Getting started on the new Bear Insider forums

4,250 Views | 11 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by LOUMFSG2
F5:Stewart
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Welcome to the Inside Bear Insider forums! We wanted to give you a quick tutorial of how everything works around here so you can get started quickly.

Topics Page
The topics page contains a list of all the topics (or "threads") in a forum. To learn all the different features of the topics page, take a look at our mobile and desktop diagrams.

Topic (or Thread)
Each thread has its own features. Take a look at our mobile and desktop diagrams to learn about all the functionality, and we'll go into detail about a few specific features below.

Blue Stars
The "Blue Star" works the same way a "Like" does on Facebook or Twitter. Users will Blue Star posts for a variety of reasons - they might agree with the post, think it's funny, etc. Once a post reaches a certain number of Blue Stars (currently set at 3 for this forum), the post itself will turn blue.

Flagging (or Reporting)
Help us keep the forum civil by flagging posts that violate our posting policies - it alerts our moderators to the post so it can be addressed. Our moderators try their best to keep the forums clean of trolls, spam, etc, and flagging really helps them.

Posting a photo or GIF
You can post a photo two different ways:
1. On desktop, click the photo icon, paste in the URL and click "Insert". A thumbnail will display immediately and will change to full size once you click "post".
2. On both desktop and mobile, simply paste the photo URL into the text field. The photo will display once you click "post".

Note: We don't allow photos to be uploaded into our system - it must already exist somewhere on the Internet.

Viewing a photo or GIF on mobile
On mobile, the default setting is to display an icon that you must tap in order to display the full photo (see the icon below if you're on the mobile site). This helps you avoid wasting cell data from downloading large photos. You can choose which you prefer: if you want photos to render automatically on mobile, tap the menu button, then "more," then turn on "Auto-load images".

On desktop, photos and GIFs will display automatically, such as...



Embedding social media
Embedding tweets, photos and videos is simple: just paste the URL into your post, and it will automatically display once you click "post" (like the example below). You can currently embed from Twitter, Instagram, Vine (RIP), YouTube and Hudl.


The Watchlist
If you've made a post on the site, you may have noticed a blue notification at the top right side of your page. If not, just look for the binoculars icon. That's your Watchlist. Its main purpose is to help you keep track of conversations across the forums. It's pretty simple: if someone posts a new reply into any thread that's in your Watchlist, you'll get a notification. Just roll over or tap the blue icon to see how many new replies there are and click that number to be taken to the first unread reply.

There are three ways to add a thread to your Watchlist...
1. Every thread you start is automatically added
2. Every thread you post on is automatically added
3. You can click "Watch Topic" (desktop) or the Binoculars icon (mobile) at the top of the thread

There are four ways to remove a thread from your Watchlist...
1. Click the "X" icon on the left side of the Watchlist drop-down
2. Click the "X" icon on the right side of the full Watchlist page
3. Click the "Stop Watching" or the Binoculars icon (mobile) at the top of the thread
4. Once a thread has gone 30 days without a new reply, it's automatically removed

Mobile Formatting
Our desktop site allows you to format text (bold, italics, etc.) within the text field when writing a post; however, our mobile site requires forum code.

Here's a quick mobile forum code reference guide:



User Profiles
We are close to launching expanded user profiles that will include posting history, stats, awards, etc. I know the question will come up, so I just wanted to include that before it did.

Tech Support & Questions
If you have any questions, problems, notice any bugs, etc. please post a new thread in our Tech Talk forum and we'll be glad to help.
bear2034
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Can we change the logo for this site? Instead of a Block "B', wouldn't a Block "BI" be more appropriate?
75bear
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oskirules said:

Can we change the logo for this site? Instead of a Block "B', wouldn't a Block "BI" be more appropriate?


It's a block IB if you look closely.
TheSouseFamily
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75bear said:

oskirules said:

Can we change the logo for this site? Instead of a Block "B', wouldn't a Block "BI" be more appropriate?


It's a block IB if you look closely.


That would explain why I've been craving a hoagie for the last 24 hours.
STEAKKNIVES4LIFE
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TheSouseFamily
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I'm not seeing embedded tweets from a couple of different posters. I've got the auto-image load set to on and I can see everything else (links, photos, etc). Just an issue with embedded tweets. I'm on an Apple iPhone.
BearGreg
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Staff
TheSouseFamily said:

I'm not seeing embedded tweets from a couple of different posters. I've got the auto-image load set to on and I can see everything else (links, photos, etc). Just an issue with embedded tweets. I'm on an Apple iPhone.

On mobile, photos are replaced with the photo icon until tapped. Sound like you already did it, but you can also turn on Auto-load images do skip this (Main menu > More).

If this is still giving you trouble, let me know and our tech support team will jump in and help out
TheSouseFamily
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BearGreg said:

TheSouseFamily said:

I'm not seeing embedded tweets from a couple of different posters. I've got the auto-image load set to on and I can see everything else (links, photos, etc). Just an issue with embedded tweets. I'm on an Apple iPhone.

On mobile, photos are replaced with the photo icon until tapped. Sound like you already did it, but you can also turn on Auto-load images do skip this (Main menu > More).

If this is still giving you trouble, let me know and our tech support team will jump in and help out


Thank you. The issue seems like it only applies to twitter embeds. For example, on HoopDream's test post on the BB board, I can see the embedded instagram link, a photo, a Vine link, YouTube video, etc. But there's a gray empty box where I assume the tweet was supposed to load. Also, on your own earlier post about GPS use, it was just a similarly empty green box. I haven't hear anyone else mention it so perhaps it's only me. Strange though. I can send one of the tech guys a screenshot if that's useful.

Love the new look and functionality of the new site. Well done! Lots of nice bells and whistles that will be a solid Imorovemt once everyone figures them out.
F5:Josh
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Any chance you were on an internet connect (office, etc) that was blocking Twitter? or, perhaps, do you have an ad-blocker installed in your phone? Either of these can interfere with Twitter embeds.
TheSouseFamily
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F5:Josh said:

Any chance you were on an internet connect (office, etc) that was blocking Twitter? or, perhaps, do you have an ad-blocker installed in your phone? Either of these can interfere with Twitter embeds.


After a bit of tinkering, I think I somehow got it. It appears that it was the ad blocker I use (AdBlock) causing the problem. I disabled it and was subsequently able to see the twitter embeds here on this site. I'd definitely prefer to continue to keep AdBlock turned on though, so I was very happy to see that when I re-enabled AdBlock, the twitter embeds were still appearing (yet blocking ads from other sites, as preferred). I have no clue how that worked but it seems to be working. Thanks for the tip to check my ad blocking software. Turning it off and then back on seems to have magically done the trick.
bear2034
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75bear said:

oskirules said:

Can we change the logo for this site? Instead of a Block "B', wouldn't a Block "BI" be more appropriate?


It's a block IB if you look closely.
Yes, I do seem to see an I there but it's backward. IB Hoagies or Integrative Biology?
HoopDreams
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I have some questions on how to use the new board:

- how do you add emoticons? - I see them at the top, but they don't seem to appear in the post window

- how do you change size of text?

- how do you change font of text?

- how do you change color of text?
LOUMFSG2
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HoopDreams said:

...
- how do you change font of text?
...
I would also like to know if different fonts are available - thanks!
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