Q: Why do I have to enter the characters in an image to create content?
Yeah, sorry, we know it's annoying. But even more annoying is spam content created by automated bots. Entering these characters is an attempt to stop, or at least slow down, attempts by spammers to create bogus content.
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Q: How should I use categories?
Relationships between tips are determined by the categories. It's important to assign your tips several relevant categories so that they receive proper exposure. When creating a tip, you can use existing categories or you can create new categories as appropriate.
Once you start typing in a category name, a small window will appear to the right of the category entry field. Existing categories which begin with the letters you have typed so far will be shown in this window in the Auto Complete section. Simply click on one of the presented category names, and the name will be entered into the field. This is the easiest way to make use of existing categories. In addition, once a known category name is entered, the window will display Related caegories to the one already entered. Click on a related category name to have this category name entered into the first available empty category field.
If you want to use keyboard shortcuts, you can actually select categories without having to use the mouse at all. Once the categories are shown in the window to the right of the category entry field, you can use the up and down arrow keys to scroll through the results. Once you find an entry you want, use the left arrow key to pull it back over. If you press the left arrow key in the Auto Complete section, the selected category will be placed in the category name that you are currently editing. If you press the left arrow key in the Related section, the selected category will be placed in the first available empty category field.
When entering new categories, try to make them specific to one thing only. That way, they can be easily reused. For example, if entering a tip about a bar in Boulder Colorado, do not create a category called "Boulder Colorado Bars", instead make use of three separate categories: "Boulder", "Colorado", "Bars". By doing this, a future tip about a restaurant in Boulder Colorado can make use of the existing "Boulder" and "Colorado" categories, and a relationship will exist between these two tips... which makes finding related content much easier
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Q: Can I include HTML in my content?
Yes, in a limited fashion. We won't render HTML that you enter directly because the rendering of user-entered HTML opens the door to all sorts of security-related issues; to both our site and to the users of our site. But we do offer a Wiki-like editing format that allows you to make use of some HTML tags. If you are in doubt as to how things will look once entered, make use the "Preview" button found when adding or editing tips and comments. Here is the list of available options and how to use them:
- Italics:
You can create text in italics by using two single quotes (not double quotes) around the text which you want to turn into italics. For example, entering text like so:
this is ''text in italics''
will result in the text being shown as:
this is text in italics.
- Bold:
You can create text in bold by using three single quotes around the text which you want to turn into bold. For example, entering text like so:
this is '''text in bold'''
will result in the text being shown as:
this is text in bold.
- Bold & Italics:
You can create text in bold italics by using five single quotes around the text which you want to turn into bold italics. For example, entering text like so:
this is '''''text in bold and italics'''''
will result in the text being shown as:
this is text in bold and italics.
- Links:
You can create links to external URLs by entering the full path of a URL. This must be preceeded by http://. For example, entering text like so:
http://www.google.com/
will result in the text being shown as:
http://www.google.com/
where clicking on the link will take the user to www.google.com. An important thing to remember is that when entering a tip, there is already a separate field for a link. Make sure to use this field too. Using it improves the ability to search for other tips related to the given URL.
- Code:
You can create text inside the <pre> tags for use in showing code (text in this tag is shown using a monotype font and every space entered is shown... unlike in the case of text outside this tag). To indicate the text that should be shown in this tag, surround the text using two asterisks (**). For example, if entering code with spaces to show indentation, and the double asterisks are not used, your code will look like this:
function someFuntion(x) {
doSomethingToX(x);
}
But if this content is surrounded in double asterisks like so:
**function someFuntion(x) {
doSomethingToX(x);
}**
It will look like this:
function someFuntion(x) {
doSomethingToX(x);
}
You can include other formats (those described above) inside of the code element. However, an important point to remember is that the <pre> tag is an HTML block element, so do not try to use it inside of a paragraph of text; it should only be used on blocks of text. When in doubt, use the "Preview" button to see how things will look.
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Q: Can I include images in my content?
Yes, you can! See the Images section of the FAQ for more information on this subject.
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Q: My content is edited/gone, what happened?
Your content probably violated some of the content guidelines laid out in the terms of use agreement. Either that or your content was just too lame to bear looking at. If you notice your content is gone and you think you have not violated the content guidelines, contact us and let us know the details. We will look into the situation.
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Q: I am unable to preview new tips and comments, what gives?
We show the preview in a new window. It's probably not showing up because you have a pop-up blocker. If a pop-up blocker is keeping this window from being opened, you should get a message about this in your browser. If you look at the details of the message, your browser should offer the option to allow pop-ups from the tipstrs domain. If you allow popups for this domain, the preview will then work.
We understand that some people are, rightly so, loathe to allow pop-ups; even for a single domain, due to unscrupulous sites using this as a back-door to showing unwanted ads. You have our word, we will never show ads in this manner, nor will we ever show a pop-up except in such cases as when you take a specific action (such as previewing new content).
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Q: Can I edit content once I create it?
Yes! You can edit tips and comments, but only if you are a registered user.
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Q: Can I see all of my tips in one place?
Yes, but only if you have created a user account. Once you create a user account, you will see a link to "Your Home Page" in the header of the page. Click on that link and you'll see all of your content... and more!
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Q: Can I post adults-only content?
No, this violates our terms of use agreement and may get you banned (even as an anonymous user) from tipstrs. Please respect all of our users and do not post objectionable content.
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