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The Ultimate Guid
Chatterbox: Chirp at Cricket
The Ultimate Guid
The Ultimate Guide to the CB
Okay, okay, I know that there have been a few of these in the past, but I think that there are a few things that aren't in the older ones that new CBers need to know about, and I'd rather not comment on an old thread. Anyway, feel free to add on terms, shorthand, and rules. Admins, you too, if you have anything.
Glossary
CB (noun, abbreviation): Chatterbox!
CBer (noun): Anyone who goes on CB. Ex; Somebody, Joan B. of Arc, St. Owl, Esthelle.
Admin (noun): The amazebubble people that run CB, post all are comments, and make this all possible! Three cheers to Admins!
AE (noun, abbreviation): Alter ego. An alternate name or personality that some CBers have and post as for a little fun or a different way of expressing themselves. Ex; Shifting Sands, Devil Owl, Puck. Note: AEs should be used in moderation and only on threads where it is appropriate.
RP (noun, abbreviation): Roleplay. A story in which multiple CBers participate. Each participant has a character which they create based on the topic and then everyone works together and writes a comunal story from the prespective of their respective character. Usually written in first person, but it's not a requirement. Ex; "Magic RP" by Hermione Granger (also the longest thread in the Inkwell!).
Charrie (noun, shorthand): Character, often used in a RP. Ex; "Anyway, here are my charries."
Charrie Sheet (noun, term): A sheet in a RP that one uses to introduce/create one's charrie.
RR (noun, abbreviation): Round Robin. Like a RP, multiple people work together on a story. However, more like a standard book, everyone takes turns writing "chapters", not nessecarily from different POVs. For example, CBer A might write: Jane fell into the pit. Then, CBer B might continue: In the pit was a giant snake. Usually, the posts are longer than this, they are of no specified length. Ex; "Anything RR" by Echo.
CBer Story (noun, term): A story in which one person writes a story in which CBers are characters. Usually the writer will ask for applications to be in the story. Ex; "CB Camp" by the Camp Manager (AKA Abigail S).
Ski Lodge (noun, term): A type of CB story in which there is a secret murderer and all other participants die. Participants guess the murderer as the story goes on. Commonly written under an alias for added spookiness. The originals took place in ski lodges, but they do not have to. Ex; "Hotel L'Faye" by the Teller of Tales (AKA Shadow Dragon).
CAPTCHA (noun): The little spam box at the bottom of a page when you submit a post or a comment. Some people name theirs and post what they see. Ex; Sir Galahad, Meox, Fruity.
Character RP (noun): I don't really think there's a name for this, but this is when one participates in a roleplay in which you comment as your character as if you were them. Bad definition, sorry. I don't really know how to explain it. Most of the old Warriors threads are like this. Ex; "Welcome to LakeClan!" by Secretleaf.
SI (noun, abbreviation): Secret Identity. A game in which every player takes on a name usually based on a theme (for example, in a Food SI one might be Fried Chicken) and then tries to guess who others are and avoid being guessed. Ex; Disney and Pixar SI by Mulan. In fact, let's have a mini one now. Try to guess who I am!
OP (noun, abbreviation): Over Powered or Over Powering. When a character in a RP is super-powerful and it's not fun for other people to RP with them because they sort of can do anything and take of the RP. One example of an OP character could be in an Element RP. The OP charrie could have water, ice, frost, and be able to read minds. Sometimes it's easy to get carried away and not realize your charrie is a bit OP. The others in the RP can gently remind you.
Basic Roleplay Ettiquite
1. Use proper grammar and spelling at all times. (This goes for everywhere on CB too.)
2. If you join a RP, make sure to post frequently. If you absolutely are too busy, say you are dropping out and don't just drift away and assume nobody will care.
3. Obey the rules of the RP maker. Ex; If they say, "No magical powers" do not make a charrie that has magical powers.
4. Avoid god-modding. This is when one "uses" another person's charrie. Obviously a little bit is nessecary so that there can be dialouge and plot, but do not make huge desicions or events on behalf of another's charrie.
5. When you post, write a sufficient amount. "I fell off the stairs and broke my leg." Is NOT an acceptable post.
6. Okay, this is really important. (New CBers, pay attention.) Do not join a RP that has already started unless the maker says it's OK. If a RP is nine pages in, on page 39 of the Inkwell, and from 2012, don't join it!
7. Have fun roleplaying, guys!
Areas of CB
This Month: An center to talk about things from this month's issue of Cricket! (If you don't get Cricket this one might not make sense.) Did you like the cover art? Want to know more about one particular author? Fangirling that you got into the Letterbox? This Month's the place for that!
Chirp at Cricket (CaC): Supposed to be used for talking to Cricket, Ladybug, and all those other bugs. But nowadays we CBers fill it with silly games, sillier announcements, and other supercalifragalisticexpialadocious things! (Like this thread!)
Blab about Books (BaB): Well, the name sort of speaks for itself, doesn't it? Do you love books? (Who doesn't!) Come on down to BaB and chat, play trivias, and fangirl over y'all's fictional crushes!
Down to Earth (DtE): A place to talk about things in the world around you, like the Presidential Election, school, Global Warming, and anything else! You can also stuff it to bursting with the like of CaC's fare! Plus, a great place for surveys, chatting about NaNo, and announcements.
Puddings Place (PP): Those of you who read Cricket will know that Pudding is a theatre-loving firefly. Thereby her area is for anything and everything theatrical! Looking for audition tips? Loved that musical you just saw? PP is the place for you! Also, feel free to add Ski Lodges, SIs, games, and CB stories here!
Inkwell: The writing center! Looking for RPs? RRs? Need advice on a story? Stuck with writer's block? This area is full to bursting with creative people! The busiest place on CB!
Kyngdom: (If you don't get Cricket, you'll be seriously confuzzled here.) Kyngdom is hard to explain... to find out about it, go to: http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/kyngdom/about
How to Post a Picture on CB
Just use the file attatchement feature! (Thanks for that, Admins!) But if you want to do it the long way (and post multiple at a time), do this:
1. Search Google for "Image Hosting Site". You should get a result called Postimage.org. Click on it.
2. Follow the directions on the site to choose a photo. Click "UPLOAD".
3. There should be a little link to your image. Click on that, too.
4. Now your picture will be on the screen by itself, big and beautiful. Copy/paste it onto CB. Voila! You're done!
So that's about it, everybuggy! I'll add stuff and you can, too!
submitted by Maker of Guides, Handbookland
(March 7, 2016 - 12:17 pm)
(March 7, 2016 - 12:17 pm)
(September 16, 2017 - 8:44 pm)
(September 24, 2017 - 2:16 pm)
(September 24, 2017 - 2:17 pm)
Leafpool's Mini Guide to Topping
1) Admins cannot top threads for you; they have no control about where a thread lands after it's posted.
2) If you've made a thread, it'll be up top for a while until someone posts on it. Then it'll "bottom". Many people think their threads have disappeared when this happens; not true! Your thread is simply sent to a back page. To spare yourself the hassle of searching through dozens of pages to find it, try this handy trick:
-Click "Submitted by" twice in the section (ex: DtE) that you posted your thread on. It'll show up, along with all the other threads that have been bottomed recently. Then you can top it.
3) A thread that has been bottomed will not top until the comment that bottomed it shows up.
For example, say I made a thread on Inkwell. The next day, it wasn't on the first page of Inkwell so I used the "Submitted by" trick to find it. One person had commented on the thread, but it was only to hours ago so the Admins hadn't seen & approved it yet--it hadn't shown up on my thread. No matter how many times I tried to top my thread, it wouldn't top.
Is this making sense? Basically, even if six people have commented on your thread, unless their posts have shown up the thread won't top.
4) If you don't know how to top something, basically what you do is fill out the name box with "top" instead of your name. You can do it with the age & location boxes, too. And you can say top in the comment box. Then, post your comment and the thread you posted it on should move up a bit.
Or, you can be more creative with it. Some people have topping names for themselves--Leeli's is Toppi Wingfeather, and you can see mine down there. \/ Another option besides top is poke. And you can make up a topping song...or something else that's fun like that. The point is, be creative!
5) Typing super long strips of tops is a waste of time, as well as tedious for the Admins. It does nothing that one simple top won't, so please keep that in mind.
(September 26, 2017 - 10:23 am)
Great guide, Leafpool! I'd like to add that in BaB, it's opposite in that you only have to press "submitted by" ONCE to see the most recent posts.
(October 8, 2017 - 4:20 pm)
Evergreen's Guide to Posting Format/Posting
1) To submit a comment, click add new comment at the top, or to reply, click reply on the comment you wish to reply to. Write what you want in the typing space, then fill in the captcha and click submit. Name field is always required when I try to submit, but I've noticed that this doesn't hold true for everybody. Hint: Never use your full name.
-Comments typically take about 1-4 hours to show up, although occasionally they can take longer.
2) When submitting a comment, see the little preview box at the bottom? Well, type in the captcha and click on that, and you see what your post will look like. (Except for photos- pretty sure you can't see what they'll look like.)
-The preview box is helpful when submitting posts with AEs, or copy/pasting from another source just so you can see how things will turn out. Sometimes, posts show up with a large amount of unused space at the bottom, which is fixable by hitting backspace until the cursor/blinking writing thingy is at your last bit of writing.
-When copy/pasting from Google Docs, things in italics or bold may not show up as being in italics or bold. Try making it regular, then bold/in italics again. This doesn't always work.
(October 19, 2017 - 8:58 pm)
TOOOOOOOOOPPPP!!
Bob says pgpw, you watched a PG rated movie with a title that PW stands for?
(November 26, 2017 - 8:55 pm)
Top!
(December 30, 2017 - 2:50 am)
TOoooooooooOoooooOOOOooooooooPPPPppppppppppppppp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! To.THE.TOP!!!!!
(January 2, 2018 - 7:46 pm)
(January 5, 2018 - 10:52 am)
Just a comment:
I've noticed that the CB has been getting a little... quiet lately. It's like we've stopped having as interesting threads and discussions and things, but also, well, look at the RP Project thread in the Inkwell.
(January 6, 2018 - 9:05 pm)
We never did figure out who the esteemed Maker Of Guides is, did we? I wonder if he/she is still here...
(January 6, 2018 - 10:08 pm)
I still don't get what OCs are, and they're not in this guide. Help?
(January 7, 2018 - 4:20 pm)
OC stands for Original Character. So just any character that you invent (ex., in an RP or Kyngdom or something like that).
(January 7, 2018 - 11:59 pm)
I hate to spam, but there are a lot of new CBers that need this guide.
(May 24, 2018 - 7:18 pm)