Gallery:
Introduction:
The BZPower Image Gallery was added as part of the site's 11th anniversary celebration. See the news story here. The feature allows members to upload images to a personal gallery for use in signatures, posts, etc., effectively using the site as an image host.
Right now, the upload limitations are a little strict in order to save the server from shock, but they may be reevaluated in the future. They are as follows:Non-Premier Members
- Total space: 2000 kB
- Size per image: 500 kB
- Number of albums: 1
- Number of images per album: 5
Premier Members:
- Total space: 10000 kB
- Size per image: 500 kB
- Number of albums: 5
- Number of images per album: 20
Creating a New Album:
First, let's explain the Global Albums. There are currently six: the Members Gallery, Bionicle-Based Creations, System-Based Creations, General Art, Comics, and Kits.
Because these are Global Albums, anyone can upload an image to them or create a personal album inside one of them. Just note that personal albums inside the "themed" global albums, such as Comics, should not be used for random images. Use the Members Gallery root for those. From an Album's page, select "Upload" to begin the process of uploading an image to that album. This bypasses the album selection process that you would have to go through when choosing "Upload" from the main Gallery page. In order to create your own personal album, however, you will need to click on "Upload" on the main page. From then on, however, you can simply upload from your album's page and skip most of the below.
Now, let's create a new album. Again, select "Upload" from the Gallery's main page. You will be taken to the following screen:
Now, we want a new album, so click "New Album" to begin the process of creating one. Here's the window that appears:
The "Album Name" and "Album Description" fields are exactly what they appear to be. Fill them in however you wish. Next, the "Parent Album." Click on "Select Album" to bring up the following screen:
From here, you will choose which root album your album will be a part of. You can click on any of the sub-Global Albums (Bionicle-Based Creations, General Art, etc.) to select one of them; you aren't limited to the three roots you see given here.
You can then decide how you want your album to be organized, and whether or not you want your album to be public. Selecting "Friend Only Album" is not recommended - we're not going to stop you, but just don't think it will hide your images from the administration!
All right, now hit "Save." Your new gallery is now created, and we can proceed to upload an image.
Uploading an Image:
Again, if you clicked "Upload" from an existing album, you can skip all of the above.
With your new or existing album selected, an upload field should appear at the bottom of the "Upload" page. Click "Browse" to select an image from your computer, and then hit "Upload." Remember the file size restrictions above, and that GIF, PNG, JPEG, and TIFF files are the only ones allowed. Selecting an image that is either too large or that has an improper extension will spark an error upon upload attempt.Now, onto the "Review and Publish" stage. Here is the screen:
"Title," "Tags," and "Description" should be familiar fields. The "Copyright" field might seem to be a silly little thing, but is indeed a good way to give credit where credit is due.
Now, the "Cover Image" options. At the top, you'll see the current cover image for your album displayed as a thumbnail, if there is one available. Leave this checked to keep this as your cover image. Below the thumbnail for the image you are uploading, you will see another "Cover Image" checkbox - select this if you want your new image to serve as your album's front page.
Select "Delete Image" only if you've changed your mind and don't want to upload after all! "Rotate Image" is self-explanatory.
OK, you can now hit "Finish & Publish" to wrap up the upload process.
Viewing an Image and Adding Notes:
When viewing an image in your gallery, you will see the following bar at the bottom of the screen:
"Report Image" will appear no matter whose image you are viewing; use this to report any content that violates BZPower's guidelines, including the image itself, any notes added to the image, or image details such as its description.
"Image Moderation" allows you either to edit an image's details or delete it.
will rotate the image to the right; 
will rotate it to the left.
- Clicking this will add a note field to the image. Use the bottom right-hand corner to increase or decrease the size of the field. Members who are viewing the image, when hovering their cursor over the area you selected, will see the corresponding text appear. To add text to a note, click anywhere inside the area:
Type whatever you wish, and then click "Save" to set it. Keep in mind that content in these notes are subject to BZPower's Rules and Guidelines. You can only add notes to images you have uploaded.
Miscellanea:
You can edit the details of your gallery at any time by selecting "Edit" from the right-hand options on your album's page. This includes the option of changing the parent album.
Additional options are available from the "Options" drop-down menu when viewing an image's page, such as viewing the image in different sizes, generating links to the image in various formats (BBCode, page URL, image URL), viewing Exchangeable Image File Format (EXIF) data when available, and, if viewing something you have uploaded, the option to set the image as your personal photo/avatar.
While following an album should notify you of new images uploaded to it, following an image appears to serve no purpose, since commenting is disabled.Currently, rating an album or an image seems not to work.The "My Media" button in the Rich Text Editor (
) can be used to insert a sort of fancy link to your album or images. Select either "Gallery Images" or "Gallery Albums" from the tabs on the left to make your selection. Hit "finished" when you have added the desired items. An example of how the code will visualize itself in a post/blog entry/PM can be seen below.
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Tracker:
Introduction:
The Tracker is BZPower's newest feature, allowing members to open tickets about any technical problems encountered on the site or about suggestions for improvements to BZPower. Tickets can then be discussed within their individual pages; in addition, members will be able to use a feature allowing them to confirm or support the issue or suggestion. Ultimately, this will help the staff to keep track of what is a priority on the site, and will allow members to have a more direct relationship with the staff when it comes to site improvements.
To start things off here, I would like to discuss when to use the Tracker before tackling the question of how. For a general FAQ, you may find this news post useful, but I will go into more depth here.
When to Use the Tracker:
The Tracker will not be replacing any of BZPower's existing features or forums. That said, it will be the new home of a few kinds of reports.
Use the Tracker to report software bugs and technical issues. If you are experiencing a technical problem on BZPower (example: rich text editor not working), then you should use the Tracker to open a ticket about it. Members will then be able to say if they can reproduce the problem or not, and it will get brought to the attention of the administration more quickly. Note that before this feature was implemented, bug "reports" were posed here in the Q&A forum as questions, but no longer. Also note that you should open an "Issue" ticket when reporting bugs. There will be more on "Issue" and "Suggestion" tickets later.
Use the Tracker to offer suggestions for BZPower. If you think BZPower could use a new feature, then go ahead and open up a "Suggestion" ticket in the Tracker. Members will then be able to support the proposal and discuss it as well as receive feedback from the staff. Before this feature was implemented, all suggestions for BZPower were PMed to Black Six, but the Tracker will now replace the scary task of sending my boss a message.
When not to Use the Tracker:
Do not use the Tracker to report BZPower content. This is what the report system is for; as stated earlier, the Tracker will not be replacing any existing BZPower features. Were the Tracker used for reports, it would get clogged up fairly quickly. Moreover, the report system is designed to be much more efficient for its intended purpose than any tracker could be. So, continue to hit that "Report" button.
Do not use the Tracker for general questions. While bug reports will no longer be posted here in the Q&A forum, all other BZPower-related questions will still belong here. The reason why is because, well, that's the nature of a tracker! It is meant for technical support, mostly. This will also help to keep the Tracker organized and not overgrown with tickets so that the more important issues can be visible.
Do not use the Tracker for forum-specific suggestions. Let me explain: say you want a rule changed in, oh, Bionicle-Based Creations. It is tempting to think that such a request is a suggestion that a ticket should be opened. This is not the case, however; in this example, you would still PM a Forum Leader of BBC or whichever forum is in question. The Tracker is for suggestions that pertain to the forums, blogs, etc. as a whole.
In addition, things such as member-related complaints should not be posted in the Tracker; those should be handled by addressing the member or the staff privately, over PM. And, of course, the Tracker should not be used as general forum; related discussion is welcome within the tickets, but spam and chatting is not.
How to Use the Tracker:
Opening a ticket:
Head here. Select the appropriate Project: "Front Page" for issues and suggestions for the front page, or "Community" for general issues and suggestions for anything not on the front page. Also keep in mind the sub-categories (Forums, Blogs, Gallery) for specific things within the Community. Then, click the "Start New Issue" button.
"Issue Title" and "Issue Tags": Familiar fields! Enter the appropriate information; be sure to be specific.
Issue Type": This is important! Once you post a ticket, you cannot change this field.
- Issues are bugs and technical problems that you experience on the site.
- Suggestions are, well, suggestions for improvements to BZPower.
"Issue Information": Each ticket posted will have a "New" status until it is accepted by the staff. "Severity" will also be determined by the staff. "Issue Visibility" cannot be changed.Once you have filled out all of the necessary information, click "Post New Issue" at the bottom of the page.When viewing a ticket, you will see the following on the right-hand side of the page, depending on what type of ticket it is.
Issue Tickets:
"Issue ID" is simply the ticket's number. "Issue Type" is either "Issue" or "Suggestion" as chosen by the member in the process of creating the ticket. "Status" and "Severity" will be changed by the staff.
What is important here is the "Issue Confirmations" section. This shows, for an "Issue" ticket, how many people are experiencing the same problem/can reproduce the issue. The number in parentheses corresponds to how many members have clicked "YES" or "NO." Please utilize this feature! Click on "YES" if you are experiencing the described problem; click on "NO" if you cannot reproduce it. This will help the administration to determine the priority of issues on BZPower.
Suggestion Tickets:
The bar on the side will look the same save for the "Issue Confirmations" section. In a suggestion ticket, it will be replaced with the following in the top right:
Click on the thumbs-up to show your support for the suggestion; click on the thumbs-down if you do not like it. This is simply a "like/dislike" system, the only one of its kind on BZPower. :P This will, like the "Issue Confirmations" on an issue ticket, help the administration to determine priority.
("Reply" allows you to add a reply to the discussion of the ticket; "Track Issue" will notify you of any changes made to the ticket or of any replies to it, depending on your notification settings.)
Miscellanea:
When posting a ticket or adding to the discussion in one, please be sure to follow BZPower's guidelines, no matter what. Perhaps most importantly, do not bypass the word filter, even when discussing the issue. Do not flame - if you have a complaint, please word it respectfully. This Tracker is not in place to bash BZPower policies and features; it is there for constructive suggestions.
When viewing a category or sub-category (Projects, e.g. "Front Page"), you can filter the tickets by status and severity as well as by the standard options.When viewing a member's profile page, the "Issues" tab will allow you to view tickets that the member has opened.Note that the opening of a ticket does not guarantee its resolution. Here is a quote from Black Six:
The BZPower staff are all volunteers, and real life and other priorities come first. I feel the Tracker will help us focus our energy on the things you guys want to see the most, so we can get those things done first.
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