How do you pronounce Plime?
It's pronounced Plime as one word because it's a combination of plum and lime, plime.

What is plime? Plime is a "Wiki-like" user editable news aggregator. It relies on the power of online community participation to control it's structure and editorial content. It's also a great place to meet others with similar interests.

What does that mean? This means that Plime is a place to share interesting links, news stories, and videos. Plime is also controlled by everyone and no one. Each individual user and rate any post or comment based on it's value to the community, making you essentially in charge. Remember, with great power comes great responsibility.

What is a Plimate? Plimates are a group of people commonly believed to be very cool, ultra attractive, and extremely intellectual. Plimates are also all members of the website known as Plime.com

What is Karma? Karma is a rating system used here at Plime. Karma is affected by other users giving you votes either up or down. Each user will add/subtract Karma points to yours based on their level.

What is that little number inside my star? This is your user Level/rating this is the amount of Karma points you will give/take when you vote on a post.

How often does my user rating change? User level will change when you hit the next Karma plateau.
User_level = (Karma/10)^(1/3)
This is broken down like this.
Insert Karma scale here

What can I do at higher user levels? When you reach higher levels you can:
Edit posts (must be a higher level than the persons post you are editing)
Create/edit categories/sub-categories (5)
Edit Category color schemes (5)
Change User access levels (25)
etc...

How and when should I add a category to the plime tree? Sub categories can be added once a user has reached level 5 (Some categories might be different.) Once you have approval from the Plime community via the forums. You can add a sub-category by going to the category you want to change. Click on the settings tab. Click add new sub-category and fill in the box. To edit this category you must go to its setting box once it has been created.

How do I submit a link? Click on the green rectangle on the main Plime page, it reads "Submit Link". This will pop up a new window where you can copy and paste the url of the link, enter a rief description of the link, select a category that the link falls under, and select an image to accompany the link.

How do I upload a new image?- After entering your keywords and article description, you can choose a thumbnail that matches your descriptive tags from our library or add your own.

To add a new image, click on the "Add new image" tab and enter a URL if it is a web based image, or click the text link "choose an image file from your computer" if you want to upload an image from your computer.

Thumbnail images are limited to 90x90 pixels. You can crop your image once it has been uploaded using the built in Plime thumbnail sizer.

Why are good keywords important in submitting a link? - Keywords determine the results you get when using the Plime site search engine. You should include relevant keywords that directly reflect the content of the news article or item of interest that you are posting. The more effective your keywords (and the search feature) the less likely that others will mistakenly submit duplicate entries of your link (or “dupes”). Please use as many relevant keywords as you can.

What kinds of things should I post? What you post is entirely at your discretion. However, links to offensive, pornographic and like material is frowned upon and will most likely be down-voted or deleted. Links to personal web pages or blogs are also frowned upon and will most likely be down-voted or deleted. Do not take it personally if your link to your website/blog was down-voted.. What you should post are interesting, funny, or otherwise entertaining links. This will not only help the community but will most likely be up-voted helping your overall standing.

What is a "Dupe?" - A "Dupe" is a duplicate entry of an article or news item that was previously submitted. In order to avoid the same items being posted over and over, it is good "Plime Practice" to research whether an item has already been posted before you submit a link. You can do this by searching for keywords relevant to the link you are considering. It is also a good idea to page back through the last few days of recent posts if the item you are considering is fairly new.

Other Plimates will often let you know if you have mistakenly posted a "Dupe" and vote it down. Don't take it personal... it's just how we prune the tree here at Plime. Posts that are repeatedly voted down with negative scores are eventually moved to the "deleted" page.

If you need to point out that a link is a duplicate, please also include a link to the original posting. This will help to prevent “false duplicates”, which are often links that share certain similarities, but are not necessarily identical.

When should I upvote a link/post/comment/thread/edit? Upvotes can be used when you find one of the above to be informative, interesting, or amuzing, or provoke discussion.

When should I downvote a link/post/comment/thread/edit? Negative Votes can be applied when you find one of the above to be rude, insulting, spamming, or trolling. Articles that are not of interest to you should not be down voted. Comments that contradict your opinion should not be downvoted unless the comment is derogatory and/or offensive.

How do I vote on a Post/Comment? To vote on a post you simply need to click either the up or down arrows above or below the post rating on the right side. This will add/subtract (respectively) to the post rating. It will also show you by changing that arrow to another color depending on that sections color scheme. Once you have cast a vote you can change your vote by clicking the same arrow you already clicked (it will be a different color.) Clicking this will return your vote to a neutral state. You can also click the opposite arrow which will change your vote putting your Karma points the opposite direction.

Do I have to up/down vote everything? No. There is no need to up or down vote things that are not of interest to you, or do not have any impact on your enjoyment of the site.

What can I vote on? You can vote (positively or negatively) on any links, forum threads, comments on links, comments in forum threads, and edits as you see fit.

What is the "Popular" tab for? The Popular tab is a way you can see the most popular posts. A post can get to the popular page by receiving multiple votes. This is not based on rating only on popularity. (can popular posts get removed from the popular page?)

What is the "Deleted" tab for? When a post is very unpopular and receives multiple down-votes it is moved to the Deleted page. Posts can be "resurrected" from the Deleted page if they receive enough up-votes, but this is very rare. Duplicate posts should be down-voted to the Deleted page.

What are the scores on the Karma Leader Board? The Karma Leader board shows the 25 users with the greatest Karma change for the time periods shown. These Karma increases can be from: submitted links, Comments, or Forum posts. The person with the highest increase can pat themselves on the back for contributing the most to the site for that time period.

I have seen some profile pages with different colors. Can I change my profile colors? Yes you can.

How do I change my colors? Go to your profile page and click on the settings tab. From there a new set of tabs will appear below. Click on the "Colors" tab. From here you can customize your profile page with which ever colors you choose.

Can I change other colors on the site? As you reach a higher level (5) you will be able to modify other colors on the site. It is customary to ask in the forums first. Some people might be attached to those colors. This process is done in much the same manner as above but you must be in the category settings tab.

What is the "User Map?" The User map is a map of all the Plime users that have told the server their location. You can click on any name in the list and it will center on that users location, provided that the users you are looking for has put themselves on the map. Please do not stalk your fellow Plimates.

How can I add my location to this list? Go to your profile page and click on the settings tab. From there a new set of tabs will appear below. Click on the "map" tab. A map and dialog box will appear. You can either find your location manually on the map or type in an address and it will find your location automatically.

Can I send a message to another user via the site?Yes you can. On your profile page select the messages tab. Click on "Compose new" from here type in the users name and the message you want to send.

How do I know if I have a message? You should receive an E-mail notification when you receive a message. You will also notice the envelope next to you log-in name at the top of the screen will flash yellow signaling "You've got mail"

What can I comment on? You may comment on anything you like, whether a link or a forum thread. Nothing is restricted.

What kind of things can I say in my comments? The content of your comments is entirely up to you. It is important to note, however, that rude/offensive/derogatory comments will likely result in some serious hits to your karma through negative votes from other plimates, so use common sense. This is not a site to take out your daily aggressions and enter a series of flame wars. By all means, feel free to express yourself and your point(s) of view, but try to do so in an adult manner. Remember that your opinion may and undoubtedly will differ from those of other members, this is not a bad thing, it is what makes the world an interesting place to live.

How do I change the style of the font in my comments?

Plime interprets some common tags, placed in brackets.

b and /b around a word make it bold.

i and /i around a word make it italic.

quote and /quote around words format the words as a How do I insert a link into a comment?

Use the url tag, in brackets.

For example, for plime put, in brackets, url="http://www.plime.com" ahead of the word that should be the link, and /url after that word:

Plime.

How do I add categories to "my interests?" - Each post on Plime is categorized (e.g. business, games, politics, science etc.) to help you quickly find related items. When you read a post and find that category to be of interest, just click on the "Save Interest" button (beside the "submit a link" button). The category of your choice will then show up beneath your user name under the "my interests" column.
You will also start seeing a graph on your profile page showing your interests by your level of participation in each category.

If you wish to remove that category from your interests, just click on the small "x" to the right of it.

How do I "add friends" to my user profile? - As you use Plime, you will probably start to build friendships and develop an interest in what those friends are posting to the site. You can add a friend by visiting that member's profile page (just click on their user name) and clicking the "+ Add Friend" button in the upper right corner. Similar to adding "interests"... you will see your newly added friends names in the left side menu below your user name. If that member is online when you are - you will see a small plime icon to the left of the member's name.

What does NSFW mean? - NSFW means "Not Suitable For Work." When posting links to Plime, consider if the content is workplace friendly (no nudity, audible profanity, vulgarity, or other content that would raise an eyebrow in the workplace). If you think the content may not be suitable, add a "Warning: NSFW" to your link description.

Can my level go back down? Yes, but only if you receive enough downvotes to take you back over the threshold between levels. Inactivity does not affect your level.

Note: In early February 2007, the formula that determines user levels was overhauled in an effort to help with the rapid level inflation many users were experiencing. This change left users with much lower levels than they had before. If you were a member of the site at that time and have noticed that your level is lower than it was before then, this is the most likely reason.

I don't want to see all the posts when I visit plime, only those from a particular interest to me. Is there a way to do this? How do I do this? You can filter plime so that only posts in a particular category will display. While browsing a category of interest to you, click on the 'save interest' button at the top right. This category will then be added to your interests in a separate list above the other categories. By then always visiting the 'my interests' site, you will only see articles under those categories.

Sometimes when I click on the links on top like forum I get different pages. Why is this? The links forum, settings and changes are per category. This means that they will display different content depending on he category that you are in. While in the crime category for example, forum posts for that category will be shown.

Is it possible to embed video content? Yes. If you are interested in embedding a video, use the following html tagsvideo]insert URL [video]

Currently we are able to embed videos from the following sites:


CollegeHumor.com
Glumbert.com
Google Video
GoEar.com (music player)
iFilm.com
LiveLeak.com
metacafe.com
myspace.com
revver.com
vimeo.com
youtube.com

Does Plime have any special Lingo? Yes here are a few you might see:
Dupe Posting a link that has recently been posted.
Splogger Bloggers who either write very little content on their blog or have it full of extremely controversial topics to try to increase traffic, then add tons of banner ads and other types of advertisements. Then they post links to these blogs on all the aggregate sites like digg, fark, and Plime.
Plimp An active user of Plime.
Plimate A user of Plime.
noob A new user who has not yet learned the inner workings of the site.
Spam 1 Useless news or links posted for site advertisement.
2 A tasty canned meat made from spiced ham.

Am I allowed to start a new account? Yes, this is allowed. If you are banned from the community, by the community, you are allowed to create a new account. You simply have to start from scratch and prove that you are trustworthy like any new user.
But what about having two accounts running at the same time? What would the pro's and con's of that be? Assuming multiple identities simultaneously and having them interact or refer to each other as if they are separate people. I don't care if you wish to start fresh and create a new account - just abandon your old account and never revisit it. Pretending to be multiple people is seriously creepy and pretty pointless considering how easy it is to spot.

What's a Plime Classic?
A "Plime Classic" a repost of an older Plime post that fills certain criteria (see below). To be valid, a Plime Classic must be older than two months. Posting a “Plime Classic” can be done by anyone who has found an old link that may not have yet been seen by many of the newer users. If you choose to repost a “Plime Classic” please refrain from posting them in abundance.
What qualifies a post as a classic? Any old post that you feel the current Plime community would be interested in revisiting can be a Plime Classic. Please do not use the “Plime Classic” angle to regurgitate ancient news articles that are not relevant to current events.

What makes a good headline?

Here's a quick primer for what makes a good headline and description:

1. No inside jokes. Though a lot of us submitting content are also members of Worth1000, a lot of future members will not be. And probably none of the guests will be. Please write the headline for the guest, as descriptive as possible.
   
2. Subtle sense of humor or witty addition is great. There are some great examples on this page and this page and also here.
   
3. Invite the user to read more. Don't post a full digest of the article's content or a crucial piece of information in your description. An example would be this post, which requires a user to read the article to find out the actual $ amount teased in the post.
   
4. Be DESCRIPTIVE in your headline, not just your description. A user should still be able to understand what the article links to by just reading the headline (as some RSS feeds won't display your description, this is important).
   
5. Be CONCISE in your description. Don't post three paragraphs where one will do
   
6. Good grammar and punctuation is key! Please capitolize the first word in a sentence. Once this system is rolling and lots of users are at higher levels, other people will help edit your mistakes, but until then, please doublecheck before you post.

What is FAF? FAF stands for "Fancy Avatar Friday". Here at Plime we like to shake things up now and then. On Fridays we hold a theme day (called FAF) in which avatars and posts coincide with the chosen theme, this is not manditory, but certainly encouraged. Themes are brainstormed upon and voted on in the forums. The avatar of the ninja taking a dump which reeks of professionalism is an example of an FAF avatar. (This was posted on a Ninja Theme day)

Did you do all this by yourself, donteatpoop? I'd like to take credit for this, but I can't. The Plime community put this together in the forums through much discussion. All I did was some copy and paste, a little rewording here and there, and post them in a new thread.

Any other questions that you think should be added? Post them here, with answer if you know it.

Updated to reflect recent addition of "What makes a good headline?" - 5/20

????

I don't think I quite understand your question...

sorry i was just testing something

Can I add a "signature" to my posts?

Sadly, no. No signatures on plime. But there is always room in your bio.

But... if karma is gained by OTHERS voting on me, explain:

I was a level 5 before I either posted an article or even a comment. All I did was read and vote, read and vote. And I became a level 5.

(Although that was before the implementation of the new Karma Scale of Power (tm)...

That's a damn good question. I can only theorize that you posted a comment somewhere when you first joined (cause you were here for the early days, right?), maybe a "hello" post in the introduce yourself thread or even a test post, and that got up-voted. Otherwise, maybe it's a glich that you shouldn't have said anything abouot because now jaxumlotus is going to remove those five levels. (better hide, quick)

Thank you so much for this forum post. It has helped me alot.

how does one post an image, what is the code?

i don't see that anywhere on here.

You can post an image by putting the image's url between {image} and {/image} tags [only using square brackets like these]. Like this:


The same applies to videos, except instead of writing "image" in the brackets, you put "video."

Ech. Double post.

ReBoot already covered the how to, but go here and you'll see the main FAQ threads, the second one down has all the BBC coding including images, lists, text enhancements, and video.