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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)
(December 20, 2016 - 6:22 pm)
May I add?
Avalanch effect: When one Cber leaves, and it sets of an avalanche of other CBers leaving until very few are left.
(December 21, 2016 - 9:18 am)
This isn't about the wars...at all.... Oh well:P
SHC: Shared character usually used in an RP for added storyline. E.x. "Fox" created by Claws in Leeli's "Wolves of the North RP." This character is liable to be used, controlled etc. By anyone, even those who have not joined the RP.
APE: Alter-PET-Ego. An AE's or CBers online pet, usually defined with a certificate of adoption like the one below:
Name:
Species:
Appearance:
Personality:
Owner:
Other:
NOTE: pets CANNOT speak or communicate in a common language like captchas or AEs, they can however suggest their feelings with barks, awwrks, yips, growls etc.
(December 21, 2016 - 10:53 pm)
I would like to add something
the Pie Wars: a thread made purely for the purpose of throwing digital pies at random CBers. They looked like this [l} CBers would create new and inventive ways to Pie each other. These threads generally don't last a long time but they are very fun to post on. Here is the link to a more recent Pie thread that I made.
http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/downtoearth/node/274906
Please note that these threads WERE NOT REAL WARS! They are like the CB version of a friendly food fight.
(December 23, 2016 - 7:12 pm)
Another important piece of history is the Politics Debate. This happened awhile back when a political debate thread got out of hand. There were some hurt feelings. I believe it was around the time of the AE War? My memory is a little fuzzy.
(December 26, 2016 - 11:54 am)
O.O *GASP* I KNEW that thread! When I still did Kyngdom I was bored enough that I decided to see what "Down to Earth" was. The first thread I stumbled on was that one. 0.0 It was pretty new when I read it but the comments were still a bit.... mature. So I left. Huh. That is so weird, I didn't know it sparked a war:O
Waffle says omgi. Exactly right.
(December 26, 2016 - 2:25 pm)
LIST OF WARS/BATTLES/CONFLICTS/SKIRMISHES
I came shortly after the Nostalgia War, while the reconstruction was ending.
I did not include "Wars" with like the Crush War and the Lemming War which were not actual wars. They were just stuff for fun.
Italics are not wars; they are resolutions or reconstructions.
I bolded the three big ones; he ones that took up a lot of space on the CB, and that many people were involved in. I did not bold the impersonation battles, because the first one took place mostly on a few threads, and the second was three separate impersonations which, so far, have not been repeated. The second impersonation was kind of a series of attacks...not really a war....
Hopefully this is accurate. (The only doubt i have is if Nostalgia War was before First AE War....but according to most people on this thread, First AE War came first.)
I didn't include descriptions; this is more of a timeline.
---------------------------------------
-First AE War
First AE Resolution
-Nostalgia War
Nostalgia War Reconstruction
-Impersonator War/Battle
-Political Conflict...this occured on a debate thread about the election that got too intense and had to be shut down.
-Second AE War
Note: Began with an Evil AE War thread that was originally intended to be just a fun thing between AEs; basically what I stated earlier is not something listed here. But it grew ugly, and had to be shut down. It was the spark for the war.
Second AE War Resolution
-The Hamilton Conflict
Hamilton Conflict dies off.
-Second Impersonation Battle begins (with Owlgirl impersonation) Thread is deleted, so battle seems to be over.
-AE/Orientation/Diversity War. (Most people seem to be calling it the Diversity War.)
Diversity War Reconstruction.
-Second Impersonation Conflict resurfaces (with Abigail and Cho impersonation). Impersonator of Cho apologized.
(December 26, 2016 - 3:43 pm)
Well, it basically started a whole argument over whether or not debates should be allowed on the CB, and then there were debates about debates, and things got kinda out of hand.
(December 26, 2016 - 3:55 pm)
-=()=- Icy's hand guide to impersonation conflicts and casualties -=()=-
Okay, I don't enjoy writing about this, but somebody has to do it, and I get extremely passionate about keeping online identity (such as your name, etc.) safe. I googled my name once, and I found myself, my phone number, my--you get the picture.
I'm going to start with the beginning one, which happened a LOONG time ago, in like the ice age or something when CBers didn't know what a top was--
Basically, someone was impersonated as a joke. And then the impersonator impersonated other people, and made them say that they had been the impersonator. It was confusion, but eventually it died out.
Second conflict--
Gared was supposedly impersonated, but we really don't know what happened, it got very foggy. People said he didn't really get impersonated because the writing style was so similar, but his writing style is easy if you examine it very closely. (I looked at all possible impersonator posts of CBers acting out of charecter and examined the writing style)
Third conflict--
It really was more light, but there were two impersonators. One of them was just doing it because they really missed a CBer that had left, and the other was just doing it to be rotten.
The first impersonation in the second conflict (wasn't really a war. *shrugs* impersonations don't get that title.) was someone impersonating Cho Chang, a dear old CBer who left, and saying that Cho was coming back.
Before I continue on, you have to understand that this first impersonator really just missed Cho, and maybe thought that this would make people happy/bring Cho back. He/she also confessed, and I don't want to remember them as 'impersonator'. I honestly know how it feels to be upset over a CBer leaving. August was a bad month for the CB.
The impersonator, most possibly a dear friend/admirer of Cho's, confessed. We don't have their name, but I have a few ideas. I'm not going to say them, because no CBer deserves to have their life/legacy tainted. Wow, I take this very seriously.
And third--an impersonator deleted a story built by Abbi by posting under her name and asking to have that thread deleted. I'm not sure how big the story was, or if I'm thinking of the right story, but the Admins enjoyed that story. I honestly think we should veto thread deletions. *shrugs* not sure.
That's it.
(December 26, 2016 - 11:52 pm)
Adding to Icy's description.
The first conflict definitely occured, back in June 2015. I was there, but I didn't say anything about it; I was too afraid of getting impersonated. Anywho, here's the thread. The imepersonator was never found. Actually, the first first person to impersonate at that time was Winter Firefly, but she only did it, like, once, and as a joke, and she apologized. And then somebody else started doing it. A lot. Here's the thread:
http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/inkwell/node/172373?page=1
The second conflict...I didn't hear about that. It's not really confirmed.
The third conflict, you left out an impersonation. Actually, it happened separately from the other two and could technically be considered the third, and the other two the fourth. Maybe it should. *shrug*
First, I was impersonated. Somebody made a thread under my name saying, "Sup. I'm leaving. I'm sad. Bye." I didn't find out about it until two days later. At first people were upset/confused, then they quickly picked up that it wasn't me, because I would never write anything that short. The thread was deleted, I think, by the Admins, which solved the problem. This happened before the Diversity War, by the way, which is why I considered calling it a separate conflict.
After the war....
Second, Abi was impersonated. She was writing a (very lovely) story involving LGBT characters, and someone impersonated her and had the Admins take it down. She raised her concerns about this, and recreated the thread. The link below is not her story--it's the thread on which she asked what had happened to her story.
http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/downtoearth/node/281571
Here is her story, and she talks a bit about the impersonator in the intro.
http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/inkwell/node/281601
Third, Cho was impersonated. Somebody made a thread under her name saying she was back. (She had left the CB.) The impersonator later apologized, and said they were not the same person who impersonated Abi or me, that it was just Cho.
http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/downtoearth/node/282041
(December 27, 2016 - 11:10 am)
CBF or CBB (noun, abbreviation for Chatterbox Friend or Chatterbox Buddy) -- A term used to single out Chatterboxers whom other CBers feel especially close to. Often, CBers ask in surveys who their CB buds are, and it can cause some very happy feelings (if CBers list you as a CBF a lot) and some very hurtful ones (if you aren't listed at all).
Solo Write (noun) -- The new term for CBer Story. The former has almost completely replaced the latter.
(December 27, 2016 - 7:55 am)
I was there for the ice age impersonation too. It was a pretty big deal. I kept out of it for the same reason. Many people were hurt.
(December 27, 2016 - 2:53 pm)
(December 31, 2016 - 9:27 am)
(December 31, 2016 - 9:28 am)
(January 4, 2017 - 6:33 am)