Getting started with the Forum

[Jitter]

Hello and welcome, newcomer! We are glad to have you here!

This post is intended to help you get started on the Forum. First of all, don't feel overwhelmed! There is huge amount of content here, as the Forum has existed since 2014, but you are not expected to go through it all to participate  Some of us are more obsessed active than others, but everyone's contribution is valued! Everyone is invited to participate in the ongoing discussions, to start new discussions, and to contribute art, writing and other creative stuff.

I suggest you take a look around the forum first. You'll see the main sections are
- Worlds&Stories, which includes the boards for discussing SSSS and for other stories
- Creative Corner which includes boards dedicated to various types of creative work (fanwork and original) plus the Events board, which, as the name implies, hosts the various Forum Events we have here. The events are an easy way to get a peek at and general feel of the various kinds of fan creativity. The boards dedicated to each type of content (Writing, Visual arts etc) have huuuuuuge threads of SSSS and slightly less huge but still very impressive threads of other content.
- General, which has the General board as well as Language and Mythology boards
- About the Site holds the housekeeping board Help and Rules, as well as the archive

After a bit of a look around you'll get the bearings!

Some of the boards have child boards such as the Personal board under General, which appear when you have posted a few times and thus proven you are an actual, living Forumite. As you'll quickly notice, many of the key threads have hundreds upon hundreds of pages of material  You are not expected to go through everything before commenting on a thread although it's of course polite to take a look at a few of the latest pages to minimize unnecessary repetition. However, if something has been discussed, even at length, years ago, you are free to start a discussion about it again.

If you find an existing thread about something you wish to discuss, you are free to comment on it. If not, anyone is free to open a new thread. We also have a Politics board, which will show up when you have enough posts (this is intended as a precaution to prevent an influx of outsiders at times of heated debates). On the Politics board, a new thread can be opened by request. Otherwise you may open a new thread by using the forum tools. There is also the General Discussion Thread, which is, as the name implies, meant for discussion that doesn't go anywhere else.

Given the amount of existing stuff here, the "show new unread" function is highly useful. On the top right, where it says "Hello Nickname" you'll find links to Show unread posts since last visit and Show new replies to your posts. These will help you keep up and participate in the currently ongoing threads, while you perhaps browse through the older stuff too. 

The Forum Rules are here: https://ssssforum.com/index.php?topic=3.0
Most importantly, the general area of the forum is to be kept PG-13 / Teens rated, so anything suitable only for adults (whether due to sexual, violent or other content) is not to be posted here. There is a Mature board too, which will be possible to access for adults, after a sufficient forum presence has been established.

On the top of the page there is the My messages tab, under which you can send and read personal messages. If you need support with the forum, you can contact the mods and skalds (skald is a sort of an almost-moderator role here), such as myself by personal message too. We are here to Help!

You will not get yelled at even if you post in a wrong thread or board by accident  We are proud about the fact that we are very friendly. You may get told where would be better to post or get your message moved by a mod, this is also always meant as friendly instruction. 

A couple of pages you may find interesting:
Introduction thread: https://ssssforum.com/index.php?topic=131.0 Come by and say hi! (not required, just fun)
Discussion about each current page: https://ssssforum.com/index.php?topic=6.0
SSSS scriptorium (SSSS related writing): https://ssssforum.com/index.php?topic=193.0
Forum scriptorium (writing not related to SSSS): https://ssssforum.com/index.php?topic=257.0
SSSS art museum: https://ssssforum.com/index.php?topic=35.0
Forum art museum (non-SSSS art): https://ssssforum.com/index.php?topic=33.0
Events board: https://ssssforum.com/index.php?board=28.0 (note Prompt of the Week - you are invited!)
General discussion: https://ssssforum.com/index.php?topic=5.0

The Forum index will help you find more: https://ssssforum.com/index.php?topic=1157.0

And now, adventure awaits! Be welcome! 

- Your friendly neighborhood moderators and other staff

 

Oh, and here's your cake:




Did I forget something? Feel free to add below!