DM Guidelines III

= Part III: Message Board Options for MDMs =

The following is a description of the special MDM options available to you on the WG site.

John Klinger Master Programmer of WoldianGames.com

= Game Manager =

The Game Manager allows you to review and modify game settings for the site. When you first bring up the game manager, you have two options to choose from: Either create a new game or edit an existing one. Both options bring up the "Edit Game" screen, which is described in the following sections.

- Campaign -

This field identifies the campaign the game is part of. The game's campaign affects who has access, and where the game is displayed on various pages.

- Game Name: -

This name will be displayed in the game and archive index, and on the browser's title bar page when viewing the game's posts.

- Abbreviation: -

The game's Abbreviation must be a short all-alphabet string (no spaces), that is not already used by another game. The abbreviation is used in the game and archive URLs to access the game's posts.

- Game Icon: -

This field shows the game icon that is displayed on the game and archive index pages.

- Use Icon: -

If the Use Icon flag is checked, the game will not have any icon associated with it. Any icon for that game that is currently on the site will be deleted when your game changes are saved.

- Upload Game Icon: -

This field allows you to upload a new icon for the game. You may upload a graphic of type jpeg, gif, bmp, or png, that has a file size less than 20k.

- Description: -

The game description is displayed on the game and archive index pages.

- Public: -

If the board is public, anyone can view its posts. If the board is not public, only those that can post can see anything. The Loot 'n Booty is an example of a private board.

- Post Mode: -

The Post Mode determines who can post to this board. A setting of Public provides open posting to anyone, even if they are not logged on (ex: a GuestBook). A setting of Logged On allows open posting to anyone that is logged on to the site (ex: Loot 'n Booty). A setting of By Permission only allows posting by individuals that have been explicitly granted permission (ex: The Taur Isles).

- Post Expiration: -

This specifies the number of days that the game's posts will stay on the game board. After this time, the posts will be either archived or deleted, depending on the "Archive Expired Posts" setting.

- Archive Expired Posts: -

If this value is set to Yes, expired posts will be moved to the game's archives. Otherwise, expired posts will be permanently deleted.

- Theme: -

The Theme setting determines the primary graphics or graphic colors used by the game.

- Header and Footer Style: -

This value lets you set how header and footer graphics are displayed.

The "Flat" style uses solid colors across the width of the browser window. Since this option uses no graphics, it is fast with the tradeoff of being boring.

The "Fixed" style is slower, showing 3D header and footers that are a fixed width. This is the suggested setting for all message boards.

- Users: -

Game users and their permissions are specified here. For "Public" or "Logged On" post modes (see "Post Mode" above), these settings are not necessary unless special permissions should be granted. Hyperlinks are provided in this section to describe what each permission represents.

Adding a new user to a game:

Select the user from the right-hand user list and select the "<=" button where you want to add the user. Then select which permissions you want the user to have. In general, when a new user is added to a game, only the "Can Post" and "Can Post Private" permissions should be granted. When you save your modifications, the user will be added to the game.

Removing an existing user from a game:

To revoke a user's posting privilege to a game, you may either uncheck all permissions granted to the user, or delete the user's name from the User list. When you save your modifications, the user will be removed from the game. All of the user's posts will remain in the game. This only revokes their permission to make new posts.

Certain global rights may be set on the User's Profile page and will override any settings here. For instance, Master DMs are given permission in their profile to read and write to all games. These global permissions will be signified by a hyperlinked X in the appropriate column.

=

Thanks for joining us and taking on the hard work and privilege of a MDM.

Let us know if there's anything we could do to improve the site or ease your burden. We have a list of great enhancements, and are working hard all the time to improve things. Please send me any ideas to improve the programming of the site.

If you have any problems performing any of these commands, please contact me, John, at woldiangames@dmlair.com.