Help Page
By Steve Saunders

 

Welcome to Steve Saunders Goldwing Forums. This is the help page. Use the links below to get straight to the help topics you need, or scroll down to read the whole page. To go back to the Goldwing forum page you just left, click your browsers "back" button.

 


Uploading Images
Using Avatars
Private Messages
Linking to URL's
Linking to images on other web sites
I registered but I didn't get my account activation e-mail
I registered and activated my account but now it's disappeared
I forgot my username and password and can't log-in anymore
I can't login with my username and password and I know they are correct
Help! I can login but can't post messages
Forum rules, posting guidelines and what is not allowed on this forum?
Login help
E-mail notifications help
 

If the answer you need isn't here, you can contact us through the forum e-mail address;

Please don't bookmark the e-mail address as we change it every few weeks.

 

If you are a total newbie to forums and don't know how to reply to or make new posts (messages), please CLICK HERE for the tutorial.


 



Q. Can I upload images with my messages and if so, is there a limit to the size of the images?
A. Yes you can upload images, currently one per post. You can use the "attachment" box at the bottom of the message editor and browse to the image on your hard drive and upload it. Currently the size limit is 512kbs (half a megabyte) for each image and the images must be bmp, gif, jpg, jpeg, png, txt, pdf or zip format. Images should not be wider than 750 pixels, this is to prevent the forum screen going wider than your monitor when large images are posted. If you have a number of pictures you would like to share, please upload them to your Gallery album, there is a minimum of 10mbs of space available to you.


Q. Can I have an Avatar (small picture beside my username in my posts) with my posts and if so, is there a limit to the size of the Avatar?
A. Yes you can attach an avatar by clicking on your "My Account" button and selecting "Avatar" from the account options bar. You can choose from the available avatars currently in the forum, or upload one from your hard drive by browsing to it. The avatar should be in Jpeg, Jpg, Gif or Bmp format and should be no bigger than 50kbs (51200 bytes) and the dimensions should not be more than 200 pixels wide by 200 pixels height. This limit is to prevent very wide avatars hogging the profile pane and leaving less room for posts. You cannot link to avatars on another site, this is to avoid leaving that function open to abuse. If you have a favourite image that you really want to use as an avatar but don't know how to reduce the size to within the limits allowed, just e-mail  and arrange to send the image to me (in Jpeg, Jpg, Gif or Bmp format) and I will resize it and upload it to your account for you.


Q. Can I link to other URL's in my posts?
A. Yes you can. There is an "insert link" button on the text editor for this purpose. When you click the button you will see a pop-up box to insert the URL into. The "insert link" button looks like this; .


Q. Can I link to images on other web sites?
A. Yes you can use the "insert image" button on the text editor to link to an image on another site, but note that some sites will not allow hotlinking to images on their pages. When you click the "insert image" button you will see a pop-up box to insert the URL of the image into. To get the URL of an image on a web site, just right click on it (Internet Explorer, I'm not sure how it's done in other browsers) and then click properties. In the Address (URL) line just copy the URL before composing your message here and paste it into the pop-up box that you will see when you click the "insert image" button. The "insert image" button looks like this; .


Q. Why do I need to be logged in to see uploaded images in posts and also to see other users profiles?
A. We prefer to make the bandwidth available to registered forum members, in preference to lurkers.


Q. Is there a limit to the amount of messages per day that I can post?
A. No limit. There is currently a 10 second duration between each of your posts. This helps to prevent duplicate posts created by accidentally clicking the send button twice.


Q. How does the Private Messaging work?
A. When you are logged-in, you can send a PM to another registered user by clicking on his or her profile and opting to send a PM. You will have an inbox, sent items, saved items and deleted items folders and you can permanently delete old messages to avoid clutter.


Q. I see "Mana" under the profile names. What does this mean?
A. Mana is just a popularity thing. If you think another forum user has been helpful with your questions, just click his profile and "add mana" to boost his or her popularity rating. It's just a fun thing and not particularly accurate either, so don't take it too seriously.


Q. Why do some usernames have titles such as "Active Member", "Very Active Member" etc?
A. People with over 150 posts will have "Active Member" beside their usernames, those with over 250 posts get "Very Active Member". "Top Poster" is given to the single member with the most posts. This doesn't happen automatically as an Administrator has to manually edit the members profile. So if your post count reaches the required number to get an "Active Member" or "Very Active Member" title and you see no change, just send a PM to a Moderator or Administrator and it will be done asap. Members with over 1000 posts become "Senior Member".
We also have many other custom titles. For instance, those members who have proved helpful to other users in the Technical Forum and who know their stuff about Goldwings will have the "Guru" title, regardless of number of posts. "Senior Guru" is for the Guru members who have been around a while and who visit the forum regularly and posted a very high number of helpful messages, usually over 2000. "Guru" and "Senior Guru" titles are generally given out at the request of other forum members who nominate the particular members to the Administrator or Moderators, who in turn have a look at the nominated members posts before deciding to apply the new title. We also have titles for "Forum Welcomer", "Spam Hunter", "Forum Diplomat", "Forum Ferret" and others.


Q. Will my e-mail address be given out to third parties when I register?
A. No. I have no interest in parting with peoples e-mail addresses for fractions of pennies or for any other reason and goldwingfacts.com does not participate in mailing lists or affiliate programs of any kind. This web site and forum are strictly non-commercial and are maintained by me as a hobby (with the help of donations from people who want to help out with the costs), for the benefit of Goldwing owners everywhere. I'm not trying to sell you anything and that's why you won't see flashing banners or fly-in adverts. It has been this way since 1999 and will continue like this. I'm just not interested in having this humble web site hijacked in this manner.


Q. When will I get e-mails from this forum?
A. Only when you opt for e-mail notification of replies to your posts, you can turn this option on or off in your profile. You should set your anti-Spam filter to recognize the notifications otherwise you won't know if you have any replies to your posts unless you log-in. You can opt to be notified of new messages in the "watched forums" part of your profile. If you opt for the daily digest, you will get an e-mail every day of new messages posted. If you opt for e-mail notification of every new post, you will get an e-mail every time someone posts a new message. So be careful! You can of course turn the e-mail notifications on or off whenever you wish and untick all the forums in MY ACCOUNT>WATCHED FORUMS to receive no notifications.
If the Moderators or Administrators need to contact any forum members for other reasons (for instance if they breach the forum guidelines or if for instance there is important information about the site that you need to know) we will usually send a private message (PM) instead of an e-mail. You will not receive spam from this forum as I am not trying to sell or promote anything. Like I mentioned elsewhere on this site, this is a non-commercial web site and forum. As of February 2009, we have only ever sent three mass e-mails to the forum members in the almost five years since the forum was started. One was in June 2008 to let the members know of major changes to the forums layout and change of server, another was in December 2008 to wish everyone a Happy Christmas and the most recent mass e-mail was in February 2009 to let everyone know of the most recent server move and the availability of goldwingfacts.com e-mail addresses.


Q. I registered but I didn't get my account activation e-mail.
A. Your account was activated automatically as soon as you registered, there was no need for an activation e-mail to be sent.
 

Q. I registered but my account disappeared.
 A. You must post at least once within 24 hours even if only to introduce yourself, because we delete accounts if they don't post within a few days. This is to deter spambots from registering and spamming the forum later on. There is a warning in red letters about this on the registration page which you should have seen, and we also send out a reminder either by PM before deleting accounts. If your account did get deleted, you will have to register again and remember to post within 24 hours this time.


Q. Help! I forgot my username and password and can't log-in anymore.
A. On the login page, just enter the e-mail address you used during registration. An e-mail that contains your username and a special URL that will reset your password to a random one will be sent to this e-mail address. Then you will be able to login again and if you wish, change your password to one that you are more likely to remember.


Q. Help! I can't login with my username and password and I know they are correct.
A. Press the "Reset the cookie used by this board" link on the login page and try again. Most login issues on forums can be fixed by clearing the cookie cache in your browser. The reset link on this forum makes this an easy one-click job. A guide to modifying your browser settings (if you need to) is in the FAQ section as well.


Q. Help! I can login but can't post messages.
A. Try lowering your Internet Explorer security settings. Also, please note that usernames with apostrophes in them can't be used on the forum and will result in an error message when you try to post. This forum software works best in Internet Explorer 5 and later.

 

Forum Rules and Guidelines for Posting




Q. What is not allowed on this forum?
A. You are welcome to e-mail me at  or login to the forum and send me (wingnut) a PM if you have questions about the web site or forum, or problems using it. But please refrain from contacting me with questions about Goldwing maintenance or parts, the forum is the best place to ask these things. Do not contact me with advertising offers, affiliate offers etc. as I am not interested and will not reply to such messages. 

 
No spam. Posting your experience about products or items you find is great, we all like to hear about these things and share the information. But repeated spamming or plugging your products is out. Joining the forum just to plug your products or web site (and never posting anything else) is frowned on and will definitely see you quickly banned from the forum.
If you want me to post a link to your company or site on my links page, then just let me know and I will oblige. Posting links to other sites with products that you want to let us know about is fine, so long as you don't just register here for that purpose only. You can have a link to your web site (provided it's not a commercial site) in your signature as well, but no images or links to images in the signature please, this just clutters up the forum pages. We do however make some exceptions, so make sure you ask for Admin permission first before putting an image in your signature.

No political, guns, religious or racial threads allowed. These topics are banned here simply because they almost always result in arguments between posters and the thread going down in flames.


No using this forum to promote your own or another web site or forum. Registering and posting here in order to promote other forums or web sites is regarded as spam and is not allowed here. Please find somewhere else to advertise your forum or web site.


No flaming or abusive posts please, or foul language in your posts either. No inflammatory, political, guns, religious, racial or other content that might offend your fellow forum members. Personal attacks on the public forum are not allowed. Have a bit of respect for the views of other forum users, even if you don't share the same views.
 

Trolls and flamers are not tolerated here and will be banned as soon as we see them start trolling.  


When registering, don't choose a username with a rude, offensive or pornographic meaning. This is a SafeSurf rated site and we immediately delete accounts with inappropriate usernames.


You agree, through your use of the BB service and Steve Saunders Goldwing  forums, that you will not use the resource to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise in violation of any law. You agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or you have the permission of the copyright owner to reproduce the item(s). If you do not agree with these basic conditions of use, then please join another forum.


It pays to actually read your posts before clicking the "send" button. No-one likes abusive posters, the best bet is to either ignore or report them to the Moderators or Administrators with a Private Message. The Administrator and Moderator contact links are at the top of each forum and there is a large CONTACT US button on the main forum page. If you have a bone to pick with a particular member, please use the Private Messaging (PM) facility to do it with them in a civil manner instead of posting it publicly on the forum. Abusive posts/threads will just be deleted as they serve no useful purpose to the rest of the members.


The Technical Forum in particular should be used for posting technical questions and answers. There is a very high percentage of quality information to be found there and we have no room there for posts that are counter-productive to maintaining a good technical forum for all Goldwing riders and owners to enjoy.


There is a foul language filter on the forum and it replaces any offending characters with asterisks where needed.


No links to porn sites, ever.


People who abuse the friendly and good natured style of this forum run the risk of being banned from posting messages here in the future. They may get a Private Message (PM) warning them about any objectionable posts, any further abuse of the Message Board will see their membership revoked without further warning or notice and with no additional correspondence from me on the matter. 
Your use of the forums on Steve Saunders Goldwing Page indicates that you have read, understood and fully agree with any and all conditions in these Forum FAQ's. These conditions may occasionally be updated if I think it is necessary.  
 

 
Login help.
 
First thing to try if your login fails is to click the "reset the cookie used by this board" link on the login page. If after using this link, the problem persists, you might need to check your web browser settings as explained below;
 

Internet Explorer 6 and later Users:

 
  1. Go to Tools > Internet Options, click Delete Cookies and then OK.



     
  2. Go to Tools > Internet Options > Privacy, and make sure that the privacy setting is set to Medium. If not, set it to medium, and click OK.



     
  3. Go to Tools > Internet Options > General, click the Settings button, and make sure that "check for newer versions of stored pages" is set to automatically. If not, set it to "automatically", and click OK.


     

FireFox Users:


Go to Tools > Options > Privacy. Click on Cookies to open its options, and make sure that Allow sites to set cookies is checked. If this setting is already checked, click the Clear button next to Cookies to clear cookies.




If changing your browser settings did not help, check whether you are using a third-party Internet firewall/security/antivirus software. Some of these may block cookies, and cause login problems. If you still have problems, pop an e-mail off to us at and we will try and help. The support boffins at WOWBB (who created the forum software) are always willing to help us out if we can't solve problems here.

 

E-mail notifications help.

How to get around the spam and junk mail filters.

Many members of this world wide family use email accounts provided by some Internet Service Providers such as Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo. The notification email, that is the one that tells you someone has posted a reply to a topic you have contributed to, or that you have received a PM is sometimes being treated as spam, or junk mail so you may or may not be getting your notifications here is a short guide for some of the more popular email accounts on how to insure this does not happen.

Hotmail

Login to your email account as you would do normally.
In the Light blue bar at the top, just below the dark blue bar on the right hand side there is a link “Options” click on this.
On the options page under “Junk Mail” click on “Safe and blocked senders”.
On the next page click on “Safe Senders”.
In the box below “Sender or domain to mark as safe: ” type goldwingfacts.com  and click the “Add to List” button.

That’s it done.

Gmail

Login to your email account as you would do normally.
Check you “spam” folder, if there are any mails from the goldwingfacts forum click on it and then click the “not spam” button.

You’re done.

Yahoo

In Yahoo mail it appears you have to state that spam mail is “spam” so you should be ok, if anyone knows different please let me know and I will amend this.