How do I do links, italics, spoilers, and things like that in the forums?

These are the raw codes:

Bold - [b] This text will appear bold[/b]

Italics - [i] This text will appear in italics[/i]

Links - [url=http://www.domain.com]This text will be the link[/url]

Bulleted Lists - [list]
[*]Item 1
[*]Item 2
[*]Item 3
[/list]
Email - [email=name@domain.com]name@domain.com[/email]

Pictures - [img]http://www.domain.com/pictures/pic123.jpg[/img]
Picture tags only work in a couple of areas (like The Rec Room) and will be automatically turned into links in most places.

Quote - [quote]This text would be quoted.[/quote]
Do not include more than 9 quotes in a post; if you do, the tags will not work.

Spoiler - [SPOILER]This text will be hidden until the user highlights it.[/SPOILER]
There is a special rule for making spoilers within quote tags work correctly. If you want part or all of a quote in spoiler bars you must have a complete set of spoiler tags inside the quote tag. Spoiler tags have to start and end inside the quote tag. For example:

The Survivor insider said:
[QUOTE]Well I just found out [SPOILER]that the winner of Survivor 28: North Pole is Mary-Kate Olsen[/SPOILER][/QUOTE]
[SPOILER]So I guess she does end up eating Ashley after all.[/SPOILER]

What's the difference between "add reply" and "fast reply"?

"Add reply" offers a little more guidance on formatting your post; "fast reply" is, well, faster and requires a little more experience. If you are not familiar with using IBF/BB Code to format your text, we recommend using add reply until you get the hang of it. You might also want to play around in the Test Zone where you can practice using formatting buttons/tags.

Clicking add reply will load a new screen with a large text entry box, buttons that will insert formatting tags for you, and a preview option so that you can see what your your post will look like when it is submitted. Additionally, below the text window is a "BB Code" button; clicking this opens a pop-up listing all of the available tags. Below the reply window, the last 10 posts in the thread are displayed for reference.

Clicking fast reply will open up a posting box on the topic view screen, eliminating the time required to load a full posting screen. In this mode you must enter any BB code manually, with one exception. If the reply window is open and you highlight text in another post on-screen, an "Add Selected Text As Quote" button will appear. Clicking this will paste the text you highlighted into the window with the proper quote tags.

When in fast reply mode you can switch to the add reply mode by pressing the "More Options" button. This will also show you a preview of your post. If you wish, you can have the "fast reply" window expanded by default in every thread you view; this option is in the board settings of your control panel.

What is the Rich Text Editor?

In add reply mode you can access the Rich Text Editor (RTE), which is a WYSIWYG editor. The button on the far right of the toolbar allows you to toggle back and forth between seeing the text with the BB Code displayed and seeing the formatted post in the RTE. You can see the RTE version by default by going to "My Controls" and changing your board settings. Note that the RTE is not compatible with all browsers.

I messed something up. How can I edit my post?

Above any post that you have made, you should see an "Edit" link which will allow you to edit the text. If you cannot see the link on your posts, chances are you are not logged in to the forums. You must be logged in in order for the forums to know who you are and to show the edit link.

Please don't edit to comment on posts that come after your own. It's confusing to people reading the thread later, and the posters you're replying to will most likely miss what you've said. Use the edit option to fix a tag or amend what you've said, not to reply to other posters.