So, like I mentioned in an earlier post today about the “wonkiness” of the website and how access to various parts of the website were restricted due to technical reasons, this was all due to the fact that we were implementing new and improved features to bring our humble little website up to the standards people have come to expect, that being a communal aspect to the website.

Back in March we launched our forums. While growth was slow, we honestly weren’t expecting very much. At this point we have over 100 members signed up of which a few post consistently. Hell, that’s a success in my book.

Today brings the next big update to the site since we launched our forums. As of this very moment we have established a single login experience across our entire website for commenting in the blog, posting in the forums, and even sending eachother private messages. I know, it’s not revolutionary, but for us it’s a minor step into the future and an important leap into things to come for DIYgamer.com.

So here’s the rundown of how everything works:

Creating an Account:

So, to some of you, our registration/login experience may be familiar already as it’s based on the popular PHPBB forum software. To others this will be a pretty new set up.

So, first things, first from the homepage, or the forum page click on the “Register” button. Agree to the terms, yada yada, and fill out any relevant information as well as the confirmation code at the bottom (so we don’t get any spammers). Then click the confirmation button at the bottom.

Once completed you are done and can login right away. Most places require email verification, we do not. Please don’t make me regret that decision as I absolutely don’t want to add another hurdle to the process.

Using Your Account

Once you’ve created your account and are logged in you’ll notice on the homepage you have your own area on the sidebar (this area may be moved in the near future). This is your link to gaining access to your profile, and private messages, as well as logging out.

Clicking on your name in that area will take you directly to your main account page where you can edit your details, subscriptions, and see any important forum postings from the admins.

Clicking on your messages will take you directly to your private messages folder. In addition you can also access this area from your account page as well by clicking on the fourth tab at the top of your control panel.

Finally, clicking on the “Logout” button will, as stated, log you out of the system. Do not stay logged in on a public computer.

Customizing Your Account

Our new system comes with a few options to customize your account and give it that personal flair that most of us love so much. There are two primary parts of this: an avatar, and a signature.

Creating an avatar will allow you to give yourself a picture that others on the website will recognize and relate with. If you select an avatar for yourself it will appear whenever you make a new forum post or comment. This is an easy way to establish yourself as a unique person amongst the names on the website.

In order to create and select an avatar simply go to your account main page, select “Profile,” and then select “Edit avatar.” From there you can upload a photo fro your computer, or simply link a photo from another website, like Flickr or Photobucket. You can also attempt to size the photo yourself. If you don’t wish to do this, the system will automatically attempt to do this as best as possible although sometimes the system can mess it up. Once selected click submit and the new avatar will apply everywhere you post on the site.

Creating a signature, on the other hand, will only show up at the bottom of each post you make in the forums. This is a way for you to share your gaming information, or just a simple quote you like with the rest of the forum.

To create a signature follow the same steps as the creating a new avatar except select “Edit signature” instead. There you can enter whatever you want into that area including images that are hosted elsewhere.

PLEASE use these features accordingly. Any profane, pornographic, racist, sexist, or otherwise innapropriate content put into either the signature or avatar will result in an immediate lifetime ban. Please do not test us on this issue. This is a a site for indie game enthusiasts to meet and hang out. Nobody wants to put up with that kid of bullshit.

Some Other Notes

You do not need an account to either comment in the blog or post a reply in the forums. Nothing has changed in that regard. Should you wish to carry on without creating an account (which takes like no time, by the way) then feel free to do so. This is only limiting in a few ways:

1. You won’t be able to create new topics in the forum.
2. You won’t be able to participate in any contests we hold in the future.
3. You will not have access to a signature, avatar, or private messages.
4. You will not be a part of the overall community and anybody can use/steal your name should you decide to stick around for a while.
5. We will love you less. Sad, but true.

Well I think that’s all. Should you have any questions feel free to leave a comment here, send me a PM, or email me at geoff[dot]gibson[at]diygamer.com

Thanks and we look forward to expanding our site to even greater things in the future!