PaulS
Ask me for help!
Posts: 2423
Joined: Sep 09, 2002
Location: St. Abanoub and St. Antony Coptic Orthodox Church in Norco, CA
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 Posted:
Dec 08, 2003 - 07:48 PM |
 
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Welcome to the coptichymns.net Network!
Dear visitor,
Thank you for visiting coptichymns.net and taking the time to read this introduction.
In this document, we will try to explain the basic mission and usage of the web site. Because we have so much to offer, let's not waste any time and get started right away!
I. coptichymns.net Network Coptic Forums Mission
The coptichymns.net Network Coptic Forums serve two primary functions:
1. To provide an educated and conclusive forum for questions relating to Coptic hymns, rites, and general Coptic faith.
2. To give Copts and anyone interested in Coptic life an outlet for their questions, concerns, and any other appropriate issues they wish to share.
II. Forum Guidelines
We have some very basic rules in our forums to ensure the discussions are clean, spiritual, and beneficial to everyone.
1. Absolutely no foul language in English, Arabic, or any other language.
2. No un-Christian behavior will be tolerated. This includes personal attacks, church attacks, and any other behavior that reduces a thread into a screaming argument.
Additionally, the following threads will be closed immediately:
1. Hymn requests that have been met.
2. Web site support issues that have been resolved.
3. Threads that contain disrespectful content (i.e., threads that evolve into screaming and insulting matches).
4. Topics not appropriate for a Coptic site (i.e. discussing an accused rapist here).
5. Repetitive issues. If there is a thread already covering the topic and the new thread adds nothing to the discussion, it will be closed.
6. Threads that criticize or question church authorities. Please do this in your head or with your father of confession, but not publicly here.
7. Threads that seem exhausted or completely devoid of any spiritual benefit.
8. Please, no simple posts with no beneficial content. See this thread.
That's it! Of course, we know that you would not engage in this type of conduct, but nonetheless, it is important to make sure everyone knows about our policies so there can be no questions as to why we close threads on these forums.
III. How to Type Coptic in Our Forums
Whenever you write a new post or reply to an old one, you will see a toolbar on the top of your screen with bold, italic, underline, quote, etc. One of these buttons is now called CODE.
Before you write or paste your Coptic text, press the CODE button once. Type or paste your Coptic, and when you are finished, press the same CODE button once again. This tells the forums that you have stopped typing Coptic and wish to go back to English now.
You can also type Coptic in the middle of English text. For example, I want to note that I love the hymn
Pek`;ronoc
; I can do this without breaking my sentence or paragraph, and as you can see (provided you have the font installed), it looks perfectly with the English text.
However, there will be times when you want to quote an entire hymn. You can still do this by combining the QUOTE and CODE buttons. Press QUOTE once, then CODE once to start typing Coptic. When you're finished, press CODE to tell the system you're done with Coptic and then QUOTE again to tell the system you're done with the quote. The final result will look like this:
| Quote: |
"almoc ==m=d @ =; nem =i=a
Pe`k`;eronoc V] sa`eneh `ntepi`eneh ouoh pi`sbwt `m`pcwouten pe `p`sbwt `nte tekmetouro @ Ou`cmurna nem ou`ctakty nem oukaci`a `ebolqen nek`hbwc @ =a=l.
"almoc =p=z@=d "almoc =k=b @ =g
Au,at qen oulakkoc efcapecyt @ qen hanma `n,aki nem `tqyibi `m`vmou @ `Eswp aisanmosi qen `;my]=o=c n`tqyibi `m`vmou @ `nnaerho] qa`thy `nhan pethwou je `n;ok `k,y nemyi.
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IV. How to Add/Change Your Forum Signature and Avatar (Picture)
Members of our integrated sites can choose from over 50 different Coptic icons, pictures, and crosses to associate themselves on the forums. To select/change this picture (known as an "avatar,") please follow these step-by-step instructions:
(1) After registration, log in with your account name.
(2) Click on "Forums" in the leftmost navigation menu. Please note that different network sites may label our forums with a different name. The goal of this step is just to reach any page in the forums, so feel free to do anything that takes you to the forums while you are logged in.
(3) Underneath the title "Coptic Forums," you will see an option called "Profile." Please click it.
To Add/Change Your Signature:
-- Type your desired signature in the textbox labeled "Signature" at the very top. To format your signature with fonts, styles, and colours, make sure the "Always allow BBCode" and "Always allow HTML" options are set to "Yes." You can use the same codes for bold, italics, underline, font color, font size, and even Coptic. You can also add HTML, URLs and other links. Basically, this section is just like a new forum post; format it any way you wish.
-- To ensure your signature shows up in every post you make, please select "Yes" on the option underneath entitled, "Always attach my signature." This tells the forums that your signature should be displayed whenever you write something. Otherwise, it is your responsibility to add a signature to each single post.
To Add/Change Your Avatar (Picture)
-- While you are in the same "Profile" page, scroll to the bottom and locate the button entitled "Show Gallery." Please click on it.
-- You will be taken to a page of over 50 high-quality Coptic pictures suitable for use as your avatar. Choose the picture you desire by selecting the little circle next to it.
-- Once you have chosen the picture, scroll to the very bottom and choose "Select Avatar."
-- You will be taken back to the "Profile" page, where your new avatar should appear.
-- Click "Submit" at the very bottom of the "Profile" page to save changes to both your avatar and signature. That's it!
V. How to Get Help
Our web site is staffed by several individuals who can help you with almost any question. These individuals typically have the designation "Administrator" or "Staff" next to their names in the forums. If you ever need help, just send one of them an e-mail or private message (via the Forums' private message system.)
VI. Recommended Software
We highly recommend the following software to make your coptichymns.net Network experience easier.
RealONE Player for Mac and Windows
Most of our streaming hymns are in RealAudio format, so this is a must-download if you wish to listen to our massive hymns collection. There is a free version and a pay-for version; the link to the free version is on the very top-right.
http://www.real.com/
Apple iTunes 4.1+ for Mac and Windows
The best music/MP3 management program for any platform integrated with the iTunes Music Store. You can use this to organize our downloadable hymns on your computer; there is no better tool!
http://www.apple.com/itunes/
Apple Quicktime 6.5 for Mac and Windows
Quicktime is the industry standard for video and audio streaming over the web. coptichymns.net uses advanced MPEG-4 video encoding for its videos, so you will need to download and install the free Quicktime Player 6.3 or higher.
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/
Mozilla Firebird for Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, and OS/2
An ultra-fast standards-compliant browser that is an excellent alternative to Microsoft Internet Explorer.
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firebird/
UBBComposer for Mac OS X
Lets you type your forum post on your machine, formats it for our forums, and then gives you the text to cut/paste into the forum. You don't NEED this, but if you're using a lot of bold, italics, and Coptic, it makes life easier.
http://homepage.mac.com/dakini56/cocoa/index.html
VII. Your Feedback is Important to Us!
We are always trying to improve our service and make this site the perfect destination for our visitors. To this end, we've set up a simple and anonymous Feedback Form where you can send us your comments, criticisms, and more.
All submissions are reviewed by an administrator, but are also 100% anonymous. You are encouraged to let us know what you think, both good and bad!
VIII. Thank You
Thank you for choosing the coptichymns.net Network. Our goal is to provide an integrated Coptic experience on the Internet, to give our visitors the best possible experience.
We hope your repeated visits to our sites will be spiritually beneficial and edifying.
God bless you!
Welcome Message - Last updated on January 1, 2004. |
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