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Ultimate guide to
Chatterbox: Chirp at Cricket
Ultimate guide to
Ultimate guide to the CB
So, there have been like 3 or 4 ultimate guides in the past, but they are on the bottom now, so here's a new one!
Vocabulary
CB: the chatterbox
CBer: anyone who posts on chatterbox or a member of chatterbox
Admin: they run the CB and screen each comment to make sure it is appropriate for the CB
thread: basically a post, but it is a starter post.
comment: a post on a thread
impersonator: someone who posts as another CBer. It is not good, and do not do it. This has been reinforced and told repeatedly to almost every impersonater. The main reason, I think, is so that they can insult a CBer while still getting through the Admins' rules because it seems like it's just the person calling themselves that. The main instances of impersonation are during the periods of the impersonator war, but unfortunately it is still a problem and certain measures have been taken to not have this happen or seemingly happen (example: on the CBer SI thread, people post as NOT [CBer] or [CBer] (SI) to avoid seeming impersonation).
Red Robin: An old activity where someone starts a story, then another person continues the story, then another, and another, until the story ends.
Chatterbox Rancor: A virtual beast invented by Shoshanna Lily to explain why some threads just don't post, even though they follow the strictest CB rules. (but who knows? It could be Ugly Bird).
FAQs
Q: Who is Top?
A: Top is not a CBer! Anyone can post under any name, and some people post under Top and put "top" in the comments to bring a post back to the top. This is called topping.
Q: What are the main rules of chatterbox?
A: Basically, be nice, no inappropriate content, no personal information, no external website links that are not controlled by cricket, etc. For more information, please contact the admins on the Admin question thread (the contact part is a joke, but you can ask the admins more about the rules on that thread. It is in This Month)
History
There have been many conflicts in the past. Here are some of them.
Impersonator war: a bunch of impersonations, including impersonating someone else, blaming them for the impersonation. Examples include someone impersonating both S.E. and Savvy4x (past CBers during the impersonator war) blaming them for impersonations of Wren.
Nostalgia war: Basically a bunch of new CBers were coming in and the older CBers didn't like how the CB was changing due to all the new CBers, and they left. The CBers who stayed were mourning the older CBers instead of greeting new ones, so the new ones felt left out. At the end of the war, a few CBers came back so the (at that time) middly CBers stopped mourning the vanished CBers, and the war ended.
Æ war: At one point, the majority of CBers had AEs and they were on almost every thread. The CBers who didn't have AE's felt left out because they didn't have AEs, which had taken over chatterbox. The war ended with AE's only being allowed on threads that gave them the go-ahead.
Ok, I'm a new CBer (getting close to my first CBversary, but still) so please comment if I missed anything!
submitted by Golden Lion Tamarin
(July 8, 2022 - 12:34 pm)
(July 8, 2022 - 12:34 pm)
Additional glossary terms:
AE:
-stands for Alter Ego
-can be used as another name to post under or speak as to display a different side of your personality. For example, if you are an extrovert, maybe your AE has the part of you that likes to work on craft projects alone.
-Certain threads do not wish for AEs to join them, and please respect the original poster's wishes.
Charrie:
-character
Roleplay (RP)
-a game/story where CBers post character sheets, and then pretend to be those charcters (although they sometimes play as themselves) within the thread.
Picturings:
-a drawing/painting/etc. that a CBer creates of another CBer.
Ski-lodge:
-a murder mystery (don't worry, the admins make sure it's not gory or overly disturbing) where CBers (and sometimes AEs) join as themselves, typically filling out a form of some sort. The creator of the thread, the author of the mystery, chooses one (or more) of the characters to be the murderer, and writes the posts anonymously. As it goes on, the guests try to guess the writer.
-fun fact: the reason it's called a "ski-lodge" is because the first ones always took place in ski-lodges. Now, they might take place in hotels, resorts, mansions, etc.
Solo write:
-a story where the original poster asks for character submissions, and then writes a story using them.
Short list of things not allowed on the CB: (it does say in the rules section of CB also)
-explicit romance or violence
reason: the CB is technically for readers of Cricket Magazine, which is aimed for readers 9-13. Obviously, not all of us read the magazine, and some are a little older, but everything on the CB must be appropriate for a nine-year-old.
-pictures of people (pets ARE allowed)
reason: to protect privacy on the internet so the CB is safe for everyone
-real full names (first name + last initial OK)
reason: see above
-discussions of other websites
reason: see both above reasons, because our admins do not moderate other websites and cannot guarantee the website is appropriate/safe
Sections of Chatterbox:
-Inkwell
a place to post stories, solo writes, and roleplays, or to chat with other writers
-Pudding's Place
for art, poetry, and (not exactly sure the reason) ski-lodges
-Down to Earth
to talk about real life
-Blab about Books
to talk about books!
-Chirp at Cricket
technically for talking to the bugs of cricket magazine, but has become a place to introduce yourself, to join SIs and similar games, and things that don't fit in the other CB places
-This Month
to talk about the actual magazine, and to find the unoffictial CB magazine, which I believe is called "MCU". There is also an admins question thread! comment there to ask the admins questions.
(July 17, 2022 - 9:01 pm)
(July 19, 2022 - 1:50 pm)