Spore

A foreword to current members reading this, I decided to make it since we have a very strong elitist thing going on on xSpore, and a lot of new members. It is constantly updated when I can be bothered, and there is a need to update.
(27/7/08) Cleaned it up a bit to get with the times.

Welcome to xSpore!
You have arrived at the Worlds's largest Spore fansite. We have over 10000 members, by far the most updated news, very good relations and contact with the Spore Dev team, and we have, second-to-most importantly, the most videos and screenshots of all Spore fansites.

Great! Now what?
Now you enjoy the best thing about xSpore. The community!
xSpore has been running for a good few years, and we still have some incredibly active members, such as myself. You'll find most of the active members are VIPs (that is to say, have been here for a long time and are highly respected), but we also have an increasing amount of regular members coming to the site frequently.

Where do I start?
Well, you should probably do some useful posts first.
You have two choices, and I'll probably explain them later in this guide.
1) Post in active topics in the Sporedom section. Only post your opinion on the topic though, not on anyone else's opinions. This is a pretty good way to get started... and besides, you came here for Spore, right?
2) Go search for something specific. This way you can read questions already answered. But, you won't want to post in these. That will just get you in people's bad books.

I've figured out lots about Spore! What now?
Make some friends. xSpore has a strong community, and we're generally very acceptive. Head over to offtopic and see what people are talking about. You may also want to consider going to Spore Games and trying some of the many varied and fantastic forum games invented by our members (due to some morons ruining many games, a lot are now for VIPs/invite only. there are still ones for everyone... but, expect them to be a bit dodgy. I'd go talk in offtopic and get the gamemasters to let you join first). Discuss your soon-to-be creature over at Creature Creation (now we have the CC, why not show off your creatures too!), or head over to Site Discussion to see what's new on xSpore. The choices are limitless. For some real fun, head over to the chatbox. You can find this underneath all the forum sections. It is an instant messenger for all xSpore members, and is a great place to find out the latest news, community issues, and happenings on xSpore.
P.S.: Don't bother going to the Wallpaper contest section. It's pretty inactive and unused now.

What next?
Simple. Sit back, ready your fingers for typing, and enjoy.

Have fun on xSpore!
xStaticwolf

Official Site Rules
As of 2nd February '08. These are the rules written and in effect by order of Dreamache, owner of xSpore.

We are not your conventional Spore community. We allow a lot of things to go on here that would otherwise get you banned at other boards. Such as the following (these are things that are OK for xSporians):

* You can swear. Just don't make it excessive, don't swear for the sake of swearing else you'll get the boot, that's just annoying.
* If it's justified, you can flame. What does flame mean? It means you can crack on someone if they say or do something unusually stupid.
* You have to have a sense of humor. We joke around here and have fun, and sometimes people take things personal, don't.

One golden rule, is you can't register if you're under the age of 13. If you're 12, 11, 10, 9, 8 or younger, don't register. Chances are, you're too immature.

These are things you can't do:

* No spamming. What is spam? Spam is either continually posting replies in our messageboard or chatroom simply for the sake of posting messages, OR spamming advertisements. None of that is allowed and you will get an immediate ban.
* No *excessive* behavior. We deem *excessive* behavior as being or doing any one particular thing, excessively. So if you swear excessively, you get the boot. If you talk excessively about your ex-girlfriend, you get the boot. Excessive = annoying.
* No starting "I'm leaving" threads. Sometimes crybabies like to start threads letting everyone know why they're leaving, don't do that or you will get IP banned from the site. Not only will you not be able to view the messageboard and your messageboard account perm-banned, you won't even be able to access the site. Don't be one of those guys.
* Nothing illegal. This goes without saying, don't post any illegal content (through any kind of media: text, pictures, video, links, etc..).

And that's pretty much it. Follow the rules and have fun.

The Chatbox
As SimsArmy says later in this post, "The chatbox is for people who have already posted". This is true in most cases.
The chatbox is different to the forum however. The chatbox, being a realtime chat, is active and generally a very good place to find out the real attitude of people on xSpore. You'd be surprised how many of these incredibly serious seeming people are actually very laidback. However, there are a few rules you should follow, especially seeing as xDreamache put certain features back in it.
1) Do not spam! Spamming here is worse than spamming on the forums. You shouldn't do it on either, and especially not the chatbox. It is almost an instant week ban now.
2) (27/7/08) Smilies were removed a long time ago. You'll have trouble getting any pictures in there now. Just don't bother, it's annoying.
3) Do not post links that people find annoying. Once you've got some respect, posting a "Joke" link or too is fine, but never, EVER go over the top. 3 joke links is enough. People won't click your links after that, serious or not, since they don't want to be rickrolled/youfail.org/etc.
4) In the chatbox, you have a new reputation. You have a bit of reputation from the forum, but in all truth, you still have to work your way up this new hierarchy. Don't butt into peoples conversation, be subtle, and feel free to express you opinions here. They'll be accepted a lot more than in a post.

If you combine the Chatbox with the Forum itself, you'll find yourself becoming well known rapidly.

We also have flashchat now! Click here. Unfortunately, it's often not working properly, and you'll find yourself unable to log in. It's probably safer to stick with the chatbox at the bottem of the page, although flashchat is faster, cleaner and more versatile.

Warnings & Advice
xSpore is very, VERY laid back on rules and social acceptablility. However, we do have limits, and our elitist community means you should be very careful.
Rules: (these are unwritten rules. You should probably follow them, as they're more serious than the official rules. No joke).
The Head admin is Dreamache. He has said that so long as your not over-the-top and be careful with what you say, anything is fine. You can swear, insult people, joke around, we don't mind too much. Just don't swear or insult too much. Not only are you risking getting banned, your risking your reputation.
Racism, stereotypes, and religion is a very border-line subject. Be careful when talking about these. Using racism as an insult knowingly will result in bannings, stereotypes can end in bans, and religion is a very, VERY personal subject, so discuss it seriously and cautiously. (Furthermore with the july update, religion is ever more prominant. I urge you to simply avoid the topics altogether. If someone else posts, it doesn't mean you have to. Don't feed the trolls).
Spam, posting shit stuff repeatedly, flaming, trolling and disrespectings moderators and admins, is almsot an instant ban. The odd flame war is fine, but if you carry on a flame war to extrememes, expect to be banned.
Try to avoid double posting. It's annoying. If you want to say something, but you have just posted, click "Edit" on the post you just made. This will let you go into the post and put in new stuff, delete stuff, delete the entire post altogether, etc. Double posting won't get you banned, but it sure does peeve people off.
Bumping is a two sided issue. Bumping a thread is better if the thread was last posted in 3 weeks ago. This saves people complaining about repeated threads. However, after three weeks, feel free to create a new thread. If you bump after three weeks, people are likely to complain. It's far safer to just make a new one.
Finally, if you intend to make a thread about consoles, please read the FAQ regarding console wars. (In other words, don't)

Community Advice:
Take it from someone who was hated when he joined. Don't be cocky, be subtle or silent. Make all your posts very neutral. Feel free to post your opinions, but don't comment on other people's negatively. Once you have a nice high post count, you've made some friends, and people know who you are, feel free to make opinions of people's opinions. Respect is everything round here. Don't insult long-time members, because thats a 85% chance of being rejected fromt he community. And remember the golden rule. If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all.

Signatures
Anyone who has ever used a forum will know a signature is that small space that appears under all your posts. It's just a nice way of leaving your mark on the post alongside your name at the top.
Recently, Dreamache allowed picture's in signatures. It is currently being trialed (22/7/08) to see if he will make it pernament. You may think "Dude, I'm going to have the biggest, most obnoxious and awesomest signature" in the world, but that will just get it removed.
The problem prior to allowing pictures was that it used a lot of bandwidth and people would go over the top.
Dreamache made it clear that certain rules should be followed, the main rule being that it must not be too large.
How I have interpreted it is that:
-They can be large horizontally, but probably stick within 800 pixels across.
-They shouldn't be too large vertically, only maybe 300 or pushing it at 400.
-.gif (animated) images are allowed, but don't give us epilepsy.
-Don't use .bmp since it's a huge file size.
-Keep your images as low file size as possible. 1Mb is WAY too much. 200Kb should suffice anyone.
-Your limited to 4 images in your signature. Combined, they should follow the above rules.
-Signature links are fine, and if someone's stupid enough to click your rickroll, laugh at them.

Some helpful facts from Moderator SimsArmy:
1. The chatbox is for people who have already posted, people use your posts as a way of determining their personality. Furthermore, posting in the forums is a much better way of gaining attention and friends.

2. People with posts are freqently regarded better than others, so don't get into a hissy fit when you get questioned because you are new.

3. If you can't spell then use MS Word! It's quick to do, and it makes you look smarter. Good spellers are taken more seriously, simply because people can understand you. (Staticwolf note: Advice from Waiting_4_Spore, Firefox also has a spellchecker! Right click the box once your done, then "spell check this field")

4. If your not mature, then pretend to be. No one wants children running around.

5. The search button is your friend. (Staticwolf note: Use the right one. Check further down the guide)

6. Google is also your friend. Don't post something unless you already know all the facts.(Staticwolf note: Eh... maybe a bit too much. Site search feature should suffice)

F.A.Q.:
I am new and have a question, who can I ask?
Updated
There are 3 FAQ sections. The site FAQ (See navbar on the left), an FAQ in the "Sporedom" section of the forums (July update, this thread is pretty useless. Search or make a new thread), and this thread. Due to discussion amoung the VIPs, we urge you to keep all questions within the 3 areas mentioned. Any questions posted here will be answered promptly. Once enough Spore questions have been accumluated, I'll make another section on this thread for a Spore FAQ in specific.

Someone is being mean to/flaming me
First off, tell the person that you want them to stop. We like to have fun, and sometimes get over excited. If the person does not stop, ask a mod or admin to come and speak with him/her. You'll find your name may get insulted a few times, and if it annoys you, ask an admin to change it to something you want. Don't bug admins though, they have better things to do than go round changing peoples names.

Some of the things in this thread conflict with each other
Please PM me what conflicts with what. You can do this by clicking my name at the top of the post and choosing "Send a Private Message to xStaticwolf". I'll get to it ASAP.

How do I make a thread?
When your looking at the board (not a topic. What your reading is a topic), just below where it says "Spore Release Date: September 7, 2008" there is a button to start a new thread. However, if your going to make a new thread, don't make it COMPLETELY pointless. That's for drama

What is the Big Brother program?
Apart from being a (rubbish) TV show, it is also a newbie assistance group on xSpore. Click here for more information.
*Somewhat abandoned. Nobody took notice of it, and it never really fired up*
*July update: Abandoned totally. Don't bother. All links removed.*

How can I send a PM?
Click the "Personal Messages" link. It's right next to "Log Out" and right under the site search bar. Then, on the toolbar on the left, click on "Send new message", enter the name of who you want to send it to, title, text body, and click send! All done! Alternatively, you can click the person you want to send to's name in the forum and click "Send a private message to [Username]", which will enter the name for you.

How do I become a VIP?
First off, there is little special about VIP. Seriously. However, if you REALLY want to become a VIP, this is how it works. First off, your going to need at least 400-500 posts. Then, you can ask (or wait for) a VIP to nominate you to become a VIP. VIPs will discuss whether you can or can not, judging by post quantity, quality and general attitude. If accepted, you'll be notified by the badge and new forum section. If your rejected, well... Nothing will happen.
A good way to get this is by having a good start. Consider joining the Big Brother system (look further up the post). By doing as a VIP says, you can't fail.

What are the "Console Wars"?
The console wars were started a while back, when the next gen started. They were basically arguements over which console was best, and fanboys always ended up in flamewars, with trolls, noobs and all round idiots not helping. Nowadays, Console Wars regard to any thread debating "The best console". If you know what's good for you, don't start a thread on consoles. You have been warned.

What does "Stay off my lawn you damn kids!" mean?
It means stay off Anon's property or your gonna get your ass whooped, boy!

By Request...
Glossary

• Newbie: Someone new to something.
• Newb: Short for Newbie.
• Noob: An internet insult. The cause, weapon and result of many flame wars.
• Flame: To flame (flaming) is to be aggressive and insult/disrespect another user.
• Flame Wars: Where at least 2 people are flaming each other.
• Troll: To troll (trolling) is to purposefully try to cause flame wars.
• Spam: A useless message, either by being irrelevant to a topic or by repeating a word where unneeded.
• VIP: Very Important Person. On xSpore, a respected member of the community.
• Double/Triple/Quadrupal/etc Post: The act of posting the respective number of posts straight after one another.
• Bump: To bump (Bumping) is to post in an old thread, bringing it back to the top of the forum section.

Search feature!
I thought I already mentioned this. If I did, oh well. You got it twice.

There are two search bars. That one right at the top-right, just below "Community". That's not the one you want. That searches the site for articles (like on the front page) for the words you type in. Don't use it, unless you know the article title, which is unlikely. The other one searches the forums. While on the forums, it's just 2 clicks directly left of "log out", underneath "community" and the forum directory (That bit that says Spore Community>Spore Board>etc). This is worth while and will search every single topic/post ever made (if not deleted). You can also search usernames, which will generally bring up threads that user made.

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Heya, I am Simsarmy.

The Moderators are here to help. If you need to figure out how to do something, or simply ask a general question, then don't hesitate to contact us.
Moderators are signified by Bold Usernames. Super Moderators are also signified by Red Usernames.
The Admins are not the people you want to contact, they monitor the site. They have assigned Moderators for dealing with users at the site.

===

I also want to give you some friendly tips that could move you from noob, to VIP.

1. The chatbox is for people who have already posted, people use your posts as a way of determining their personality. Furthermore, posting in the forums is a much better way of gaining attention and friends.

2. People with posts are freqently regarded better than others, so don't get into a hissy fit when you get questioned because you are new.

3. If you can't spell then use MS Word! It's quick to do, and it makes you look smarter. Good spellers are taken more seriously, simply because people can understand you.

4. If your not mature, then pretend to be. No one wants children running around.

5. The search button is your friend.

6. Google is also your friend. Don't post something unless you already know all the facts.

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if i can post here...

great job, now new comers shall understand this site more.. properly.

i didn't know about the RED and BOLD stuff.

soo ummm.. thanks, for helping new comers and demi-new comers

PS: i said new comers just to not say newb/newbie/noob.

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my signature owns you and you can't argue about that >:C

yea this is a great idea.perfect for newcomers,but maybe we should add the definitions of newb/n00b and nub just to clarify that point with them

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Sentio aliquos togatos contra me conspirare.

Static, has come along way for those of you who didn't know him when he was a loud spamming newbie,, who had a war with the infamous USD, the war was long and hard but static came out on top after a lengthy flaming war, the flames were so bright that they, for a few seconds, out shined every galaxy in the universe, who left the loser to be exiled, and that children is the legend of USD..........

But anyway, I'm a mod so don't get on my bad side, muhaha......

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Are you sure Newbs will know that USD is not the US currency, but Universal Spore Dude

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The gem was born of evil's fire. The gem shall be his portal. He comes to claim. He comes to sire. The end of all things mortal!

Someone wants mod No but really its cool man you did a really good job.

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~Counting bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the WAR drums~

/facepalm

Its Ultimate spore dude.

Static did a good job.

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tick...tick...tick the time goes by
tick...tick...tick the clock blows up
Feed my pet!

Is that why hes #1 on the list? He spammed the shit out of the forums?

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~Counting bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the WAR drums~

Thats me!!!

I met USD once. But i did hate his new game every day thing.

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tick...tick...tick the time goes by
tick...tick...tick the clock blows up
Feed my pet!

Pssst! Firefox comes with a great spell checker! It's a lot easier then using ms word every single time.

Great job, staticwolf. Excellent guide for starting up, I wish I had this for reference when I was starting up. Quite a departure from "Go home, nobody likes you!"

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CEASE THIS FAGGOTRY AT ONCE!

Rawr.

Thats probably one of the minority of times I can actually say - What a good encouraging and productive post.

Good writeup , also pretty honest regarding what the communities like so people know in advance but just a suggestion to all, lets give newbies the benefit of the doubt. Remember when your new the concept of spore was so unique and you had a shed load of questions.

Anyway its good to see a friendly coherent welcome for site newcomers.

Finally good to see you used the term Newbs instead of Noobs (Personally I think Newbies would best but its not a big deal) because of what NOOB actually means and the fact that most people that use the term noob in place of newbie are, well lets not go there

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1: Where ignorance is bliss, 'Tis folly to be wise. - Thomas Gray

2: “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you””
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqnvxP0H3lM&NR=1

I never spammed
The worst thing that happened was I was too cocky and Danzavare didn't like it. It turned into a flame war, some people turned against me, and I left for a while...
Proof is in the posting. Go to modding, I started "Would Spore really be Moddable?" back when I joined. I was cocky in that post, but, it wasn't spam ^^

And the "Go Home, Nobody likes you" thing came around cause no-body liked Manbutter and everybody wanted him to go away. It just happened to become my phrase...

The majoritry of this guide was written from experience

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Nice post Static.

It took me quite a while to get known around xSpore, I think I am relatively well known now.

One thing i learned was Don't try get known quickly !
Don't go around spamming in every thread just to get your post count up, post well and you will be recognized, also DO NOT spam in the chatbox, just had to emphasize that point.

If I look at the first posts i made it makes me see how Newbish I was when I first joined xSpore. I think I've come along way
For the older members, go take a look at your first few posts You'll be surprised.

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Only counts back 500 psots ;_;
One of my earliest threads was "Would Spore Really be Moddable?" Made it a few days after I joined.

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There is a way to do it though, I cant remember , Andy knows how.

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