information -- We are rather relaxed and friendly here at SAYS, but please be mindful of your personal information. Don’t just give it out for all to see. Don’t provide information that you are uncomfortable sharing just because someone else has. Do what make sense for you, and don’t worry, if you forever want us to call you by your forum name, we won’t hold it against you. ;)

This is a PG Forum -- That’s pretty much it….and just so you know, using characters such as #$$%^& to bleep out letters, does not count as PG. :)

The lovely and talented people of SAYS -- These are the people who make sure that SAYS is running smoothly for you. If you ever have a question or concern, don’t hesitate to PM…we are very nice if I do say so myself. ;)

Your Administrators:
andharrywokeup
Elf_Ears13
GubraithianFire
Infairi
Jessi_Rose


Your Moderators:

loony86
PurebloodMuggle
Blue_Suede_Shoes
Lyn

Your Events Committee:
Eyriana
serendip
StoryLover3095
war and peace

Your News Editors:
Romina Stephanie
Bella
ginwannabe
SiriuslyCrack

Your Prefects:

Potterholic
AndrinaBlack
juls
Pippi

Your Honorary Staff:

nicalyse
sauerkraut_poet
PrincessPotter
Lord Voldemort
rainbow92
tiffers
Dobby101

Winky is our lovely house elf who will pop in and out of the forum to help you...if you ask her politely she will probably bring snacks to your common room. ;)

Ok, now that you know who we are, and what we expect, I will point you… Below you will find a quick list of the forums you can explore here.

Welcome
Go here if you want to find general information about the site. The Suggestion Box is also found here, so if you have any ideas about the site you can share them with us.

Announcements
Go here if you want to see the latest announcements and news about SAYS.

Ask the Staff
Special Rules – Make sure you check the FAQs before posting here.
Go here if you are looking for the site’s Frequently Asked Questions. If your question is not answered in the FAQs, feel free to post your question in this section. Our amazing and talented staff will answer it as quickly as they can.

Competitions
Go here to find out about the site’s competitions. Each month a new writing competition is announced for members, and you can sign up for them here. You can find the general competition guidelines HERE. You can also browse the Closed Competitions archive for inspiration and good reading!

Harry Potter Fan Fiction
Go here for all of your Harry Potter needs. You will find threads regarding Canon characters, Original characters, Plot/Scenarios and many others. If you need help, or want to help with HP writing, this is the place for you.

Original Fiction
Go here for all of your Original Fiction needs, including threads regarding Character development, Plot/Scenarios and others. If you need help, or want to help with writing original fiction, this is where to go.

Poetry
Go here for all of your poetry needs. There's a section for original, as well as Hogwarts poetry. Newest addition to this section is the poetry prompts sub-forum, where your lovely head of house Jessi will challenge you to verse outside of the box. :P In addition, there's a drabble section, where there are a lot of themes, on which you can write and post your drabbles. -- Read Guidelines First

Mechanics of a Story
Go here for all of your writing needs. You will find threads about plot, grammar, titles, genre styles, point of views, common clichés and many others. This is the place to go to improve your writing, learn new things and help others with your knowledge and experience.

The Refining Stage
Go here for all of your beta and critique needs. Here you can find a beta for your stories, beta someone else's story, get a critique on a chapter you've written, but are unsure about, and provide criticism yourself. Just remember to be nice and read the rules beforehand! :)

Writer's Block
Do you have a writer's block? Don't fret. Instead you can ask for help or get the inspiration you need. It's all in there.

Challenges
Special Rules – Make sure you read the competition rules HERE before posting a challenge.
Go here to find out what challenges are happening at SAYS. Each month, SAYS will announce a general competition, but members are also allowed to post general writing challenges, here as long as they follow our guidelines. Have fun!

Graphics
Go here for all of your graphics needs. You can create a gallery for your work, request banners, get opinions and help with things you are making as well as benefit from or post tutorials. Newest addition is the graphic prompts, which take place every two weeks.

Promote a Story
Do you have a new story out? Did you just finish reading a great fic that you are dying to share it with someone? Promote someone else's story in the sub forum or toot your own horn as loud as you can! One member from each house is chosen each month. Also, anything you want to learn or discuss about reviews can be found here. Learn about how to join our Reviewers Circle, or add to our Review Chain…or discuss your reviewing habits and experiences.

About You
Go here to create a bio about yourself. You can link to your stories here as well as meet your fellow writers and ask all the questions you want. It's a great way to get to know your fellow SAYS-ers, so don't be shy to step up and introduce yourself. ^_^

The Fic Clique
This is the place where you can discuss a piece of fanfiction that you have enjoyed reading. It is different every week, and it is chosen by your faithful staff. This is your chance to ask the author the questions that you were itching to ask them.

NaNoWriMo
Every year, during the month of November, the National Novel Writing Month competition is held, as writers from all over the world are faced with the intimidating task of writing a novel of no less than 50 000 words. In this forum, you can discuss your characters and plot with your fellow SAYS members or simply check out the topics from previous years. It's a very exciting event, and we hope that you participate.

The Room of Requirement
Special Rules – Bologna away. Play nice.
This glorious room opens when needed, allowing a place for our members to celebrate and Bologna. Examples of situations worthy of an opening are birthdays, weddings, or pretty much anything that warrants a bit of Bologna. ;)

Entrance Hall
Go here for all of your tanning, gaming and off topic needs. Remember…be polite, mind your manners and have fun! And just in case you were wondering, your number of posts does not increase when you post here. The four common rooms are also included as sub-forums. These are special rooms just for you and your housemates to mingle and Bologna your little hearts out. Once you have posted ten times on SAYS you can visit the Sorting Hat to get sorted into a house.


***Make sure that when you enter any of these forums you take a moment to read the rules. They are always pinned at the top of the forum, above the threads started by members. We would hate to have to warn you because you didn’t take the time to look them over.***


Ok, there you go. You should be basically set to get started on SAYS, woohoo! Have a great time, and see you on the forum! If you still have some questions, visit the Ask the Staff section to get further clarification.

~ Princess :princess:

This post has been edited by GubraithianFire on Apr 30 2009, 01:42 AM