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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)
Expanding on what an AE is, an AE is just a character that you made up that speaks in your post! AEs are most commonly based off of part of a CBer's personality that they don't get to show very often (ex. my AE, Dawn, who is kinda socially nervous about a lot of things). They speak in posts like this:
Hello. My name is Narrator Thirty-Three. It's...nice to have a new face on the Chatterbox.
And either speak in bold, italics, or bolditalics. (Dawn being the ex. for bold.)
Hi!
(January 12, 2019 - 7:32 pm)
What exactly is an OC? I know it stands for Original Character, but does it just mean any character created by you? Can AEs be considered OCs?
(January 12, 2019 - 10:57 pm)
An Oc stands for Original Character, but they don't exactly count as Æs or RP characters. OCs are characters from a story that you wrote. Æs are Æs, and RP cjaracters are RP characters.
(January 13, 2019 - 11:09 am)
Short answer- yes.
Long answer- originally the term "original character" (or oc) was used by fanfiction writers to mean a character that you made up yourself (ie, not a character from the book/movie/whatever you were writing fanfiction of). Since then, OC has come to mean any character you made yourself, whether it's for a fanfic or not.
Hope that helps! :D
(January 13, 2019 - 12:27 pm)
(February 13, 2019 - 8:26 pm)
Here is a link to a useful thread if anyone is interested in the CB Reunion: a list of all the reunion threads (okay, it's my thread...):
http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/downtoearth/node/401395
Yes, it's very useful. Thanks, Kitten, for taking the time to make the list!
Admin
(February 20, 2019 - 7:53 pm)
CB Masquerades
A Chatterbox Masquerade seems to be a cross between a Ball, a Roleplay, and a SI. CBers (and on certain threads, AEs) attend under a pseudonym and describe what type of mask they are wearing.
They are intended to go at a slower pace than a SI, with the CBers or AEs questioning each other before guessing, but they can be at whatever pace the creator and participants wish.
The format that masquerades are acted out in varies, but the current Chatterboxer Masquerade is in short Roleplay format.
(March 16, 2019 - 6:50 pm)
This is prolly going to sound stupid, but what exactly is a Ball? Also, I understand what a ski lodge is, but at the end... it's like oh yeah, so this is the murderer? I may or may not be trying to create one, and I don't get what to do. And are the people in it trying to figure out who the murderer is the whole time? Are they supposed to figure it out? And what exactly is the Mystery?
I'd say a Ball is a fancy dance, where people usually dress up or come in costume, with live music, punch in a punch bowl, and other refreshments.
The last person living at the ski lodge is, by process of elimination of all the others, the murderer. I'd say, yes, the other guests try to figure out who to avoid as the story progresses. The mystery is who is the murderer.
Admin
(March 23, 2019 - 8:33 pm)
Thanks, Admins!
(March 24, 2019 - 11:57 am)
Hey! I'm not the Admins, and they already did a really good but I do have a few corrections to make.
1. The Mystery is a Ski Lodge concept introduced by Micearenice. The mystery is not who the murderer is, it's what happens after a Ski Lodge that is the Mystery (as far as I am aware), and how people keep going to Ski Lodges that is the Mystery. (I'm sorry, I'm bad at explaining this) It is usually just used in Ski Lodges that Micearenice creates, but I'd say if you get permission from her you could use the concept in a ski lodge.
2. Not really a correction, but I did want to put the Guide's definition of a CB Ball here:
CBer balls (noun, activity): Basically where all CBers get invited to a ball, and all the girls talk about what dresses they are going to wear. Earliest known establishmen: unknown.
And that's pretty much it! I hope I could be helpful.
Thanks, Icy, for giving better, more specific answers than I did!
Admin edit
(March 24, 2019 - 7:12 pm)
Castle
noun
a disturbingly complex thread where a CBer makes up and describes a setting (any setting) under a name that matches the setting (for example, if the setting is a forest their name could be Forest Maker). Other CBers sort of make up a story taking place in that setting (basically RPing, but you don't have to fill out any sheets) while guessing the identity of the person who made the thread.
There is only one in existence, which I made, and it died, so I encourage new CBers to make more! (but don't tell anyone, obviously).
Mine was called "There's laughter coming" and it's on the Inkwell if you need a reference
peace out, SpiffJith
(March 31, 2019 - 5:09 pm)
There's laughter comi...
(April 22, 2019 - 1:16 pm)
Here's something the Admins posted about the rules!
http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/chirpatcricket/node/409578
Thank you, Blue Moon!
Admin
(May 18, 2019 - 7:12 pm)
MCU -
Stands for Monthly Check-Up. A thread posted by Floof Industries every month celebrating the new month and featuring jokes, tips on various things, CBer Awards, and other stuffs. (Floof Industries is exactly what it sounds like).
Just thought I should put this in cuz new people are always kind of confused by the MCU at first. :D
(July 9, 2019 - 12:49 pm)
Scrollover text: A hidden world in the Chatterbox!
Ever taken a deep look at the art thread? No, I mean a deep look. You see, there's a concept on the CB known as scrollover text, where you can write a message on any image you post to the Chatterbox. When you choose a file and upload it using the My Art section, as I've done with this lovely picture of the BaB logo (yeah, I know, I just don't have any photos on this chromebook lol), an option will appear to give it a 'title', otherwise known as your mouseover/scrollover text.
You can slap a long message in there; do what you want with it! You can use the feature for many things, mostly to write hidden messages detailing where you've hidden your inheritance. Or to use for actual titles.
This feature is only available on PCs/Chromebooks/things with a mouse or a track pad. On certain mobile devices, you should be able to get the message by holding your finger down on the image.
Now, give it a try! Hold your mouse clicker/pointer thingy over the image below and keep it there. After a little bit, the message I've written should pop up.
(October 7, 2019 - 1:55 pm)