The Newbie Primer
Gonfunko
Posts: 1,481 ✭✭✭
First of all, a big 
to all of our newbies! A few questions always seem to come up when you first begin, so I'm creating this thread in the hopes of answering some of them.
Q: How do I post pictures?
A: If you have your own web hosting, you can just link to your photos. If not, however, you can upload them to the forums. Click here for a Power Point tutorial on posting pictures.
Q: How do I change my icon?
A: On the 15th of every month, an upload box in your profile is enabled. If the 15th falls on a weekend, icon upload day will be the business day before or after the 15th. Make sure that your image is 100x100 pixels or less and under 10KB. Alternatively, you can select an icon from the list accessible from your profile. Beware - The list takes nearly a half hour to load with a DSL connection.
Q: What are "PM"s?
A: PM is an acronym for Private Messages. You can enable them by going into your profile and checking "Enable Private Messages". To send someone a PM, click the padlock icon at the top right of their posts.
Q: What is a sig line and how can I change it?
A: A sig line is a block of text or images that appears on all of your posts. You can change it by going into your profile and typing into the signature box. By using the forum symbols or tags, you can add emoticons, images, bold, underlined, and italicized text, and link to web pages or email addresses.
Q: What is a "cheat thread" and what does "PC +1" mean?
A: A cheat thread is a thread wherein people post for the sake of posting and to increase their post count. PC +1 means "Post Count + 1".
Q: What are the acronyms such as POTD, Cam-Slam, Tassa Slap, etc. that I see in many member's sig lines?
A: They are Open Forum awards, and are given out by certain members to those who they feel are deserving of them.
Q: I often see members telling others "You Suck". Is this derogatory or is there another meaning behind it?
A: On this forum, "You Suck" is a way of telling someone that they got a major score and is considered a compliment when used in that manner. Usually, whenever MadMarty or Russ post a thread about what they got on ebay, it is worthy of a "You Suck". You Sucks can generally be issued by any member.
Q: What kind of threads are appropriate on the U.S. Coins Forum?
A: The short answer is threads having to do with U.S. Coins. However, don't post for sale or want ads here - the Buy, Sell and Trade forum is the correct place for such threads. It is also considered somewhat taboo to post images of coins currently for sale. Don't post threads about world coins, either. There is a forum for them as well. Threads about eBay are acceptable, assuming that a scam is being carried out or the coin in question is either AT, counterfeit, in a third world slab or being sold by Blue Moon Coins, 2centsin, and/or coinmovers.
Q: What's the deal with the free flips?
A: The free flips comments are in reference to a forum member who posted a thread asking for free flips to get him started as a coin dealer. He was pretty much chased away, but still occasionally lurks or posts.
Q: Is it OK to talk about grading services other than PCGS here?
A: Yes, it's fine to talk about other grading services. But remember, PCGS sets the rules and has the final say on what goes. As long as you stay within the bounds of common courtesy to PCGS, you should be OK, and can still comment on other services.
Q: What is the "Darkside"?
A: The Darkside is a term used when talking about world coins. Canadian coins are sometimes referred to as the Greyside.
Q: What does "Across the street" mean?
A: Across the street usually refers to coins certified by NGC or occasionally ANACS.
Q: I still have some questions. Where else can I go for help?
A: You can go to the Help for the forums if your question pertains to the operation of the forum itself. If you have questions about coins, you can utilize the search feature of the forums to find more information as well.
While every question isn't answered here, I've tried to answer most of them. If anyone else would like to add to this thread, feel free to do so.
to all of our newbies! A few questions always seem to come up when you first begin, so I'm creating this thread in the hopes of answering some of them.Q: How do I post pictures?
A: If you have your own web hosting, you can just link to your photos. If not, however, you can upload them to the forums. Click here for a Power Point tutorial on posting pictures.
Q: How do I change my icon?
A: On the 15th of every month, an upload box in your profile is enabled. If the 15th falls on a weekend, icon upload day will be the business day before or after the 15th. Make sure that your image is 100x100 pixels or less and under 10KB. Alternatively, you can select an icon from the list accessible from your profile. Beware - The list takes nearly a half hour to load with a DSL connection.
Q: What are "PM"s?
A: PM is an acronym for Private Messages. You can enable them by going into your profile and checking "Enable Private Messages". To send someone a PM, click the padlock icon at the top right of their posts.
Q: What is a sig line and how can I change it?
A: A sig line is a block of text or images that appears on all of your posts. You can change it by going into your profile and typing into the signature box. By using the forum symbols or tags, you can add emoticons, images, bold, underlined, and italicized text, and link to web pages or email addresses.
Q: What is a "cheat thread" and what does "PC +1" mean?
A: A cheat thread is a thread wherein people post for the sake of posting and to increase their post count. PC +1 means "Post Count + 1".
Q: What are the acronyms such as POTD, Cam-Slam, Tassa Slap, etc. that I see in many member's sig lines?
A: They are Open Forum awards, and are given out by certain members to those who they feel are deserving of them.
Q: I often see members telling others "You Suck". Is this derogatory or is there another meaning behind it?
A: On this forum, "You Suck" is a way of telling someone that they got a major score and is considered a compliment when used in that manner. Usually, whenever MadMarty or Russ post a thread about what they got on ebay, it is worthy of a "You Suck". You Sucks can generally be issued by any member.
Q: What kind of threads are appropriate on the U.S. Coins Forum?
A: The short answer is threads having to do with U.S. Coins. However, don't post for sale or want ads here - the Buy, Sell and Trade forum is the correct place for such threads. It is also considered somewhat taboo to post images of coins currently for sale. Don't post threads about world coins, either. There is a forum for them as well. Threads about eBay are acceptable, assuming that a scam is being carried out or the coin in question is either AT, counterfeit, in a third world slab or being sold by Blue Moon Coins, 2centsin, and/or coinmovers.
Q: What's the deal with the free flips?
A: The free flips comments are in reference to a forum member who posted a thread asking for free flips to get him started as a coin dealer. He was pretty much chased away, but still occasionally lurks or posts.
Q: Is it OK to talk about grading services other than PCGS here?
A: Yes, it's fine to talk about other grading services. But remember, PCGS sets the rules and has the final say on what goes. As long as you stay within the bounds of common courtesy to PCGS, you should be OK, and can still comment on other services.
Q: What is the "Darkside"?
A: The Darkside is a term used when talking about world coins. Canadian coins are sometimes referred to as the Greyside.
Q: What does "Across the street" mean?
A: Across the street usually refers to coins certified by NGC or occasionally ANACS.
Q: I still have some questions. Where else can I go for help?
A: You can go to the Help for the forums if your question pertains to the operation of the forum itself. If you have questions about coins, you can utilize the search feature of the forums to find more information as well.
While every question isn't answered here, I've tried to answer most of them. If anyone else would like to add to this thread, feel free to do so.
0
Comments
PC+1
I've been around for quite a while and this post still answered a bunch of my questions. But . . I've still got to find out who Tassa is so I can give him/her/it a good backhand . . .
DRUNNER (PC + 1 Ha! Felt good to do that! I SUCK!!)
Happy Turkey Days to all . . .
Apropos of the coin posse/aka caca: "The longer he spoke of his honor, the tighter I held to my purse."
******
<< <i>Great post Gonfunko. I believe this would be a good one for a sticky at the top.
Q: How do you get a thread stickied at the top?
A: I have no idea. Someone help me on this one.
The moderators can do it for you if they think it is appropriate. Carolj or SportsModerator1 would be the parties to contact.
BTW, after my initial reaction to congratulate you for your fine post, I realized that there is some thrill in discovering the answers to these burning questions. Maybe we should not give it all up for the newbies. It will take away some of the fun and mystery.
<< <i>How do you get a thread stickied at the top?
The moderators can do it for you if they think it is appropriate. Carolj or SportsModerator1 would be the parties to contact.
BTW, after my initial reaction to congratulate you for your fine post, I realized that there is some thrill in discovering the answers to these burning questions. Maybe we should not give it all up for the newbies. It will take away some of the fun and mystery. >>
Let's keep smoe secrets.
I'm a believer in searching before asking. There is lots of great info in these threads.
collections: Maryland related coins & exonumia, 7070 Type set, and Video Arcade Tokens.
The Low Budget Y2K Registry Set
-YN Currently Collecting & Researching Colonial World Coins, Especially Spanish Coins, With a Great Interest in WWII Militaria.
My Ebay!