| Speculative biology is simultaneously a science and form of art in which one speculates on the possibilities of life and evolution. What could the world look like if dinosaurs had never gone extinct? What could alien lifeforms look like? What kinds of plants and animals might exist in the far future? These questions and more are tackled by speculative biologists, and the Speculative Evolution welcomes all relevant ideas, inquiries, and world-building projects alike. With a member base comprising users from across the world, our community is the largest and longest-running place of gathering for speculative biologists on the web. While unregistered users are able to browse the forum on a basic level, registering an account provides additional forum access not visible to guests as well as the ability to join in discussions and contribute yourself! Registration is free and instantaneous. Join our community today! |
| Little Known Features | |
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| Topic Started: Feb 1 2018, 03:19 AM (802 Views) | |
| Ànraich | Feb 1 2018, 03:19 AM Post #1 |
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L'évolution Spéculative est moi
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Lately I've answered some questions about adding various functions to the forum (which I can't really do, for the record). Many times these requests are things that the forum already has, or at least has a function similar to, so I thought I would go over some of the forum's lesser known features. TOPIC TRACKING While the forum does not currently support subscribing to topics (zetaboards premium actually has this functionality but we are not paying money to support an outdated platform that has not been updated in four years), it does have a topic tracking system that can make it easier for users to, well, keep track of topics. Unfortunately the placement of the button to track a topic and the lack of use of the preferences page in general makes this feature easily overlooked. ![]() The first step is to choose a topic you would like to subscribe to. You can subscribe to any thread, but I highly recommend only subscribing to those you either check frequently or want to keep tabs on, to avoid your subscriptions becoming cluttered. ![]() Next scroll down to the very bottom of the page. It's way at the bottom, so keep scrolling until you can't scroll no more. It doesn't matter what page you choose be it first, last, or middling. Click the link that says "Track Topic," outlined in red in the image above. There is also the option to email the topic, though why you would do this is beyond me. ![]() Finally you can check your tracked topics by clicking on the preferences tab at the top of the page. Unfortunately it will not alert you when new posts are made, but you can very clearly see who made the last post and when on the right-hand side. This way you can keep track of topics you want to follow without having to rely on the portal or digging through subforums until you find the one you want. Never lose a topic again with Topic TrackingTM. BLOGS Did you know that you can run a blog right here on the forum? Most people don't! You can use it to talk about your projects, your life, or even blog about your other blogs. The world is your bivalve, you merely have to seize it using our handy blog feature. ![]() First go to your preferences by clicking on the preferences tag at the top of the page. From there click the My Blog button, outlined in red. ![]() Now this is the confusing bit: you have to set up your blog and then click the Save Changes button to access your blog. So far as I know you must do this every time you want to make a new post, and you can only run one blog at a time. ![]() Finally you should see this page, where you have all the options available to you to run your blog. MULTI-QUOTING You can quote multiple posts--even across multiple pages--simply and easily if you didn't know! Next to the quote button you will see a little check box, just tick it for every post you wish to quote and hit the quote button on the last post after checking it! Now you've done it, you've multi-quoth. I'm not sure if this feature is particularly unknown, but newer members may not have been around when it was introduced and I thought I would mention it in case they didn't know what the little checkboxes were for. NOTES You can add footnotes[1] to your posts[2] by using the note code. To do so add--with no space afterwards--the note tag after the word or phrase you'd like to have a footnote, and write what you'd like that footnote to say enclosed in the note tags. For example: This is an example(note)And this is the footnote(/note). Simply replace the parentheses with brackets, as is standard with BBCode. Don't worry about numbers, each note you create is automatically numbered chronologically with no need for any additional effort on your part[3] PROFILE FEATURES There are a couple other small details I thought I would bring up relating to members' profiles. If you click on a member's username you will be taken to their profile. Hover over profile options and you will see several options:
[1] It's true! [2] Literally any post! [3] How convenient! |
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We should all aspire to die surrounded by our dearest friends. Just like Julius Caesar. "The Lord Universe said: 'The same fate I have given to all things from stones to stars, that one day they shall become naught but memories aloft upon the winds of time. From dust all was born, and to dust all shall return.' He then looked upon His greatest creation, life, and pitied them, for unlike stars and stones they would soon learn of this fate and despair in the futility of their own existence. And so the Lord Universe decided to give life two gifts to save them from this despair. The first of these gifts was the soul, that life might more readily accept their fate, and the second was fear, that they might in time learn to avoid it altogether." - Excerpt from a Chanagwan creation myth, Legends and Folklore of the Planet Ghar, collected and published by Yieju Bai'an, explorer from the Celestial Commonwealth of Qonming Tree That Owns Itself
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| LittleLazyLass | Feb 1 2018, 04:04 PM Post #2 |
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Proud quilt in a bag
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There's also some BBCode that's not listed at the top of the posting screen, which can be seen through the Full BBCode List just underneath. The includes a bulleted list option:
To show you how to do this, there's also the [nocode][/nocode] feature, which keeps everything within its boundaries as plain text, mostly useful for showing people how to do stuff: [list][*]We use this for COMs. [*]I occasionally use this elsewhere. [*]Most other people never use it.[/list] Alternatively, the [code][/code] will do this automatically, within a quote box (which I actually didn't know about until making this post:
Spoiler: click to toggle Another thing I learned from making this, the interaction between [nocode][/nocode] and [code][/code], as well as multiple stacking instances of [code][/code] can be... weird, apparently. This is why the above is the only code spoiler using [nocode] instead [code]. Another weird thing is that if you don't close the [code] when using inside a spoiler, it actually swallows stuff that comes after the [/spoiler] into the code box within the spoiler. I can't show this, since it'd swallow the whole post because placing a [/code] outside of the spoiler doesn't stop it. Quotes don't do this, they form a new quote outside of the spoiler in this case. Bizarre... My personal favorite is [me], which automatically puts down your own username, and even in the right colour (though it won't link to your profile): LittleLazyLass Spoiler: click to toggle This also has little real use, but it is mildly interesting. In a similar vein, I learned while editing the OP for the Competition Ideas Thread that if a mod uses this while editing somebody else's post, it places the original poster's name and not the editor's. Throughout this post I've been using dividers, done by using the code [hr], which is actually in the normal post UI list, but I don't see used much, despite it actually being legitimately useful. It places those lines you see between the different sections here, which is great for distinctly separate sections of a post. Can be good for avoiding the possibility of somebody mixing up multiple unrelated statements. Here's three in a row: Spoiler: click to toggle Keeping with the lesser used ones that are on the post screen, you can stack both quotes and spoilers:
Spoiler: click to toggle The all of them must have at least some text in them or they won't appear, though note having another quote or spoiler inside of them does count. Spoiler: click to toggle I imagine most of you know about [center][/center]: Which center aligns any text within in. Any text on the same line after the [/center] is kicked to the next line. Spoiler: click to toggle What is less known is that we also have [right][/right], if you ever wanted that for some reason: Take a wild guess what this does! Spoiler: click to toggle If you're wondering what stacking these two codes does (here seen as [right] inside of [center]: Did you guess correctly? Spoiler: click to toggle Did you guess correctly?Not closing he first one can get weird, too. Spoiler: click to toggle [left]No, we don't have a counteracting [left] code.[/left] Last set that's not at the top of the posting UI are the [bgcolor][/bgcolor] and [border][/border] codes, which fit well with the featured [nocode][color][/color] code we use for mod posts, so I'll cover all three. [bgcolor]It does nothing if you don't specify a colour.[/bgcolor] Specify a hex code, however, and you get a background. Spoiler: click to toggle [border]The border code works the same, unsurprisingly. Probably a good thing, it's honestly rather ugly.[/border] A selection of some basic colour hex codes can be be found in the "color" dropdown menu at the top of the posting UI. You aren't, however, limited to these. You can also adjust the thickness by putting a number after the hex code using an apostraphe. Yes, it can get ridiculous. It caps at ten, looking like this. Without sufficient space between multiple lines of this, it can start looking weird. Without sufficient space between multiple lines of this, it can start looking weird. You can also make it dotted, if you really want, by adding the specifier "dotted" after the number specifier of 1 (nope, doesn't work with higher numbers). Spoiler: click to toggle [color]Lastly, the colour code. Hope you understand the logic by now, it's the same again.[/color] You can also use a few basic colour names like "green" or "blue" instead of hex codes, but no dice on different shades. This stacks with other code forms, creating the bold mod text you're all familiar with. [colour=#5a70b3]No, the British spelling doesn't work.[/colour] Spoiler: click to toggle Lastly, though I'll no go into a bunch of detail, I'll note the amount of space you leave before and after the code does make a difference in how it's all spaced out. Mess around with this and see what results you get. Most notably is the different ways quotes work: This is right after without starting a new line. No use of the enter key.
This is on the next line after the quote. Enter key used once.
This is with a space between it and the quote. Enter key used twice. Hopefully you all learned something. If you didn't... honestly, I'm impressed. If you're still curious about all these, look at them in use in my post by viewing it on the quote posting screen. |
totally not British, b-baka! You like me (Unlike)I don't even really like this song that much but the title is pretty relatable sometimes, I guess. Me What, you want me to tell you what these mean? Read First Words Maybe | |
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| CaledonianWarrior96 | Feb 5 2018, 06:56 AM Post #3 |
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An Awesome Reptile
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This forum is more complex than I thought |
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Come check out and subscribe to my projects on the following subforums; Future Planet (V.2): the Future Evolution of Life on Earth (Evolutionary Continuum) The Meuse Legacy: An Alternative Outcome of the Mosasaur (Alternative Evolution) Terra Cascus: The Last Refuge of the Dinosaurs (Alternative Evolution) - Official Project - Foundation The Beryoni Galaxy: The Biologically Rich and Politically Complex State of our Galaxy (Habitational Zone) - Beryoni Critique Thread (formerly: Aliens of Beryoni) The Ecology of Skull Island: An Open Project for the Home of King Kong (Alternative Universe) The Ecology of Wakanda: An Open Project for the Home of Marvel's Black Panther (Alternative Universe) (Click bold titles to go to page. To subscribe click on a project, scroll to the bottom of the page and click "track topic" on the bottom right corner) And now, for something completely different
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| peashyjah | Feb 11 2018, 02:23 PM Post #4 |
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Bydo
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I know right |
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Discontinued projects: The New Ostracoderms (i might continue with this project again someday) The Americas (where in 58 million years from now in the future North and South America has both become isolated island continents) All Expansions (my attempt at expanding the universe of All Tomorrows by Nemo Ramjet aka C.M. Kosemen, started June 6, 2018) Anthropozoic (my attempt at expanding the universe of Man After Man and also a re-imagining of it, coming 2019 or 2020) New Cenozoica (my attempt at expanding the universe of The New Dinosaurs and also a re-imagining of it, also coming 2019 or 2020) All Alternatives or All Changes (a re-telling of All Tomorrows but with some minor and major "changes", coming June 10, 2018) | |
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| Corecin | Mar 13 2018, 06:38 PM Post #5 |
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Prime Specimen
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I just came here to learn and now I'm no longer having a good time. |
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| Dragonthunders | May 31 2018, 05:04 PM Post #6 |
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The ethereal archosaur in blue
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The majority of those who are probably new or are not very used to the inbox will have noticed that there is no delete button, which makes it a little complicated to remove those possible undesirable messages, or those you no longer want, to do this you just follow these steps 1 Find the pm you want to delete, then click this button 2 Then scroll down to the bottom of the page, and click on the archive button 3 Then head over to your Archive 4 Select the pm again (same as in the first step), and then hit delete Tutorial made by Zorcuspine |
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Projects "Active" projects The Future is Far Welcome to the next chapters of the evolution of life on earth, travel the across the earth on a journey that goes beyond the limits, a billion years of future history in the making. The SE giants project Wonder what is the big of the big on speculative evolution? no problem, here is the answer Coming one day Age of Mankind Humanity fate and its possible finals. The Long Cosmic Journey The history outside our world. The alternative paths The multiverse, the final frontier... Holocene park: Welcome to the biggest adventure of the last 215 million years, where the age of mammals comes to life again! Cambrian mars: An interesting experiment on an unprecedented scale, the life of a particular and important period in the history of our planet, the cambric life, has been transported to a terraformed and habitable mars in an alternative past. Two different paths, two different worlds, but same life and same weirdness. My deviantart | |
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11:45 AM Jul 13