As you browse the forums, you might see that a few threads have special prefixes. These are designed to highlight threads that are either particularly important, or contain a specific type of content. They also make sorting easier: if you want to search for all threads of a specific type (for example, you want to see all of the reviews), then, all you need to do is select 'Review' in the list of thread prefixes in the Board Search options .
So, without further ado, here are all of the thread prefixes (in roughly decreasing order of importance). Hopefully, most of these prefixes will be self-explanatory - although, I've outlined the purpose of each one anyway:
Staff Prefixes
The first two prefixes on the list are used to mark particularly important threads. These can only be applied by staff members - and, you'll generally only find them on pinned threads.
Policy
Threads with this prefix contain rules and guidelines specific to the forum in which they are posted. If a forum has these, then we suggest that you give them a quick read before starting any threads in that forum.
Reference
These threads contain useful information about the forum in which they are posted. For example, they might contain FAQs or introductions to the subject matter, or templates which you can use when starting your own threads.
Srs Bsns
This prefix denotes threads which, in the opinion of the staff, cover particularly controversial issues. In the interests of maintaining decorum, these threads will be somewhat more tightly moderated than usual - particularly with regards to incivility and trolling. Furthermore, any low-effort one-liners and sarcastic replies are to be avoided if they can easily be misconstrued as personal attacks. (Jokes and lighter tones in general are still allowed; however, they mustn't target an individual or group's ideas, or otherwise be provocative in nature)
[NOTE: For now, I'm being pretty selective in how I'm applying this prefix. At this stage, I've only applied it to long-running issues that have dominated multiple news cycles, and topics about general issues that aren't tied to any specific event]
Old News
Sometimes, an old news article will be revived. This is permitted; however, it's discouraged unless you have new information to add. To avoid confusing members into thinking that old news is new again, any revived news threads will be marked with this prefix.
Member Prefixes (General)
The following two prefixes are used to denote specific types of content. These can by applied by anybody (members or staff) - and they're available in the entirety of the "Topical Discussions" and "Recreation and Media" sections of the board:
What If?
These threads are for the discussion of alternate history, and other hypothetical scenarios. These can take a variety of forms - including regular discussions, full timelines, or "Alternate History Challenges", where the aim is to explore whether a particular outcome is plausible from a given starting point.
Review
These threads contain a review of a product or service. There's no set format for these reviews: each member has their own reviewing style, and you're free to emulate theirs or come up with your own!
How To
These threads are intended to teach practical skills and/or knowledge. They will typically take the format of a tutorial, explaining clearly and in steps how to do something.
(NOTE: This prefix is also active in the Community Showcase, so that it can be used for graphics tutorials, etc.)
Load Warning
These threads contain large numbers of images, that are likely to cause loading issues for people with slow connections (or eat up a lot of data for people who are browsing on mobiles). If a thread doesn't currently contain a large number of images, but is likely to do so in the future, then it's wise to apply this prefix pre-emptively.
Member Prefixes (Specific)
The following four prefixes are used to denote specific types of content, within a specific part of the board. These can by applied by anybody (members or staff) - but they're only available for use within one or two specific sub-sections (see each prefix for details):
Recipe
These threads contain recipes for food products. They can be in written or video form - and the topic starter may or may not have tried them out themselves (in my case, usually not ).
This prefix is only available in the 'Food and Drink' sub-forum of Health and Lifestyle.
Fav Version
These threads are about which version of a song you prefer. You're given multiple versions of the song (for example, the original and a cover) - and then you can vote on your favourite.
This prefix is only available in the 'Music and Audio' sub-forum of Entertainment.
NSFW
The 'Jokes and Internet Humour' section has a greater tolerance for family-unfriendly material than the rest of the board. However, some members will still want to avoid these; therefore, any jokes that are NSFW (due to sexual references, bad language, or anything else that wouldn't be found in a PG-13 movie) must be marked with this prefix.
This prefix is only available in the 'Jokes and Internet Humour' sub-forum.
If you have any questions about these thread prefixes - then, please ask here, and we'll do our best to answer them !
So, without further ado, here are all of the thread prefixes (in roughly decreasing order of importance). Hopefully, most of these prefixes will be self-explanatory - although, I've outlined the purpose of each one anyway:
Staff Prefixes
The first two prefixes on the list are used to mark particularly important threads. These can only be applied by staff members - and, you'll generally only find them on pinned threads.
Policy
Threads with this prefix contain rules and guidelines specific to the forum in which they are posted. If a forum has these, then we suggest that you give them a quick read before starting any threads in that forum.
Reference
These threads contain useful information about the forum in which they are posted. For example, they might contain FAQs or introductions to the subject matter, or templates which you can use when starting your own threads.
Srs Bsns
This prefix denotes threads which, in the opinion of the staff, cover particularly controversial issues. In the interests of maintaining decorum, these threads will be somewhat more tightly moderated than usual - particularly with regards to incivility and trolling. Furthermore, any low-effort one-liners and sarcastic replies are to be avoided if they can easily be misconstrued as personal attacks. (Jokes and lighter tones in general are still allowed; however, they mustn't target an individual or group's ideas, or otherwise be provocative in nature)
[NOTE: For now, I'm being pretty selective in how I'm applying this prefix. At this stage, I've only applied it to long-running issues that have dominated multiple news cycles, and topics about general issues that aren't tied to any specific event]
Old News
Sometimes, an old news article will be revived. This is permitted; however, it's discouraged unless you have new information to add. To avoid confusing members into thinking that old news is new again, any revived news threads will be marked with this prefix.
Member Prefixes (General)
The following two prefixes are used to denote specific types of content. These can by applied by anybody (members or staff) - and they're available in the entirety of the "Topical Discussions" and "Recreation and Media" sections of the board:
What If?
These threads are for the discussion of alternate history, and other hypothetical scenarios. These can take a variety of forms - including regular discussions, full timelines, or "Alternate History Challenges", where the aim is to explore whether a particular outcome is plausible from a given starting point.
Review
These threads contain a review of a product or service. There's no set format for these reviews: each member has their own reviewing style, and you're free to emulate theirs or come up with your own!
How To
These threads are intended to teach practical skills and/or knowledge. They will typically take the format of a tutorial, explaining clearly and in steps how to do something.
(NOTE: This prefix is also active in the Community Showcase, so that it can be used for graphics tutorials, etc.)
Load Warning
These threads contain large numbers of images, that are likely to cause loading issues for people with slow connections (or eat up a lot of data for people who are browsing on mobiles). If a thread doesn't currently contain a large number of images, but is likely to do so in the future, then it's wise to apply this prefix pre-emptively.
Member Prefixes (Specific)
The following four prefixes are used to denote specific types of content, within a specific part of the board. These can by applied by anybody (members or staff) - but they're only available for use within one or two specific sub-sections (see each prefix for details):
Recipe
These threads contain recipes for food products. They can be in written or video form - and the topic starter may or may not have tried them out themselves (in my case, usually not ).
This prefix is only available in the 'Food and Drink' sub-forum of Health and Lifestyle.
Fav Version
These threads are about which version of a song you prefer. You're given multiple versions of the song (for example, the original and a cover) - and then you can vote on your favourite.
This prefix is only available in the 'Music and Audio' sub-forum of Entertainment.
NSFW
The 'Jokes and Internet Humour' section has a greater tolerance for family-unfriendly material than the rest of the board. However, some members will still want to avoid these; therefore, any jokes that are NSFW (due to sexual references, bad language, or anything else that wouldn't be found in a PG-13 movie) must be marked with this prefix.
This prefix is only available in the 'Jokes and Internet Humour' sub-forum.
If you have any questions about these thread prefixes - then, please ask here, and we'll do our best to answer them !
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Moonface (in 'Woman runs 49 red lights in ex's car')' Wrote: If only she had ran another 20 lights.
(Thanks to Nilla for the avatar, and Detective Osprey for the sig!)
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