Ship of Fools Cafe

Technical junk you may need to know...

Can I change my avatar?
Can I use my custom avatar?
Can I change my displayed name?
What are the other settings?
Are my settings saved?
What do those icons above the list of people do?
How do I insert smilies?

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Can I change my avatar?
Yes. Click the 'Settings' button and you will see a selection of avatars; use the arrow buttons to scroll through them until you find one you like. Click your chosen one with the mouse and then click "Save" to return to the Café.

Can I use my custom avatar?
No. There is a limited amount of memory to store avatars for use in the Café. babybear has provided a number of additional Café-related avatars to use in addition to some of the standard ones. As a perk of taking on the job, Café Administrators do have access to their own custom avatars.

Can I change my displayed name?
Yes. It is another option in the settings, just change the Nickname. Note that you cannot change your displayed name to a name currently in use or any reserved name (the login names for all bulletin board members). Also, changing your name to something that could be easily confused with another Shipmate is a Bad Thing™.

What are the other settings?
There are several other fields in the settings, which will be displayed if anyone checks your profile. You can also change the font size and colours. You may find that a smaller font will allow you to see more text in the Café at one time. Please note that anything you change will not be retained when you exit the Café – see note below.

Are my settings saved?
No. You avatar will be retained if you don't close the browser window you used to launch the Café, but all other settings will be reset to default values whenever you restart the Café.

What do those icons above the list of people do?
Above the user list there are a number of icons. From left to right these:

  • Display the profile of a selected user.
  • Send a private message to a selected user.
  • Flag a selected user. This will highlight the typing of the selected user in a different colour, and with some versions of Java create a sound when they post a message. This will enable you to follow a conversation with a particular group of people when the Café is crowded.
  • Ignore a selected user. This will mean you won't see what the selected user types. This is useful if someone is being disruptive. Note: you cannot ignore a Café Administrator.

How do I insert smilies?
The Café allows the use of a limited number of smilies. To convey a particular emotion, type in the corresponding keystrokes given below:

  • Smile :)
  • Frown :(
  • Big grin :D
  • Razz :p
  • Wink ;)
  • Embarrassed :o
  • Angry :mad



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