It's been requested to have a technical thread to help people navigate the basics of posting on this forum. The main USA Help section also has some helpful basics, but this thread will go into much more detail. It's all about the technical how-tos here, so for Burn Notice show-related questions, please see the Cliff Notes Thread where you will find an easy-to-read list of the most popular/most common threads. Huge thanks to Philippa for her work on the Cliff Notes & for getting this Technical thread going.
This first post will list all the main FAQs & will continually be updated as needed or requested.
Please let me know if there is any thing else you'd like to see covered here. Feel free to send me pm or post your question on this thread, as there are lots of very technical savvy people on this forum who are always glad to help. Also, suggestions on how to improve these answers/directions are always welcome – if anything isn't clear, please let me know & I can edit it. Anyone wanting to help contribute answers please do via pm or a post. I've already borrowed some how-tos/questions from the Cliff notes thread so apologizes for any mis-typings.
A Huge thanks to everyone for your input & tips, including (but not limited to) : PhilippaConnors, FiRocks, GetBurned, Curator, GolferGal, JennaV, LGia, kusa23, vestokes, Karendipitee, krocla, mrohr, Saqqara, Spider5 and anyone else who has sent me suggestions or posted tips!
(this is a work in progress, so please be patient with typos, broken links, formatting, etc. Please pm me if a link is broken)
How do I post a reply in a thread?
At the very bottom of the thread, Simply hit the "Add Reply" button, type your text in the box, hit "Preview" to see a preview of what it will look like. If happy, hit "Add Reply".
How do I post a new topic?
At the very bottom of the forum is the "New Topic" button – if you want to start a brand new thread this is the button to use. It would be helpful if you first please make sure there isn't already a thread on the topic, this helps keep the forum less cluttered – please see the Cliff Notes for the most common threads/questions on the forum, thanks. Over the past 2 seasons the show has been on we have covered many many topics, and we'd love to have you contribute your thoughts on them. We already have threads for all BN-related press, episode discussion threads, music/song discussions, clothes, cars, etc. etc. You can always do a Search (see "Searching the Forum" section below) to double check to see if you topic is already here.
If you do post a new Topic, you will have to put in a "Topic Title", and you can also put a "Topic Description" below it. It's very helpful when posting a "Topic Title" to be as specific as possible. For instance, just putting "Season 2" as the title is too generic & broad -- it would be better to put "Season 2 - viewing episodes online?" or "Favorite Season 2 villains". By the way, there is already a thread about Where to View episodes online here & also the Streaming Online Summer 2009 schedule here, so please don't start a new thread about it - just add a reply to the one already created.
If you are posting a new topic about news you found about Burn Notice or cast members, it would be great if you could post either in the Spoiler Thread or in the threads already created for BN news/press, seen here in the Cliff notes thread. Anything spoiler-related should always be put in the Spoiler thread or enclosed in "spoiler" tags to "hide it" so everyone is aware it is a spoiler. See the How do I insert a quote/photo/link/spoiler? section below.
Note: When you see text in someone's post saying you can read the link here (underlined & usually in blue) you can click on that underlined word, and it will take you to the link/thread they are talking about.
Editing Posts
Oops, you made a mistake - how to fix it?
Make sure you are logged in. Hit Edit (on the bottom of our post), click on "Full edit" or "Quick edit", fix it & hit "Complete". This also works if you started a thread & you want to edit the thread title. At the bottom of your post, you will now also see in tiny writing: This post has been edited by (your username) NatashaFatale: Today, 08:31 PM
Deleting Posts
Can i delete a post that i have made in the forum ?
When you are logged in, at the bottom of your post will be a "Delete" button along the bottom right, along with Edit, Quote, Reply buttons. Hit "Delete". Then a little box will come up and ask if you are sure. If you are having trouble deleting your post, you can ask one of the moderators to help you.
Merged Posts
I posted a new thread -why has my post suddenly disappeared?
So you've posted you new thread post, and you see it on the forum - and then later see it's gone? Most likely Admin moved it, or merged it, into another thread where its topic belongs. Check your private messages to see if you got a pm about it. Only Admin/mods can merge posts. For instance if you made a new thread about Madeline's smoking, most likely it was merged into the Definitive "Smoking in BN" Thread that already exists. This helps keep the forum uncluttered & easier to navigate. It's nothing personal at all - it's just a way to keep the forum organized since we have thousands of posts. Your post was simply added to the end of that thread, so it's still there & people can see it & reply to it, per normal.
If you still can't find where it is located, you can find where your post is by going to the drop down menu above your Avatar - click on your username & drop down menu will allow you to choose "View member profile", and there under "Profile Options" select "Find member's posts" & it will list the posts you've made. If it's still not showing up, perhaps it didn't get posted after all -- sometimes the forum kicks you back to the main page instead of posting your post (for some odd reason) see section at end about: if you get "kicked out/off" the forum.
Quoting Posts
How do you quote someone, so it shows up in your post?
At the bottom of that person's post, you will see the "Quote" and "Reply" buttons. Hit the "Reply" button that is in 'their post', and their post will show up in your text box in it's own little quote box. Now type your own text, preview it, & if you are happy with it then "Add Reply". You usually do this if you want to reply to something they said or a question they had, or if you just thought they were really cool. Remember it's not always necessary to re-quote someone's entire post just to reply to a thread.
Quoting excerpts of a post
As for quoting only a part of a post - click "reply" on the post you wish to quote, and then keep only the part you wish to keep by editing the post. You can use ellipses (...) to indicate that it's only a portion of a person's post. In other words you don't want to change the wording or meaning of another member's post, merely excerpt it.
Quoting multiple posts - How do you quote part of a post or multiple posts from one thread, or from one thread into another thread?
You can click on the "quote" button all the way down a given page if you wish to highlight posts, while all in the same thread: At the bottom of everyone's posts, there are two different buttons, the one on the left should say +quote the one next to that one should say "reply OK if you want to to a multi quote, meaning, posting a reply to say a 2 or more people's posts, hit the +quote button on each one you want to reply to, then after you do all that hit the "Add Reply" button at the top or bottom of the screen, then you should have your post all ready to go.
However, what if there are two posts that you wish to excerpt but they're on different pages? That's a bit more difficult - here's how:
1. Click the "reply" button on the first post you wish to quote - this will pull up the little word processing box as though you were going type in a response. But instead of typing anything, you'll copy the quoted section to your clipboard (ctrl+c on pc/apple+c on mac). To copy it, 'highlight' the first post after it appeared in the word processing box and then do the (ctrl + c) to your clipboard.
2. Click the back button on your browser and return to the thread. Go to the next page and click the "reply" button that corresponds with the post you wish to quote. Again you'll get the word processing box so you can compose a note.
3. Click at the top (in front of the quoted post that's in the box already) and copy and paste the quote you left on your clipboard from the previous page (ctrl+v/apple+v).
4. in between these two quoted passages, you'll leave your respective notes to others.
Forum Navigation
We use the words Forum & Message Board interchangeably when we talk about this forum.
Within the Forum you will find Threads that have different topics that discuss, well, topics.
Within Threads you will find Posts which members make in reply to that topic.
When you type up a message & you hit "Reply" you are making a post.
Within the Forum: The most recent Threads are at the top of page one, just under the Pinned Threads.
Pinned Threads: At the top of the BN Forum are pinned threads that Amin deems most important. Only Admin can put them there (or they will put them there by kind request if you ask them). These are usually posts from USA Admin, or Threads that keep the forum organized, like the Cliff Notes thread that lists the most popular threads in handy lists.
Within Threads: As you read a thread, the original (start) post is 1st is at the top of that thread's Page 1. Additional posts come after it. So you'll find the most recent posts at the end of the thread. Some threads are many pages, so just click on the last page to read the most recent posts.
To read the most recent post in a THREAD, click on the Last Page, or click on "Last Post by":
When you are reading a thread and you get to the bottom of the first page, to see the next page, click on next page number at the bottom left. Where the arrow is in above picture.
On the right side of this picture you will see "Next Newest" - this takes you to the Next Newest Thread, an entirely different thread. If you click "Next Oldest" - this takes you to the Next Oldest Thread, an entirely different thread. To stay in the current thread you are reading, you need to hit the page numbers on the bottom left to see the next pages, don't use "Next Newest" or "Next Oldest."
If a thread has many many pages, you can also use the drop down menu. In the above picture, on the bottom left you'll see where it says "4 pages" <-click on it and a "Jump to Page" box will drop down where you can type in the page number you would like to jump to.
To get back to the main forum page, at the top of your screen you will see "USA Network Forums - USA Network Originals - Burn Notice", so click on Burn Notice and you will be back at the main page of the forum.
Make sure you allow pop-ups for this site if you are having problems.
(check your browser settings to make sure you allow pop-ups from the USA network forums. For example, in Firefox, on the Firefox menu bar, select Preferences, select the Content panel, under Block Pop-Ups, you can add Exceptions, like the USA site.)
You can always use your browser's Back/Forward buttons to help you navigate.
How do I insert a quote/photo/link/spoiler?
When you create posts (or even pm's – private messages) there are two ways to insert a quote/photo/link:
This is the best way & easiest:
1) Buttons!
In your post you are typing, there is a button to insert each of these right above the area you are typing in. Hit the green/white button ("Insert Link", "Insert Image" or "Wrap in Quote Tags") you want, then insert (paste or type in) the link/text in the box that pops up. That's it!
Here are step-by-steps on buttons:
A.) Inserting Photos
1. Copy the DIRECT link of the photo from your photosharing site (Photobucket, et.), a direct link starts with "http://...... .jpg"
2. Come to your post on the forum & Hit the green/white button "Insert Image", then paste the link/text in the box that pops up.
3. Preview it to make sure it looks right. That's it!
Note: see section below on web etiquette & not hotlinking photos from someone else's site.
B.) Inserting Links (to photos, websites, news articles, etc)
1. Copy the DIRECT link of website, news article, or if it's a photo (uploaded to your photosharing site like Photobucket, etc.), a direct link starts with "http://www...... .jpg"
2. Come to your post on the forum & Hit the green/white button "Insert Link" (next to the emoticon yellow smiley), then paste the link/text in the box that pops up.
3. Then it will let you give it a name, for instance "Burn Notice"
From my sample, it will look like this posted & is clickable: Burn Notice
This will take people to the link directly when they click on it.
C.). Inserting Quotes
1. If you want to 'reply' to a quote that someone else posted on the forum, see the directions above on Quoting Posts.
2. If you just want to enclose something in quote tags in your post, then you just Hit the white quote button (looks like a quote bubble) to "Wrap in Quote Tags", then type in or paste the text you want quoted. That's it!
D.) Inserting Spoilers
1. Anything spoiler-related should always be put either in the Spoiler thread or enclosed in "spoiler" tags to "hide it" so everyone is aware it is a spoiler - this includes upcoming episode news & photos.
2. You can insert a spoiler by choosing "Insert Special Item", then "Spoiler" & type in your text.
3. *Tip* You can enclose a spoiler photo within the Spoiler!
a.To insert a photo within the spoiler: First insert your photo url into your post using the "Insert Image" button (below "Fonts"), then highlight that, and click the Insert Special Item drop down menu (next to "Fonts") & choose Spoiler, a little box will pop up in your post that shows your photo url in the spoiler box, hit OK.
b. You can also do it by enclosing the photos in [ img] tags - Click "Insert Special Item", then "Spoiler", then in the text box type in [ img] [ /img] tags around the direct link to the photo, see section below about using Tags to insert photos/images. (but without the extra spaces before the 'img')
This is a more advanced/FYI (For Your Information) section on inserting photos/links/quotes/etc:
2) Tags!
Instead of using the buttons, you can go the advanced way & type in your own tags (also known as BB code) at the front & end of each link. Each link needs a front [tag]and end[/tag]. The last tag has to have the backslash bar in it, which denotes the end.
(for demonstration purposes, inside the tags I have put an extra space before the first letter & before the backslash, don't put the spaces when you type it for real):
a. Quote tags typed out looks like: [ quote]paste their quote here[ /quote]
Looks like this posted:
QUOTE
paste their quote here
b. Quoting someone's name with their quote typed out is: [ quote="Natasha"]Burn Notice Rocks![ /quote]
or it will look like this typed out: [ quote name='Natasha']Burn Notice Rocks![ /quote]
Looks like this posted:
QUOTE ("Natasha")
Burn Notice Rocks!
c. Linking to a thread/site typed out is: [ url]http://www.usanetwork.com/series/burnnotice/[ /url]
Looks like this posted & makes the link is clickable & takes the person to the site: http://www.usanetwork.com/series/burnnotice/
d. Linking to a thread/site & you want just a name to show up (not the whole address) typed out looks like this:
[ url="http://www.usanetwork.com/series/burnnotice/"]Burn Notice[ /url]
Looks like this posted & is clickable: Burn Notice
e. Emoticons
Emoticons are those little smiley faces that you can add to your post, that look like this
In the drop down menu you can see more to choose from, just click on the one you want & it will insert itself into your message. And you can also click "Show All" in the drop down box to see more emoticons. To make a smiley emoticon, just type a colon : with an 'end parentheses' ) right next to it. To make a winky emoticon 
, type a semicolon followed by an 'end parentheses' ). Note: If you have as many emoticons in your post, oh, say as I do in this one, you might get this message: You have posted a message with more emoticons that this board allows. Please reduce the number of emoticons you've added to the message[b]f. Inserting a spoiler typed out is: [ spoiler]type your !!!! spoiler here[ /spoiler]
Anything spoiler-related should always be put either in the Spoiler thread or enclosed in "spoiler" tags to "hide it" so everyone is aware it is a spoiler - this includes upcoming episode news & photos. You can insert a spoiler by choosing "Insert Special Item", then "Spoiler" & type in your text. It looks like this posted, and you click the 'show' box to read it:
Spoiler:
*Tip* You can enclose a spoiler photo within the Spoiler
a.To insert a photo within the spoiler: First insert your photo url into your post using the "Insert Image" button (below "Fonts"), then highlight that, and click the Insert Special Item drop down menu (next to "Fonts") & choose Spoiler, a little box will pop up in your post that shows your photo url in the spoiler box, hit OK.
b. You can also do it by enclosing the photos in [ img] tags - Click "Insert Special Item", then "Spoiler", then in the text box type in [ img] [ /img] tags around the direct link to the photo, see section below about using Tags to insert photos/images. (but without the extra spaces before the 'img')
Spoiler:
(again, remember for demonstration purposes, inside the tags I have put an extra space before the first letter & before the backslash, don't put the spaces when you type it for real)
g. Photo tags typed out look like this: [ img]http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/4346/burnnoticelovethiscolor.jpg[ /img]
Looks like this when posted:
More on how to add a Photo:
To insert a photo into your post or signature, you should have the photo uploaded on a photo sharing site like: Photobucket, Flickr, Imageshack, etc. (you can set up free accounts & you can have your settings be private or public, it doesn't matter, the link will still work to show just that one photo you are linking). Copy the DIRECT link from there & paste it inside your post using the 'insert photo' button, or put it between the [img] [ /img] tags. Make sure you copy the DIRECT LINK's full address. A full address starts with: "http://.... and ends with .jpg" (or whatever format you photo is in: .png, .gif, etc.).
Please note: [color="#0000ff"]It's web etiquette that you shouldn't direct link a photo from someone else's web site – that's called 'hotlinking' or bandwidth theft. An example would be using an [img] tag to display a JPEG image you found on someone else's web page so it will appear on your own site, forum message post, etc. It's better to save that photo to your computer, upload it to your Photobucket, etc. & then post that link in [img] tags, giving credit to the original site/photographer if needed, of course. And sites like Photobucket, etc. have direct link for the purpose of sharing them.
The photo should be in an uploadable form to put it on your photo sharing site, usually a jpg,jpeg,png, gif (see your photo sharing site for forms). It should also not be too large – most posts are about 700 pixels wide, and as tall as you need them, but a good average to go by is 400x400 pixels or around there. If you need to resize the photo, you should use a photoeditor – there's lots of software you can get for mac/pc like: Photoshop, Illustrator, Paint; freeware Gimp, Irfanview; you can even use Word to edit your photo (but you still have to save it as a jpg, and for that you need a photo editor). If you need additional help with photos, see the Screencapping section on photo editing, or feel free to ask
PLEASE SEE the sections below on: Avatars, Signatures & Screencapping for more about Photos.
How do I insert a photo/scanned photo/scanned news article into a private message or forum post?
Basically you'll want to:
1. Have the photo/scan already on your computer.
2. Upload your photo/scan to a photo sharing site online.
3. Copy the "Direct Link" and in your private message or post, use the "insert image" button.
Here are the steps in more detail:
1. Have the photo/scan already on your computer.
This means the photo should be in an uploadable form to put it on your photo sharing site, usually a jpg,jpeg,png, gif, etc. (see your photo sharing site for formats). This means, on your computer, the photo name will be something like: myphoto.jpg
a. If you are scanning a photo/article, after you scan it, when you hit "save as" it will probably already give you the option to save it as a .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, etc.
b. You should remember where you have the photo saved on your computer - you can really save it anywhere on your computer, as long as your remember where! For example on a pc, most people usually save it to: C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\My Documents\My Pictures. On a mac, most usually save it to your Desktop or Pictures folder.
2. Upload your photo/scan to your photo sharing site online of choice.
Such as Photobucket, Flickr, Imageshack, etc. Then it will have a "Direct Link" you need to copy.
How to upload: Click the "upload\" or "browse" button, find your picture on your computer, and open it (you don't necessarily see your pic at this stage). If it prompts you again, Click "submit" or "upload" button. You should see your photo now & depending on your site, maybe a notice that says "Image successfully uploaded".
a. If you don't have an account at a photo sharing site, it's easy and free to get one. I like using Photobucket, and you can always go back to find your pictures there - follow the directions on the site you pick to join now/register. You can have your settings be private or public, it doesn't matter, the link will still work to show just the photo you are linking.
b. If you don't want to create an account anywhere you can use the free photo sharing site Imageshack -- just upload your pic and copy the direct link (but the photo won't be saved there for you to find again on Imageshack unless you create an account to store your images).
3. Copy the "Direct link"
Make sure you copy the DIRECT LINK's full address. A full address starts with: http://.... and ends with .jpg (or whatever format you photo is in: .png, .gif, etc.).
4. Then go the forum, login, go to your private message or your post, then hit the "Insert Photo" button, then "paste" the full DIRECT LINK from picture you copied from your photo hosting site. The full link starts with "http://...."
What if my photo/scan is too big?
If the photo you upload is a huge size, you can either:
1. Make it smaller
a. See the Screencapping section below about using photo editors to resize/crop photos.
b. Or, Most photo sharing sites can resize pictures for you right when you upload them. Photobucket, for example, under the "Upload" button it says: "Reduce Size to" and you can choose a size you like.
2. Make a Thumbnail
Some photo sharing sites give you the option to create a thumbnail of your pic -- and then when the person clicks on the thumbnail, they can view the full size (a new page opens with your full size photo). In this case, you would copy the "Thumbnail size for forums" instead of copying the "Direct Link". And you would NOT use the "insert image button" in your message, instead you just paste the FULL "Thumbnail size for forum" link in your message. The "Thumbnail size for forum" link will usually start with this: [ URL=ht... and end with [ /URL].
If using Photobucket, you have to first create a thumbnail by: Open Photobucket & upload your pic. Now under your pic there is a tick box just below the pic -- Tick it. At the bottom the page there are 3 buttons, click the one that says "Generate HTML and IMG code" -- Click it. A page full of codes should come up -- Copy the Link that says: "IMG clickable thumbnails for message boards - recommended". It will be a really long link that starts with [ URL] and end with [ /URL]. Click on that link - it will be highlighted blue & say "copied" (or go to Edit at the top menu & choose "copy") & You can now "paste" the link into your message/post.
If using Imageshack, it already automatically creates a Thumbnail link for you called "Thumbnail link for forum", and it would look something like this (but without the extra spaces):
[ URL=http://img403.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bns2dvd.jpg][ IMG]http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/4219/bns2dvd.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
The Imageshack/Photobucket thumbnails would look like this if posted in your message:
![](http://%5C%5C%5C"http://img403.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bns2dvd.jpg%5C%5C%5C")
![](http://%5C%5C%5C"http://s498.photobucket.com/albums/rr346/NatashaFatale_photos/Burn%20Notice%20Wallpapers/Michael%20and%20Fiona%20Wallpapers/?action=view¤t=jdfideepbluecopy.jpg%5C%5C%5C")
(when you click on these thumbnails, you will be taken to the full size)
Remember if you use the Thumbnail link that already starts with [ URL]... you do NOT need to use the "insert image button", nor do you need to put your photo in [ img] tags, because the photo sharing site has already done that all for you. You just paste the FULL "Thumbnail size for forums" link into your message you are typing.
Thumbnails are great if you posting multiple LARGE photos or scans, so you don't have to waste a lot of space. This way you can post the photos right next to each other, or you can post pages from an article you scanned, like this article.
What if I get an Error Message saying: Sorry, dynamic pages in the [IMG] tags are not allowed?
Double check to make sure the link is correct. Direct links should start with "http://...... .jpg", and if it is a jpg/jpeg photo the link should end with .jpg. Nothing should come after the .jpg. If your photo file is in png form, then the link should end with .png. If it is a gif file, then it should end in .gif. Nothing should be after those extentions. It could also mean you are trying to insert a countdown clock of some sort, which the forum doesn't usually accept (but I've seen a few around).
It also might be because ?, = and some other characters aren't allowed when posting an image. So for example, image.php?photo=alfnsjlfnsa;g wont work, or if it ends in something like .jpg&fhfdsi than you just delete the stuff after .jpg. Maybe there was just an extra question mark in there, so double check your link.
PM-Private Messages
How do I send someone a message?
A couple of ways you can send someone a private message:
1. Know the screenname of who you want to send it to:
A.Find any post that person has made, click on their screenname & you will see a drop down menu - choose "send message".
B. If you are viewing their profile, you can also choose "send message."
C. Login, at the top of the forum go to "My Controls", choose "Compose a New Message". In the "Recipient's Name" box type in their screenname, such as "NatashaFatale". If you want, in the box "Carbon copy to other members" you can also cc other members, etc., just like an email. But if you don't want anyone else to see your messege, leave the "Carbon copy other members" box blank.
2. A white message box will show up & you type your message there. You can add links, photos, etc, just like a post. Type in your message, add a title. Hit "Preview Message" before you send it, if you want to make sure it looks right.
3. Checkmark the box that says "Add a copy of this message to my sent items folder" if you want to save what you sent.
4. Hit "Send Message" when done.
If they send you a message back, you will get an email notification & on the top right of the forum screen you will see "1 new message". You can now reply to their message, and so forth
Personal beefs (if you must) with other members on the forum are better handled via pm, and not on the forum. Private messages are private and should be kept between those members, unless agreed upon otherwise.
Searching the Forum
If you can find here what you are looking for, you can do a Search on the forum. If you click on the "Search" you see listed at the top of the forum, a little box will pop out for you to enter a word in -- this will search the ENTIRE USA network forum (all shows) – it's a bit much, so I would recommend you do your search this way:
1. At the top of the of the forum, Hit SEARCH, then choose "More Search Options"
2. On the new Search screen, enter the keyword you are looking for, select Search Where: Burn Notice Forum, select Result type: either show as topics, or show as posts.
3. Click "Perform search"
The search function can come in very handy if you are trying to find a specific thing. For example, if you want to know: What was the song when Michael jumped from the helicopter? – do an Advanced Search on "helicopter" (or even just "song") and all the posts about that song will come up (Time Bomb, by Jessy Greene). Or, for example, you aren't sure if someone has posted the latest BN article from the Miami Herald – do an Advanced Search on "miamiherald" and see what comes up.
*TIP* I also suggest that the words you do a search on be enclosed in quotation marks, so "miamiherald" or "Miami Herald" would be good type in the keyword search box. Otherwise it will include posts that include Miami, as well as Miami Herald. Also, you can checkmark the "Match Exact Name" box when you are on the Advanced Search page.
Also you can search within a particular thread by going to the bottom of that thread, you will see a box that says "Search Topic" and in the "Enter Keywords" box, you can enter the keywords you want to look for WITHIN that thread.
Google Search
You can also use Google.com or Goodsearch.com (and donate to one of JD's charities, Life Rolls On!) to help with a search. For example, say you wanted to remember the episode where Fiona told Michael "I need you alive." In the Google search box, type in (including using the quotes): "I need you alive", fiona
It's best to use quotation marks around the words you are searching for, this narrows the search to what you are specifically looking for, and not just any site that has those words on it.
You'll see results listed there that include threads (about episode Truth & Reconciliation) from this forum. And on the google search, you can also hit "blog search" and it will also pull up threads from this forum as results.
Logging In Problems
If you are having problems logging in, it may be due to the forum upgrade that happened in July 2008, so the USA forum is now tied into NBC's database (NBC is USA's parent company). After that, you no longer logged in with your screenname & password, you now login with your Email & password. If you have ever had a previous account on any NBC forum (SciFi.com, NBC.com, etc.) then you may need to login here under that account email/password.
During the upgrade, here are some tips that members used to get logged in (some worked/some didn't):
1. Check all spellings/caps
The email associated with this account is XyZy@xxxxxxx.xxx
2. Check your cookies.
Some websites won't let you login if you don't have your cookies enabled (cookies are small coded files that Web sites write onto your hard drive to keep track of the pages you've visited) so if you find yourself suddenly un-logged in, it may be because you just cleared your cookies, so just log back in. To find out how to make sure your cookies are enabled for this site, go to the Help section on your on web browser (internet explorer, safari, mozilla firefox, etc) or do a google search.
3. Get a new password sent.
If you can't login, pretend you forgot your password and click the "forgot password" to get a new numerical password sent to you – then you can log into your account and change it to the password you want.
4. New password not working? Keep requesting more.
One member had to wade through a list of new passwords but finally got in - just keep trying, despite initial messages of 'that name & email are already in use' when trying to login with their correct email address and password.
5. Login with any past NBC-related login.
If you're registered (currently or ever in the past) on another NBC site (NBC.com, Scifi, MyNBC, etc.) try using that login. You may end up with that NBC.om identity/username here on the USA forum. Your email may be listed as also being registered on NBC.com, so try your NBC.com password. What if you don't want your old NBC.com username to be your USA Forum username? Go to NBC.com & log in there (won't let you? request a password be resent) & try to change your username (on your NBC.com login you have one chance to change your username, after that you can't change it) and then try logging on back here at USA.
6. "Register" with your original email instead of logging in.
(This works for me)
a. Click on "register", type in your email address (& checkmark the "I understand" box), hit Submit.
b. You'll get this message: You may already be registered with myNBC! You appear to have already registered an account with this email address.
If you'd like to continue, we will merge your existing information with this new registration. If not, you will have to use a new email address.
c. Choose Yes, continue registering this account. Checkmark: I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
d. Message: This email address is already registered.
If this is your email address please provide the correct password associated with this account.
e. Enter your original password, hit Continue, you'll either get:
1. Error message: The following error has occurred: Your Email/Password combination was incorrect. Please try again.
2. Good message: You're almost done!
f. For either message, click "Save" in order to complete your registration on the USA Network Forums
It may ask you to Enter email/Display name (do so if it lets you, if there are no boxes to type in, just ignore it)
Hit Save button
g. You may get another bad message: The following error has occurred: There was a communications error that has been logged. Try again.
Ignore it.
h. Just click back on the main USA Forum - does it show you logged in? if so, yay!
5. Re-register as a new member
If you've tried it all and still no luck or you get: "Your email address was not found", likely you'll have to register again. When you re-register, You may or may not be able to get your old user/screenname/handler/handle name back. Some people just add a "2" or extra underscore "_" to their username so people know it's still them.
Site problems
Sometimes you may not be able to connect to the USA Network Burn Notice message board due to the USA Network forum servers being down. You'll be able to tell when this is happening if a. the site won't load on your computer; b. when you go to the main USA Burn Notice site and on the bottom left side of the screen you'll see the Community box that says: The Burn Notice Message Board - Here's what fans are talking about on the BN Message Board, Click a topic Below to Join in the Discussion! Normally there are at least 4 topics listed. If it is empty, the forum is down. What do you do? Nothing you can do but wait for it to come back up. Grab some yogurt & pop in a BN DVD. Usually it is back up within 10mins to a few hours.
Moderating
Admin/moderators are around to delete spam, merge duplicate posts, etc., but overall forums are self-moderated (moderated by members), so please be courteous and kind in your posts, and follow the general forum terms & rules you signed up for and agreed to when you first registered. Try to respect all opinions and also please don't try to flagrantly provoke someone. Please no name calling. We encourage discussions even if they differ, and you can always agree to disagree. Trolls are people who post inflammatory remarks on a site deliberately to cause trouble - just ignore them, don't provoke them, and their posts will go away.
In addition, the writers from Burn Notice graciously post here, and many members have been here a long time because of the welcoming atmosphere, so we'd love to keep things going that way.
Admin answers questions when they are able. If you do encounter any problems or need to report something serious or report someone, please contact the moderating team directly. If you see a Spam post, please "report" it to the mods by hitting the "Report" button on that post to alert them. If you need to report someone, hit the "Report" button on that post, which will then ask you to fill in why you are reporting that post, and the moderators will take a look at it.
About the Moderators:
NatashaFatale, JennaV, and PhilippaConnors are the moderators of the BN forum. We took on these duties this past June at the request of USA_Admin. Our primary duties are to delete spam, move and/or merge duplicate threads, and assist with any other issues that might come up. We strive to make the forum as easy to navigate and as welcoming as possible for all members, new and long-term alike. As with all communities (both online and in "real life"), it is not always possible to please all people all of the time. If personal issues with another forum member come up, we encourage you to contact that member personally. Such matters are best handled privately (via PM) as it does not involve the entire community at large. If you still need help, let us know via PM how we can assist you and we will try.
How do I add an avatar/icon?
(the little photo next to your screenname)
1. Go go the forum, login, go to the "my controls" tab.
2. Hit "Edit Avatar Settings".
3. Now you can either:
A. Choose an avatar from one of the USA network galleries
B. Upload a new image from your computer.
You can use your own photo or find a photo you like online. This means the photo will already have to be on your computer & the photo should be in an uploadable form, usually a jpg,jpeg,png, gif, etc. This means, on your computer, the photo name will be something like: myphoto.jpg
I saw a photo online I like & want to use it for my avatar - how do you get I get it on my computer?
If you see a photo online that you want to use, you can right click on that photo and choose "save as" to save it to your computer (if you don't use a mouse, hit Control + click on the photo & you will see the options to "save image as" pop up). Make sure you tell it where to save it (usually your desktop) or remember where it was saved so you can find it later. You may need to edit the size of the photo or crop, so see the Screencapping section on photo editing.
The photo won't let me right click on it or says it is "disabled" - what do I do now?
You'll have to "screencap it" - see the Screencapping section. This means you will take a screencap or snapshot of your entire desktop screen (and with the photo you want pulled up) and then you have to crop out the excess area you don't want, and resize it to a size you like.
4. Hit "Update Avatar" & you're done!
NOTE: The BN forum says Avatars must be no larger than 30 KB & the following file types are allowed: gif,jpg,jpeg,png. With the Image Scale On, the site will scale the image down for you if it's too big in pixel size. (but you can probably get away with using a bigger size, 50KB or higher - try it & see if it looks okay).
Resizing - huh?
a. See the Screencapping section about using photo editors to resize/crop photos.
b. Or, Most photo sharing sites can resize pictures for you right when you upload them. Photobucket, for example, under the "Upload" button it says: "Reduce Size to" and you can choose a size like: 100x75 (tiny) -- this is like an avatar size. Then just save the photo back to your computer by right clicking on that photo and choose "save as" to save it to your computer (if you don't use a mouse, hit Control + click on the photo & you will see the options to "save image as" pop up).
I added an avatar, it worked fine at first, but now it's not showing up - what gives?
It might be your browser. FiRocks has this tip: Are you on internet explorer? For some reason it tends to do that on that browser. Close it, open it again, then go into your control panel and go to "change avatar" and then try to change the one you already changed and that should do the trick. I know, it's all wonky but it will work eventually! Good luck!
For more on avatars, see the screencapping section below on how to make one from a screencap, resize it, crop it, etc.
How do I add a signature/banner?
(the little photos that show up at the bottom of every post you make)
1. First upload your signature photo/banner to your photo sharing site of choice (Photobucket, Flickr, etc)
a. This means the photo will already have to be on your computer, then you upload it to the photosharing site. The photo should be in an uploadable form to put it on your photo sharing site, usually a jpg,jpeg,png, gif, etc. (see your photo sharing site for formats). This means, on your computer, the photo name will be something like: myphoto.jpg
I saw a photo online I like - how do you get it on your computer?
If you see a photo online that you want to use, you can right click on that photo and choose "save as" to save it to your computer (if you don't use a mouse, hit Control + click on the photo & you will see the options to save it pop up). Make sure you tell it where to save it (usually your desktop) or remember where it was saved so you can find it later. You may need to edit the size of the photo or crop, so see the Screencapping section on photo editing.
The photo won't let me right click on it or says it is "disabled" - what do I do now?
You'll have to "screencap it" - see the Screencapping section. This means you will take a screencap or snapshot of your entire desktop screen (and with the photo you want pulled up) and then you have to crop out the excess area you don't want, and resize it to a size you like.
Resizing - huh?
a. See the Screencapping section about using photo editors to resize/crop photos.
b. Or, Most photo sharing sites can resize pictures for you right when you upload them. Photobucket, for example, under the "Upload" button it says: "Reduce Size to" and you can choose a size like:
100x75 (tiny) -- this is like an avatar size
160x120 (small) -- like a signature size
320x240 (medium) -- like a signature size
2. Copy the "Direct link". Make sure you copy the DIRECT LINK's full address. A full address starts with: http://.... and ends with .jpg (or whatever format you photo is in: .png, .gif, etc.). So the DIRECT LINK to this sample banner/signature's full address is: http://i498.photobucket.com/albums/rr346/N.../bnlogosig2.jpg and it looks like this when you see it 'inserted as a photo" or between the [img] tags
3. Then go the forum, login, go to the "My Controls" tab, then "Edit Signature".
4. Once you're there, there are 3 ways to insert the photo into your signature.
A. Hit the "Insert Photo" button, then "paste" the full DIRECT LINK from signature photo/banner you "copied" from your photo hosting site. The full link starts with "http://...."
B. Or, you can just type in the [img] tags around your full DIRECT LINK. That means it would look like this typed out: [ img]http://i498.photobucket.com/albums/rr346/NatashaFatale_photos/Burn%20Notice%20Signatures/bnlogosig2.jpg[ /img] If you do it this way, you don't need to hit the "Insert Photo" button at all.
(with the extra space before the letter "i" just for sample, don't put in an extra space when you type it for real)
C. Also, your photo sharing site may have already put your photo in "IMG CODE" for you. So, instead of copying the "Direct Link", you can copy the "IMG CODE" and then just paste that full address into your signature space. Remember if you do it this way, you don't need to hit the "Insert Photo" button at all.
5. Hit "Update My Signature" to finish. Done!
6. You can add more than one photo, or type in text in your signature (to add text, just type it below your photo. You can also insert a link here to a website, using the insert button if you'd like) - play around, have fun!
How exactly can I add a link under my signature?
1. Go to your Settings & choose "Edit Signature"
2. In your signature box you should already see the your signature photo you already added.
3. Underneath the sig, click your cursor so the line is blinking (as if you are going to start typing)
4. Click on the "Insert Link" button above, it's the green plus sign button between the smiley face emoticon button & the Insert Image button.
4. A box will pop up that says: Please Enter Full URL.
5. Paste the full link to the forum thread, or whatever site link you want, into that pop up box. The link starts with http:... and looks like this: http://forums.usanetwork.com/index.php?sho...432889&st=0
6. Hit Okay
7. Now the pop up box will ask you: Please enter the title for this item.
8. Type in: "Click Here to Learn More" or whatever you want it to say.
9. Hit Okay
10. Now this should show up under your sig pic:
Click Here to Learn More
The link should be clickable now & should take people to the thread or site you chose.
How do I add additional or multiple pics to my signature so they all fit on one straight line?
I find that generally, approx. 700 pixels wide makes a good length for a full size signature. So if you have one sig that is 600 pixels wide and the 2nd is 200 pixels wide, the 2nd one will get bumped down to the line below it, and it will look like the first pic:
won't fit on same line________________________________now fits on same line
To make them all fit on one line, you can either:
1. Make all the sigs small enough width-wise so they can fit on one line. So reduce the 1st one to 500 pixels, and the second to 150pixels wide & that should probably fit. Use the "Insert image" button to insert link to the 1st one. Then hit "Insert image" button again to post link to 2nd one.
2. Make a new sig that includes all sigs on one line & save it as a jpg, then upload to your photo sharing site to get direct link.
To do this, I use my photoeditor of choice; Go to File->New->Set the size of the new document to be long enough to fit all the sigs. Copy & Paste the separate sigs into the New pic I've created. Adjust them to fit (crop, move, etc.). Save as jpg. Upload to your photo sharing site, get link, use "insert image" button in sig, and it should look correct now.
Where to find avatars & signatures?
If you don't have your own avatar or signature you want to use, there are lots of places on the web you can find where people have made Burn Notice icons, avatars, banners, etc (google to find them) or ask any of the many talented people here on the forum (you like their animated gif, sig, photo? send 'em a pm) to make one for you. You should read the fine print on their sites to find out if they request that you give them credit if you use an avatar/icon/sig/banner they made. Some people do, some don't! Feel free to use any avatars, signatures, etc. at my own (self-promoting, yes, I am) NatashaFatale's Photobucket site (just copy the Direct link of the pic you want & paste it to your sig, or save it to your computer (right click, save as) to upload it as an avatar). I'm happy to have anyone use them, no need to give my name credit. I make them for everyone to use.
Here are also some member-made Animated gifs (you can save the gif you like to your computer (right click, save as), upload it to your photosharing site, copy link from there).
For more on signatures, see the Screencapping section below on how to make one from a screencap, edit it, resize it, crop it, etc.
Screen capturing
You can make screencaps/screen captures even if you don\\\'t have any fancy photo software on your computer (but you can also skip all these steps & just get screencapping software for your computer – skip to the end of this section to see more).
But for those of you who want to know the basics, the old school way, you can do it & your computer likely came with a basic photo editor you can use (pc's have Paint, macs have iPhoto or Preview).
1. What a screencap looks like_____________2. A cropped screencap______3. Text removed using Photoshop
First:
A. Play the video (this works for anything - any DVD you are playing on your computer*, any BN episodes on the BN site, on hulu, on youtube, etc) until the frame is displayed.
B. Pause the video
*Note: Mac users: If you are using the "DVD Player" that comes with a mac, it won't let you use the shortcut keys to screencap/printscreen. I don't know how to get a screencap from the "DVD Player" on a mac yet (if someone does, please pm me!). I think they don't want to allow screencapping for some reason. I'd recommend using a different DVD/video player. I use a free downloadable DVD/media player called VLC Media Player and it works great for playing DVDs, etc. It even has as "snapshot" option so you can screencap dvds (and you can also use the shortcut/printscreen buttons).
Second:
A. Follow these basic steps for almost any photo editor:
1. To "print screen" on your pc (Prt Sc) or mac (Apple+shift+3)
2. Open program & photo
3. Choose the Crop button & select the portion of the page you want to keep.
4. File -> Save As, save as a jpeg.
B. Upload it to your photo sharing site of choice (Photobucket, etc).
C. Copy the "Direct Link" and insert it into your post/signature using the Insert Photo button or tags.
D. If you are using the photo as your avatar, just follow the directions above for how to add an avatar.
Mac users tip! Thanks to mrohr: Apple-shift-4 allows you to screencap just *part* of the screen (you can use the mouse to box a portion of the screen, and it screencaps just that boxed part). It means you wouldn't need to crop your screencapped picture *after* taking it.
For pc – using PAINT:
(I find Paint is very basic & very limiting - I'd recommend trying a freeware photo editor at least, like Irfanview, etc)
1. Press your "print screen" (Prt Sc) button
Sometimes the print screen button may be shared with another key. Typically it's activated in conjunction with the Fn key (next to the left CTRL key). This allows you to copy the image on your screen – it copies the whole page, so you have to crop out the image you only want shown, and to crop you need a photo editor like Paint.
2. Open up paint (All Programs –> Accessories –> Paint)
3a. Updated step: When you go into Paint, you should make sure you have the 'dotted rectangle' tool above the 'paint bucket' selected (from the toolbox on the right side of the Paint screen). If you don't, it won't paste - it will just show up black. So hit the 'dotted rectangle' first.
3. From the Edit menu -> choose Paste (or Right Click –> Paste; or Cntrl-V)
4. Crop the pic - removing the parts you don't want.
a. Use the ' rectangular selection' button in the upper right corner to highlight the image you want to keep. (Click on the rectangle box, then click on the picture and drag the box to include what you want to keep).
b. Use the Edit menu, and Copy, to copy this selection into memory (Cntrl-C)
c. Now use File, and New, to start a new blank picture. (Don't save the old one.) Use your mouse to drag the lower right corner of this new blank picture up and to the left, until it is close to the size of your cropped image (that's still stored in memory.)
d. Now use Edit and Paste, to place your stored image over top of this new, smaller, blank picture.
e. Save it (see step 5)
5. File –> Save (I like to save files as a JPEG. JPG pictures are what are used on webpages for fast loading ... they send quickly by email too.)
6. You can now upload your jpeg photo to your photo sharing site of choice (Photobucket, etc) and now you have a direct link to use if you want to put it in a post or use it as your signature photo, etc. Success!
By doing this, you've reduced the file size of the picture from something probably in excess of 1 MB, to a size of probably only a few hundred KB (ie: the amount of memory the picture takes up has been reduced to one fifth its original size). Now it will load a lot faster. Saving it as a Jpeg/Jpg makes it a smaller size, so it's better to use for small avatar sizes, as well.
Remember also that hitting the Prt Sc button only copies the current image on the screen. To take another screencap, you have to hit Prn Sc again (thus, erasing the old screencap, and only the new screencap will show up when you paste it into Paint). You'll find that you have to repeatedly pause the video if you want to take several screenshots.
For mac – using iPhoto:
A mac comes with iLife, which includes iPhoto, which allows you to do some very basic editing.
1. To "print screen" on your mac, use the shortcut keys Apple+shift+3.
You will see "Picture 1" show up on your desktop. If you hit Apple+shift+3 again, "Picture 2" will show up on your desktop. Which means you can take as many screencaps as you like, and they will get numbered 1,2,3, and so on. They are in png format.
2. Right click on Picture 1 -> Open with iPhoto (if you don't use a mouse you can hold down the CONTROL key & then click on the photo with your mouse to pull up the options; if iPhoto is not one of the options, choose Other..., hit Applicaitons & look for iPhoto)
2a. You should duplicate the photo so you always have the original, if you haven't already. So go to the Photos menu, hit Duplicate. Now edit the duplicate to the size you want it.
3. Click Edit
4. To Crop the pic - remove the parts you don't want – hit the Crop button (or just skip to next step).
f. Drag the box to include what you want to keep. Hit Crop again.
e. If you want to resize it, hit "Constrain" and choose the size you want, or choose Custom - for example, type in 90 x 90 to make it avatar size or size you want.
5a. Hit "DONE"
5b. Drag the cropped photo to your desktop.
6. You can now upload your jpeg photo to your photo sharing site of choice (Photobucket, etc) and now you have a Direct link to use if you want to put it in a post or use it as your signature photo, etc. Success!
For mac – using Preview
1. To "print screen" on your mac, use the shortcut keys Apple+shift+3.
You will see "Picture 1" show up on your desktop
2. Double click on Picture, it should open in Preview. If not, right click on it & open it in Preview (if no mouse, hit CONTROL & click on photo, select Preview)
3. Choose Tools > Select Tool, and select the portion of the page you want to keep.
4. Choose Tools > Crop
5. File -> Save As. If you haven't already made a duplicate of the original pic, Save as a jpeg with a different name than your original pic, so you don't lose your original pic. So if the original is named "Picture 1", name the newly cropped one "Picture 1a" or something you want.
6. Now if you want to see how big that picture is, go to Tools, Get Info & you will see the size/KB.
On a mac, you also might have ImageWell which is easy to use to crop & resize photos, same as the ones above.
You can also use these programs as a photo editors:
Photoshop (my weapon of choice! But it's complex & an expensive program from Adobe
Illustrator - I lucked out & it came with the used mac I got)
Irfanview (freeware) (I've used this & liked it)
GIMP (freeware)
Paintbrush (freeware)
Tuxpaint (freeware)
Seashore (freeware)
Photobucket a free photo sharing site that has options to Edit your photo (resize, crop, add text, the basics, etc)
And lots others - you should find one you are comfortable with. As always, check out the product before downloading anything to your computer.
Free alternative to Photoshop?
You can get GIMP, it has the full range of tools, selections, layers, masks, filter, etc.. If you are not used to some of the concepts like how to use layers and masks and selection tools Gimp will seem complicated but these same concepts. All image editors have a steep learning curve. You can read their help sections or how-to books to help you learn. Edited to Add: I just tried GIMP out & it is pretty similar to Photoshop & it's free! I used their help section a lot to find what I needed.
Sceencapping Software
There are programs available that allow you to take many screenshots at a time (with a video) without going through the entire process of taking a screencap, pasting the image, and saving the picture. Do a google search to find Screencapping or Screen Capture software.
PCs-You can try the image capture program in Windows Vista. Go to start, all programs, accessories, to Snipping Tool. If you have CyberLink Director software that comes with a HP, just hit "save as a snapshot" on it.
Also, you video player might have screencapturing. For example, if you have VLC media player, under Video, choose Snapshot.
If you have a mac, another member recommends a terrific software program called Captureme (it's free, but they do kindly request donations - you can disable that message if it keeps popping up). You pop in a BN DVD or you can use the iTunes viewer to do the screen captures on episodes not on DVD yet (you can download BN episodes off of iTunes), where you move through a given scene frame by frame, backwards or forwards. Then when you've gotten to the image you want to capture, just open up the Capture Me software and that's it.
Where to find BN Screencaps
There are also sites that have BN screencaps already made for you, check out these screencap links.
I've made a screencap -- now how do I make it into a smaller size to use it as an avatar or signature?
The forum says avatars must be no larger than 30 KB. I think you can go over that. 30KB is pretty small. You can probably get away with 50KB or bigger even. That's why usually why avatars are small, and can only fit someone's face or thereabouts (the BN site will automatically make it fit the avatar size once you upload it anyway).
There are a couple ways you can make it smaller to make it smaller:
1. If you are using it as an avatar here on the Burn Notice forum, it will resize it for you. Go to Edit Avatar Settings and "Upload a new image from your computer" using the browse button & choose your photo. The forum software should automatically make it the right size for an avatar: below the "browse" button it should say "Image Scale On(This will scale the image down for you if it's too big in pixel size)"
2. You can use a free online site to do it for you, such as [email="http://www.shrinkpictures.com/create-avatar/"]http://www.shrinkpictures.com/create-avatar/[/email]
3. If you are unhappy with the way the forum resized your photo or you want to resize it your self using a photo editing program (see above Screencapping section for editors).
a. You should always make a duplicate of your original photo (in case you mess up & want to go back to it, or just if you want to use it again). You can easily do that on by right clicking on the photo (or if you don't have a mouse, hit CONTROL & click on the photo) & choosing "Duplicate" on a mac (and the similar option on a pc) and then use that 'duplicate' or 'copy' to play with (edit/crop/resize).
b. In general, I find that if you "save as" your photo as a jpeg -- it makes it a smaller size KB (the end of the file name should be .jpg or .jpeg). So try saving your photo as a jpeg first (using a photo editor on your computer). You can right click on it (if you don't use a mouse you can hold down the CONTROL key & then click on the photo with your mouse to pull up the options)& go to "Get Info" to see if it is a jpeg & what size KB it is. I find for most jpeg avatars, that they tend to be around 90x100 pixels, 80x100, 100x100, 120x110 pixels or thereabouts.
To resize it, see Screencapping sections on photo editors: using Paint, using Preview, using iPhoto.
4. You don't need an online photo account to make it smaller, but if you do have one, they can help you. Some have the option to upload photos as avatar size. For instance in Photobucket, you can choose to upload in "Tiny size (100x75)". In Photobucket, you can also go to "edit photo" and resize or crop the photo there. Then just right click on the photo & "save image as" back to your computer/desktop. Then you can upload it as your avatar.
Animated gifs
An animated GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) file is a graphic image on a Web page that moves - for example, a blinking icon/avatar or a signature/banner. It\\\'s a set of images that are presented in a specified order – it can loop endlessly or it can show one or a few sequences and then stop the animation. There are a whole slew of ways to make one, you can try doing a google search on how to make an \\\"animated gif\\\" to see some.
GetBurned gifs
Here's way one of our members does it (thanks GetBurned!):
1. Download
http://www.geovid.com/Video_Avatar/
2. Open Video avatar
Click the Dots where it says input file
Open the movie
3. Move the blue bar where you want the animated gif to start and end
then click the Green Play button
There are lots of animated gif-making sites or software you can use (do a google search). If you are using Photo Shop CS or extended then go to menus : Window --> Animation. An animation handling window will be open. Here is a tutorial. Another member (thanks FiRocks!) uses this free site at: http://www.online-image-editor.com/
Here is another free site that will make the animated gif for you: http://www.gifworks.com/image_editor.html
If anyone has a gif program they like to use, feel free to pm me & I an add it here.
Photo captions
We have a lot of fun the "What are they Saying?" Caption Thread making BN photo captions. Everyone should join in the fun! I'll try to add to this section when I get more info.
The basic steps are:
1. Add callouts & text to your photo in a photo editing program.
2. Save the caption as a jpeg to your computer.
3. Upload the caption to your photo sharing site & copy the Direct Link.
4. In your post here, use the Insert Image button or image tags to insert the Direct Link here.
Top make captions, there are lots of programs you can use on your computer (depending on if you have a mac or pc), that may already be on your computer or you can download them, such as these programs that some of our esteemed forum members use (thanks ya'll!):
Microsoft Publisher
Comic Life
Photoshop
Microsoft Word
Photobucket
Look in your photo editor for options to add "Callouts", or "Text" – most have something basic. If anyone has a program they use that's not mentioned here, please feel free to send me a pm!
Using MS/Miscrosoft Publisher: "Objects" toolbar...there's a "Autoshapes" icon, there you can se how to add the talking/thinking bubbles (it calls them "Callouts").
If you know Power Point, you can also try using that to add something to a pic and then upload it to a photo sharing site.
If you know Photoshop, you'll see the options to add shapes & text, etc. The "layers" section will be really helpful. Essentially, you start with Layer 1 – the photo, add a Layer 2 – the callout bubble, add Layer 3 – the text, add Layer 4 – a Binky cutout, etc… and with Layers you can manipulate one layer without changing the others – it's fantastic! Send me a pm or post in this thread if you have Photoshop & want to know more about layers. I've also heard that the freeware photoediting program, GIMP, has layers, too.
Some photosharing sites, like Photobucket, have options for you to edit your photos & add callouts & text, etc – just the basics. You can get a free account at Photobucket & most photo sharing sites. If you want, you can upgrade to their "pro" program and pay a fee you & may get more fancy editing options, but I haven't tried it (I prefer it free!).
After you have uploaded your photo into Photobucket, click to Edit an image, the tool bar offers "Decorate." Hit the "Speech" or "Thought" button to add a speech or thought bubble and text. Hit "Text" to add just text., and there are other features one can play around with, including also cropping and resizing. As a bonus, your photo is then already in Photobucket, you just have copy the Direct Link and paste it into your post, using the Insert Photo button or image tags
Using Microsoft Word for making captions: I love using Word to make captions on both pcs & macs. The thing you should remember is: Save your work often. Sometimes the photos are too large a size for Word to deal with & it may close unexpectedly. So you'll want to Save your document continually as you are working on it, or you may lose all your work. (When are all done with it, you can delete the document to free up space on your hard drive.)
To make a caption using Word + a photo editor:
1. Copy & paste the photo into Word. You can simply find the photo you like on the web, right click on it (or if no mouse, hold down CONTROL + click on the photo) and click on the option to "Copy Image". If the photo is on your computer, open it up in your photo editor, select Copy. This copies the image to your clipboard.
2. In Word, open the "drawing" toolbox for callout shapes & add text/dialog. Go to View -> Toolbars -> Drawing.
3. In Word, Paste that photo into a New blank document (from Edit menu -> Paste).
4. Resize photo. The photo you pasted onto your blank document will probably be huge. You want it smaller, so simply click on a corner of the photo & drag is smaller. The "formatting palette" will also likely pop up when you click on the photo - you can use these palette options to lighten/darken/crop/etc.
5. To add a callout box for dialog, on the Drawing toolbar, click on the Shapes box & choose Callout, select the Callout you want & click on your picture & it will show up. Drag a corner of the Callout to resize it. You can thicken the outline line by using the line button & choosing the thickness.
6. To add text, click on the callout box and type your text! (you can change the font/size/color like you usually do in Word).
7. When you are done adding all your callouts & text, you'll need to get your Caption saved as a Jpeg. You can't do that in Word. You need to copy & paste your Caption into your Photo Editor on your computer (like Photoshop, Paint, ImageWell, iPhoto, etc. On my PC i prefer the freeware Irfanview, on my mac I use Photoshop).
To do this, in Word – from the Edit menu, select "Select All", and then from the Edit menu select "Copy".
It is important to choose "Select All" to get all your of your photo & callouts & text you added to it, otherwise it will only Copy just one part of it.
8. Open your photo editor on your computer. Open a new blank document/photo. "Paste" you caption into that new blank one. It may take a few seconds if your caption is a large size.
8. Make sure you resize your Caption it to a smaller size now. About 400-700 pixels wide works well for our forum.
9. "Save as" a jpeg to your computer.
10. Finally, upload that into a public sharing site like Photobucket, Imageshack, etc. to host the photo & copy that DIRECT link location into your post here using the "insert image" button or tags, and let the Captioneering begin!
Photo fun is for everyone! Give it a try
Video clips
…coming sometime, not sure when…
General Q&A
Is there a way to 'save' a reply as you go when typing so that if you get "kicked out/off" the forum, you do not have to think of and retype everything?
It's unlikely there's any way to save your posts should you get booted off the forum for whatever reason. You could try to retrieve the post you were working on by clicking the "back" button on your browser (sometimes that has worked). Or try this great tip: If you are writing something lengthy: copy it to the clipboard every so often, so if you do get kicked off before you actually post it, you won't have to retype everything. Otherwise, you may just have to retype it all.
Why can't I edit/update my profile? How do I get my birthday not to appear on my profile?
Your account may have been affected by the forum upgrade of July '08 (see the logging in problem section above) which has the entire USA forum now tied into NBC's database. After the upgrade some of the "Edit Profile Information" options are no longer available, such as "hiding" your birthdate. The options available in Edit Profile now are to edit: gender, email, country, zip code, change password, add avatar, add signature, board settings, etc.
For example, it's likely if you were a member before the forum upgrade of July 2008, and if you had chosen before then to have your birthday 'hidden', then after the upgrade, it still remained hidden. But if you didn't have it hidden initially, or if you joined after July 2008, then your birthdate is shown. The birthdate is a part of initial registration that everyone must fill in, or they can't complete registration. The NBC database requires it be filled in when registering. The only way for this to change would be for NBC to change it across all forums, which is unlikely.
Why can't I post right away after posting?
You have to wait 30 secs between postings, since admin has enabled "Flood Control." If you post again too soon, you'll just get a message saying: Board Message: Sorry, an error occurred. If you are unsure on how to use a feature, or don't know why you got this error message, try looking through the help files for more information. The error returned was: Flood control is enabled on this board, please wait 30 seconds before replying or posting a new topic.
Luckily, the forum will try save what you wrote, so you don't have to retype it. Under the Board/error message it should say: Post Data Saved! The following post data has been saved. In some cases, using your browser's back button will empty out form fields which results in the loss of any typed and unsaved material. You may select all of the text area below and copy before hitting back.
1. You will see a Box with your text hopefully in it.
2. Hit button "SELECT ALL" under it.
3. Your text will be highlighted blue, Choose Copy (right click, choose Copy; or go to Edit at top menu bar, choose Copy).
4. Hit back button
5. Now paste your message back in & hit "Add Reply" again. It should work by now, since 30secs should have gone by.
I used to be able to watch BN episodes on the USA Network site, but now I can only hear it, no picture - what's up?
USA help site says: Please ensure that all ad-blocking software is disabled when trying to view full episodes on USANetwork.com. Ad blockers will prevent the episodes from playing properly.
This kinda explains it: Sometimes the audio or video content embedded in a web page doesn't play in Firefox or Mozilla Suite but it works in another browser like Internet Explorer. This usually happens either because you are missing a plugin or because the web page is coded specifically for Internet Explorer. This Article will help you solve these and other problems with audio and video content on web pages. One member found this out: If you use Firefox, you may have a plugin for FireFox called ad blocker https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865 that might be blocking the ad in the video, and thusly preventing you from watching vid. It does not have any problems with HULU with ads. This plug-in ad blocker is more for banner ads on websites. Just disable the plugin and the video will play fine in firefox.
It's also possible that the USA network has been upgrading their video software, and that's why you were able to watch them months ago, but not now. Double check to see if you are able to watch the same BN episodes on Hulu or Fancast - That might help determine if it's your browser, or their site. Please note that Hulu & Fancast usually only have the full episodes posted if the USA site has them posted. When the USA takes episodes down, Hulu & Fancast take theirs down.
Why can't I access the forum (post, etc) using my iPhone or iPod Touch?
I know some other members have had the same problem using their iphone to access the forum. I looked around on the web, and I think that the problem isn't actually the forum software, but the ipod/iphone since it doesn't support Flash.
I'm guessing that the USA forums use Flash, like a lot of sites on the web, and Flash is not supported on the iTouch & Iphone, so you will not be able to view flash sites and some other types of videos on some internet sites.
With no Flash support…There are literally millions of websites that utilise Adobe's Flash Player, some even completely Flash-based and without support, it renders them useless. If you go to http://www.mac-forums.com and do a search on iphone & flash, you might see more about it (also a good place to ask questions).
Per this site, the Apple answer is: "The iPhone cannot view Flash content. Steve Jobs has recently hinted that Flash support is not coming any time soon as he thinks the standard version is too processor intensive for the iPhone and the mobile edition is too under-powered. It would appear that Adobe would have to create a version of Flash specifically tailored for the iPhone for Apple to consider including it."
Other info on this topic: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Why can I only view the lo-fi version of the forum (no graphics/photos), why not the hi-fi version?
Try clearing/deleting your cookies on your browser (go to your browser's help section if you don't know how), this should get you backk to viewing hteh hi-fi version. According to this helpful person: "the lo-fi version [is] the one that is meant for cell phones, pdas, etc...the two modes are different and this software allows for both and detects which setting your pda/phone is on and displays the forum accordingly.....the mobile version is made to load faster and navigate quicker.." Deleting cookies gets you back to hi-fi if you are on your computer.
What's the little statement (title) under my avatar?
It seems the forum software must automatically change your "status" title when you hit a certain number of posts, so as your posts go up your classification does as well. It's not a contest or anything to see who can get the most posts, it's just something fun on the forum to have. Here's what they seem to stack up like (post numbers aren't exact & some titles might be missing):
1 bar = Stranger = 0-20 posts
1 bar = Newbie = 34-47 posts
1 bar = Journeyman = 65-97 posts
2 bars = Member = 101-137 posts
2 bars = Enthusiast = 200-353 posts
2 bars = Addict = 477-796 posts
3 bars = Old Hand = 830-933 posts
3 bars = Veteran = 1,264-1,575 posts
3 bars = Overachiever = 1,619-1,986 posts
4 bars = Pooh-Bah = 2,034-2,478 posts
4 bars = Carpal Tunnel = 2,558- posts
4 bars = Buns of Steel = 3,081-3,499 posts
5 bars = Top Dog = 4,088-5,954 posts
6 bars = Illustrious Potentate = 10,484 posts
6 bars = "Executive Assistant" = 34,456 posts
The Handy Dandy Section
Handy keyboard shortcuts:
(hold down 1st key, then tap 2nd key)
On a mac:
Apple(Cmd)+C = copy
Apple(Cmd)+V = paste
On a pc:
Ctrl+C= copy
Ctrl+V= paste
Mac: Apple+T opens a new tab on your browser
Mac: Apple+shift+T brings back a tab you closed
Pc: Control+T opens a new tab on your browser
Right clicking: if you have a mouse, you can right click on an item (photo, document) and pull up Options for that item. If you don't have a mouse, hit CONTROL & click on the photo to pull up the same options.
pc: Prt Sc = print screen or 'screencap' screen
mac: Apple+shift+3 = print screen or 'screencap' screen
mac: Apple-shift-4 = allows you to screencap just part of the screen, click cursor to resize area you want capped
Handy Abbreviation guide:
BN=Burn Notice
JD=Jeffrey Donovan
GA=Gabrielle Anwar
BC=Bruce Campbell
SG=Sharon Gless
MW=Michael Westen
TPTB=The Powers that Be
BG=Bad Guy
OT=Off Topic
IMHO=In my humble opinion
IMO=In my opinion
BTW=By the way
BUMP='bumps' the thread to the top of the current page of the forum for all to notice it better
YKYAAW=You know you're addicted when
LOL=Laughing out loud
LMAO=Laughing my *ss off
ROTF=Rolling on the floor
PM=private message
And some forum-fan-made ones:
SOJ=Sunglasses of Justice (Michael's sunglasses)
CFAS=Chuck Finley Appreciation Society
NAASMW=National Association for the Advancement of a Shirtless Michael Westen
Binky=the imaginary teddy bear that Michael Westen has - why? because it amuses us
Remember, no question is too silly to ask, so ask away! Viva la Burn Notice!
This is great! I've just recently gotten brave enough to add a signature. Who knowa what will happen next 
Thanks....... 
I love that title! if only there was enough room to fit it all...
) It's confusing as heck, but I'm loving it!
