The Boards

[jmordetsky]

Hi. I really love the boards you can read in the tavern, It's a great way to simulate the rumor mill of life.

I was wondering, can anyone post to the boards? Or is it an Imm only feature? If so, how is it decided what goes on the boards?

Thanks

Mr. Eggo

[Bestatte]

Anyone can post there. Some tips to get you started:

help editor is the syntax to see how to maneuver with the boards. Do this before you type WRITE.

When you start, the syntax is -not- "write board." It -is- "write <subject>." Example:

write Trouble in the Gaj!

That will make "Trouble in the Gaj!" show up as the subject when someone types "l boards".

When you're done, if it's something you want to remain indefinitely, remember to use the tilde (~) at the end. Sometimes you just want something to show up til the next boot/crash, and in that case skip the tilde.

Make sure it's something you think WOULD be gossipped about. I've seen some pretty strange posts that make me wonder why anyone would write them.

The boards are not something that characters are reading; remember most characters can't read. They're things overheard. Write appropriately. Example of a "not such a good idea":

Susie the ranger is looking for work with a noble house. You can find her at the Gaj. She has green hair and black eyes, and she's human.

Example of a "good idea":

A pair of Bynners at the Gaj snicker as a green-haired black-eyed woman strolls out of the tavern. "That fekkin girl's gonna git herself kilt," says the one with a missing left hand. His companion, an older woman with white fuzz above her lip responds with a smirk, "Specially if she's tryin' to git into Tor. She's too sweet for that, they'll et her up! What she say her name was agin?" The man laughs heartily before responding, "Said she was Soozee or Susie or summat like thet."

A Tor guard lumbers in and the Bynners fall silent, lifting their drinks to their mouths and smirking behind their cups.

Hope that helps!

[Laeris]

When you're done, if it's something you want to remain indefinitely, remember to use the tilde (~) at the end. Sometimes you just want something to show up til the next boot/crash, and in that case skip the tilde.

Just to make a small correction here for clarification purposes, the tilde Bestatte refers to ends your post and takes you out of the editor.  You must always use it to finish your post.  If you want your post to stay up until removed by a staff member then you must type 'write' with no arguments at the conclusion of your message in order to save the message to disk.  If you don't do this, your message will stay until the next reboot/crash and will then disappear because it has not been saved to disk.

I trust this helps.

Laeris

[Bestatte]

Oh doh...you're right, thanks Laeris!

[Savak]

The in-game editor used by the IC board system is a simple yet fickle beast which must be treated with gentle respect.  The four most common errors are (most already having been mentioned):

1) Typing "write board" or "write 32" rather than "write This Is The Subject Of My Post".

2) Failing to hit 'return' at the end of each 70-character line.  The editor will NOT appropriately wrap or format your post for you.  There is a maximum character limit per line as well, so if you have more than (I don't know the precise cutoff number) about 100 characters then the editor will only accept the first (about) 100, truncate the rest, and kick you out of the editor.  However, when reading a post it will be wrapped at about 75 characters, meaning if you input 90 characters per line the output will be very choppy & unpleasant for most people to read.

3) Failing to add a tilde (~) on a line by itself at the end of the post in order to exit the editor.

4) Failing to type "write" on a line by itself while in the room with the board but not in the editor.  This and this alone will save the board so that it will load with your post on it after a reboot.  Many posts are lost to this rather than actually being deleted by staff.

-Savak

[deviant storm]

Of course, if you -want- the rumor to be short-lived, you can leave off the write at the end. That part is up to you.

Some rumors seem to go everywhere for a brief time. Others seem to last a long time. You need to decide what kind yours is.

Otherwise, the others' advice and information is good.