Lounge User Handbook
Lounge User Handbook
Welcome to the Lounge User Handbook! Here you'll find step by step instructions for most everything you'd like to do within the Lounge. We've written them out as carefully as possible, which makes them a bit lengthy. If you want to skim through them, look the bold words - they'll give you the exact actions you need to get something done.
If you’re looking for just some quick tips on getting started. Please visit our Quick Start guide.
If you have any corrections or questions about these guidelines, contact us at
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!
- Logging In and Out of the Lounge
- Overview of Moderators and Administrators
- Communicating in The Lounge
- All About Forum Posts
- Editing your Personal Settings and Friends
- Technical Questions and Information
- Contacting Your Moderators and Reporting Misconduct
Logging In and Out of the Lounge
Logging In
To log into the lounge, go to: www.genderspectrum.org/lounge
Click the small “Login” link in the upper right hand corner.
In the next screen, enter your username and password in the boxes provided and click the “login” button below.
If your username and password were typed correctly, you will be logged in and redirected to your main Member page.
If you are not logged in, retype your username and password and try again. If problems persist, contact an administrator at
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for help.
To retrieve a forgotten password click the “I forgot my password” link below the password field. You will receive an email to the address we have on file for you with a login link and a new password.
If you’ve registered in the past but cannot login, first try to reset your password. If both your username and password are correct, then you may have not submitted your post-registration survey to our administrator. Please contact an administrator at
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for help.
Logging Out
If you are logged in to the Lounge and want to end your session and log out, click the small “Logout” link in the upper right hand corner of any Lounge screen.
You will be taken to a page confirming that you are logged out and you a free to roam the web. Please be sure to logout of the Lounge when using public computers. Simply navigating away from the Lounge does not log you out and will give the next Member access to your account and the Lounge.
If you are being logged off automatically and want to change that you can check the “Log me in automatically” box when you login. As a reminder, this is not recommended if you access the board from a shared computer, e.g. library, internet cafe, university computer lab, etc.
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Overview of Moderators and Administrators
We are committed to ensuring that the Gender Spectrum remains a safe, open, and understanding environment. Below is information about some of the individuals who are here to help the communication process.
What are Administrators?
Administrators are members assigned with ensuring the health of the entire Lounge. These members can help answer questions, provide technical support, and address any communication questions or issues. If you would like to contact our administrators please email:
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.
What are Moderators?
Moderators are individuals (or groups of individuals) who look after the forums from day to day. They have the authority to change or delete posts and lock, unlock, move, delete and split topics in the forum they moderate. Moderators will never edit your content, but are present to help members with any issues and to make sure the forums are free of abusive or offensive material.
It's easy to find out who your forum Moderators are: On all the All Forums page, each forum's Moderators are listed underneath the forum's description. On individual forum pages, the forum's Moderators are named near the top of each page, just under the forum title in blue. The best way to get in touch with your Moderator is by Private Message.
If you are interested in becoming a moderator for a forum, please contact us at
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What are Usergroups?
Usergroups are groups of users that divide the community into manageable sections board administrators can work with. Members frequently belong to several groups.
Communicating in The Lounge
There are lots of ways to get in touch with other people in the Gender Spectrum Lounge Community!
Email is a message that you send from your private email account directly to another person's private email account. Only you, the sender, and the recipient can see the message. Email is done through non-Lounge services like Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, and others. You can find another Member's email address in their profile. Times when you should choose email include: when you want to discuss politics, share images, or communicate about other topics restricted by the Lounge Community Guidelines.
NOTE: If you select any of the Email options in the Lounge, the system will launch your computer’s own Email system (Apple Mail, Outlook, Eudora... whatever you have) in order to send the message.
Private Messaging (PM) is just like email except it happens within the Lounge. Any Lounge Member can send a private message directly to another Lounge Member. Just like with email, only the sender and recipient can see and read the message. But you can't, for instance, send a private message from your Lounge account to a somebody who is not a Lounge Member. For that you'll have to use email. Times when you might choose private messaging include: any time you want to directly and privately communicate with another Lounge Member (or Members - Just like emails, you can send PMs to more than one person at a time).
Checking Private Messages:
To check for new messages, look at the top bar on any Lounge page for where it says “new messages.” The number preceding “new messages” is how many new messages you have. To view your inbox, read and send messages, click “new messages.”
You will be redirected to the Private Messages section of your Preferences page. Your messages will appear below the “messages” bar on the screen you are taken to. New messages will be at the top, and their icons will be red.
Responding to Private Messages:
Click on the “Send Reply” button that appears above the other Member’s note.
You are now on a messaging screen and the recipient of your private message has already been specified as the Lounge member who sent the original message.
Type your message in the large text box, format it as you like and click “Send.”
Creating Private Messages
You can send a private message to any Lounge Member - or to several Members at one time - whether or not you have “friended” them in the Lounge.
Click on “My Preferences” in the green navigation bar at the top of any Lounge screen. From your Preferences page, click on the “Private Messages” tab to go straight to the messaging screen.
Enter the Member(s) you wish to message in the blank box just beneath “Compose message” and click "Add." (If you do not know the username of the Member you want to message, you can click the “Find a member” link to the right of the box.)
Type your message in the largest text box provided and a subject for your message to the small text field labeled “Subject”. Use the bar of style buttons to format your message.
If you would like to attach a file, use the "Choose File" field at the bottom of the screen to choose and attach a file, just like you would in a forum post.
When your message is ready to go click the “Submit” button at the bottom of the message text field. You can also choose to Preview or Save a Draft.
Your message will be delivered directly to the inboxes of the Members you specified as the recipients. No one else will be able to read the message or know that it exists.
NOTE: Messages will remain in your Outbox until they have been opened by their recipient, at which time they will move to your Sent file. Both of these, as well as your Inbox and your Private Message Drafts, can be accessed from the menu in the left hand side of the Private Messaging tab of your Preferences. From here you can also set up rules for filing and sorting your private messages, just like you can add filters and files to your email inbox.
Each Lounge Member can control their own private messaging settings from within their Preferences. If you attempt to send someone a PM and find that you cannot, it is likely that that Member has restricted their settings.
Chat (sometimes called Instant Messaging or IM for short) is similar to, but not the same as, email or private messaging. Any two Lounge Members who are "friends" in the system and currently logged in can "chat” directly with one another. A chat is basically a typed conversation between Members. It happens in real time, like a phone conversation, but appears typed on the screen instead of spoken. A chat is only visible and readable by the participants in the chat. You can choose to communicate by chat anytime there's someone online you want to talk with.
Forum Posts are a little different from Chats, Emails and PMs, in that they are always public. Forum Posts can be thought of like an email sent to the whole forum, or like a note added to a bulletin board for people to see and respond to. When you post something to a forum it is visible and readable to all the approved members of that forum. Anyone can write a reply to your post and anyone in the forum can also see these responses. If you would like to respond to someone's forum post but don't want all the forum members to see what you have to say, you can send the original poster (sometimes referred to as the OP) a private message or an email. Times when you could choose forum posting include: anytime there is something you want to ask, get support around, or share with the broader community.
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All About Forums:
Basic Information About Forums
- Reading Forum Posts
- Bookmarking and Subscribing
- Responding to Forum Posts
- Creating a New Topic
- Saving Posts as Drafts
- Editing and Posting from Drafts
Advanced Options for Forum Posts
Other Information about Forums
Basic Information About Forum Posts
Reading Forum Posts:
You can only read forum posts in forums to which you belong. If you feel you have inappropriately been denied access to a forum, please contact the administrator at
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.
To access a forum click on the “All Forums” link at the left end of the lower menu bar in any Lounge screen.
On the All Forums page, click on the name of the forum you wish to read. (Note: The names - like “Everybody,” “Teens,” and “Parents & Guardians” - that appear on the green bars refer to categories of forums, and are not forums themselves. If you click on these, nothing will happen.)
Once on the forum page, simply click the post title to read a post.
To return to the forum page use your browser’s “back” button, or click the “Return to Forum” link in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.
After reading a post you may want to join the conversation by responding. To do so follow the instructions below.
Bookmarking and Subscribing to Forums & Topics
You can bookmark or subscribe to various forums or topics.
Bookmarking in the Lounge is much like bookmarking in your web browser. You aren’t alerted when there’s an update, but you can come back to the topic later - NOTE: bookmarking is only available for topics, not entire forums.
To bookmark a topic, scroll to the bottom of the topic page and click the “Bookmark topic” link in the green footer, at the bottom right hand corner of the screen. To revisit your bookmarks, go to your preferences page and click on “manage bookmarks”in the left hand menu in the Overview tab. From there, you can go directly to your bookmarked topics, and delete any bookmarks you no longer want.
Subscribing is a little different from bookmarking. You are subscribed automatically the forums that you are in. You will receive email alerts whenever anyone posts a new topic in that forum. You are not required to remain subscribed to any forum.
There are two ways to unsubscribe from forums, should you wish to do so.
The first way is from the forum itself: At the bottom of each forum, in the green footer section, there will be a small white link that says "Unsubscribe forum." Click it, and you will be unsubscribed and no longer receive email alerts for that forum. The link in the forum will now read, "Subscribe forum" - you can click this link, and you will be re-subscribed to email alerts.
The second way is from your Preferences panel: Click on the "My Preferences" link at the very top of any screen. Then select "Manage subscriptions" - it's the second option in the left-hand menu. This will show you a list of all of the forums to which you are subscribed, with a small check box by each one. Click the boxes for those forums you don't want to receive alerts for, and then click the small grey button at the bottom that says, "Unwatch marked."
You can also subscribe to a specific topic. To do so, enter the topic thread and click the “Subscribe to topic” link in the bottom right hand corner.
To review or remove your subscriptions, go to your preferences panel and click the “manage subscriptions” link in the left hand menu of the Overview tab.
Responding to a Forum Post:
When you are reading the posts in a given forum topic, you have the option to add your own response.
In the screen for the topic to which you wish to respond, click the “Post Reply” button which appears in 2 spots on the left hand side of the screen, at both the top and bottom of the stack of responses already posted.
Type your response in the space provided. There are word-processing options (such as bold, italics, and underline) in the toolbar at the top of the text space, and you can add smilies from the bank at the right hand side.
When you are finished, you can see what your post will look like to other Members before you actually post it by clicking the “Preview” button below the text space.
When you are satisfied with your response click “Submit.”
Creating a New Topic
If there’s something you want to talk about that no one has brought up yet, or someone’s post makes you think something off topic – Create a new post!
From the home screen of the forum you want to post in, click the “New Topic” button - like the “Post Reply” button, within a topic, it appears on the left hand at both the top and bottom of the stack of existing topics.
In the following screen, write your post in the field provided just like you would when replying to someone else’s post.
To see what your post will look like to other Members, click “Preview.”
When you are satisfied with your post click “Submit”
Saving Posts as Drafts
If you have followed the steps for replying or making a new post, but you aren’t ready to post just yet, you can save your post as a draft to return to and edit or post later. Here's how:
On the page in which you’re writing your post, click the "Save Draft" button at the bottom of the text writing space.
The next screen will tell you that the only things that will be saved are the subject heading and the written content of your post. This means that if you have uploaded any attachments they will be lost, and you will have to re-upload them before posting. If this is alright with you, click “Yes." If it is not, click “No,” and you will be returned to the writing screen and can finish your post.
You will be told your draft was saved successfully and be automatically rerouted back to the forum you were posting in. While a post is saved as a draft, no one can see it or read it. No one but you even knows it exists. This remains true until you submit it to the forum.
Editing and Posting from Drafts
To re-access saved drafts, click the “My Preferences” link in the green Navigation Bar at the top of any Lounge screen.
You will be taken straight to the "overview tab" of your Preferences page, which is exactly where you want to be. In this screen, in the menu on the left hand side, select "Manage Drafts."
A list of your draft posts will appear. To edit any post click "Load Draft" and edit away! When you are done and ready to make your post visible on the forum and readable by all forum Members, click "Submit".
Your post will now appear as a brand new post or response in the Forum where you were initially working, just as if it had never taken its little journey through your draft file.
NOTE on VIEWING & EDITING DRAFTS:
From your "Manage Drafts" list of draft posts, you can also access and edit a post by clicking on the Subject Heading and/or clicking "View/Edit" (which appears next to "Load Draft.")
This path allows you to edit the content of a post and subject heading but not the formatting or attachments. This screen also only lets you save your work as the draft; you can't submit your post from here.
If you make changes you do not want to keep while in “View/Edit” mode, you can revert them by clicking the “Reset” button instead of the “Save” button. HOWEVER, the only way to edit formatting, attachments, content, and then be able to submit your post is by clicking "Load Draft."
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Advanced Options for Forum Posts
Attaching a File to a Post
It is possible to attach a file to a forum post. To do so, click the “Upload Attachment” tab on the box below the text-writing space.
Click the “Choose File” button and select the file you would like to attach in the window that pops up (NOTE: click “Open” in this window to upload the file.)
When you see the name of the file you selected in the attachment box, click the “Add the File” button to the right of the box.
Add any caption you would like to appear with the file to the “File Comment” field.
When you are satisfied with your response and attachment, click “Submit.”
Selecting from The “Options Tab”
The first 3 options (“Disable BBCode,” “Disable smilies,” and “Do not automatically parse URLS”) control how people can respond to your attachment. Feel free to ignore these, or select them if you feel comfortable to do so.
If you want to add a personalized signature to your post (NOTE: you can create a signature for yourself in the “Profile” tab of your “My Preferences” page), check the “Attach Signature” box in the list of options.
If you would like to receive updates when someone responds to your post check the “Notify me” box in the list of options.
Quoting from a Post
When responding to a topic, you can directly quote anything someone has previously said in a topic thread. This is handy if there are a lot of responses, and you want yours to refer to just one of them.
If you are already composing a reply and would like to add a quote, scroll down below the reply field, to the Topic Review section. Within the Topic Review, scroll to the particular response to which you’d like reply.
Click the “Quote” button associated with that post (it will appear in the posts upper right hand corner). This will quote the entire post into the body of your response.
Scroll back up to your reply field and edit out the excess quoted material so that only the ideas you wish to highlight remain. Unless you know HTML, do not edit the code which brackets the larger quote.
Type your reply as usual. When you are satisfied with your response to the quote, click “Submit.”
NOTE: You can also begin a new response directly from the topic thread by clicking the “Quote” button in the upper right hand corner of the particular post which you would like to quote in your response.
Poll (available only in new topics)
The Lounge makes it possible to create simple, single-question polls of Forum Members.
If there’s a poll you’d like to set up, click the “Poll creation” tab in the box below the text field BEFORE submitting your post.
From there you will be able to write your question, select how many options Members will have to choose from in answering the poll (and create these options), and adjust how Members can respond and how long your poll will run.
Click “Submit” when you are satisfied with your post and poll.
Other information about forums
Why did I receive a warning?
The Lounge works to create a supportive and safe environment for people to share their stories and be heard. If you have put up a post that doesn't meet the communication guidelines (which are outlined when joining) moderators will work to reach out individually to users but if they don’t receive a response, you may receive a warning.
What are global announcements?
Global announcements contain important information and you should read them whenever possible. They will appear at the top of every forum and within your preferences panel. Only Administrators and Moderators can post global announcements - if there’s something you want to make sure the whole community is aware of, feel free to contact an Administrator and they’ll decide if posting a global announcement makes sense.
Searching Topics
There is a search link in the navigation bar on all pages that will search the whole Lounge, and a search box at the top of each individual forum that only searches that forum. NOTE: You will never be able to search within forums that you are not a member of.
If your search returned a blank page, then your search was probably too vague and included many common terms, which are not indexed. Be more specific and use the options available within Advanced search.
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Editing your Personal Settings and Friends
Editing Your Personal Information
At the top of any screen, click the "My Preferences" link in the topmost green menu bar.
You will now be on your Preferences page. Click on the "Profile" tab (it's the 2nd one on the left).
To edit your profile, select "Edit Personal Info" from the menu at left. Fill out the fields for information which you wish to share with other Lounge Members, and leave blank anything you'd rather keep private. NOTE: Birthdays have their very own section of the left menu - if you'd like to share your birthday, you can do so there.
Once you are finished editing, click the "Submit" button at the bottom of the screen. If you navigate away from the editing page without clicking "Submit" all changes you made will be lost.
NOTE: The "Profile" tab in your Preferences page is also where you can set your signature for Forum Posts and PMs, add an avatar picture and manage important Account Settings. Just select whichever you'd like to update from the left-hand menu.
Uploading an Avatar Image
To upload an avatar image for association with your posts and profile, from the “Profile” tab of your Preferences page, select “Edit Avatar” from the menu at left.
Click the “Choose File” button, and find the image from your computer you would like to use as an avatar. To select the image, click “Open.” When you have selected the image, click “Submit.”
NOTE: Avatar pictures must be smaller than 4.5 MB.
When your file has uploaded, you will be directed to a page that says “Your profile has been updated,” and then you will be automatically redirected back to your Avatar Editing screen. If you do not want to wait for the redirect, click the “return to your preferences” panel.
Your uploaded image should appear on the screen, next to the “Current Image” field. However, if you have uploaded a very large image (more than about 800 x 800 pixels), it will be too large to fit within the space provided, and you will need to scroll to the right in order to see it.
Your avatar image appears in the forums the same size it appears on this screen, so you’ll need to edit your avatar dimensions so that it won’t overlap your posts.
Whether it is in the main screen or to the right, beneath your image will be the field “Avatar Dimensions,” with two text boxes. The first box is for width in pixels, the second is for height in pixels. Enter 150 for width and 150 for height to create a thumbnail sized, square Avatar. Then click “Submit” and you’re done!
Adding Members as Friends
Becoming “friends” with somebody in the Lounge is a 2 step process: First you must add them to your friends group, which sends them a Friend Request. If they want to “friend” you back, they will accept your request.
To "friend" another Lounge Member click “My Preferences” in the navigation bar at the top of any Lounge screen.
Next, click on the “Social Network” tab of the Preferences page (it’s the last one on the right). You will land directly on your Manage Friends page.
In the text field labeled "Find a member" type the username of the person you would like to friend and click the "Submit" button.
You will be asked to confirm that you ‘wish to carry out this operation’ - click "Yes.” This sends a friend request to the Member you are trying to add as a friend. At this point, the Member will appear on your “Manage Friends” page under the heading “Your Requests.” Once the Member has confirmed your request, they will appear in your “Friends” and chat lists, and you will be able to see when they are logged into the Lounge.
NOTE: If the system can't find the username you entered, double check the spelling and punctuation of the username and try again. What you enter must exactly match Lounge records or the system won't be able to find your friend. For example: john doe, john.doe, and john_doe, are not the same usernames.
P.S. - You can also add people as friends from their profile pages, so if you see somebody you’d like to be friends with, ask them!
Responding to Friend Requests
If you have a new friend request it will appear as a new message in the top bar of all Lounge screens.
To respond, click on the "New Messages" link in the navigation bar at the top of any screen.
In your messages click the subject of the new message to open it.
Click on the "Manage Friends" link provided in the message to respond to the request page.
Select the Member(s) you wish to confirm as friends ("friend back") by clicking on their icons, and then click "Submit.”
You and the Member (or Members) are now friends. You can see each other's “friends only” Lounge content, send private messages to one another, and chat/IM when you are both online at the same time.
NOTE: You can also check for and confirm new friend requests by going directly to your “Social Networking” tab in your Preferences page at any time, or by selecting the “Manage Friends” option in the left-hand menu of your Member Home page.
“Unfriending”
To "unfriend" someone, return to your "Manage Friends" page under the "Social Network" tab of your Preferences. Click the Member in your "Friends" list and then click the "Remove" button.
Again you will be prompted to confirm the action. If you are certain you want to remove the friend, click “Yes.” Unlike when friending someone, this is the end of the action. The other Member does not need to confirm that they have been unfriended.
Members that you unfriend are not notified about your action. When you unfriend someone, you will lose access to any information that is only visible to friends and they will no longer appear in your chat list. You will likewise disappear from their list and they will no longer be able to access friends-only information about you. Remember: unfriending someone can be seen as a serious insult. The decision to unfriend is always yours and always an option but it is a decision to be taken seriously.
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Technical Questions and Information
What is BBCode?
From time-to-time you might see BBCode mentioned in the settings. BBCode is a special implementation of HTML, offering great formatting control on particular objects in a post.
Can I use HTML?
No. It is not possible to post HTML on this board and have it rendered as HTML. Most formatting which can be carried out using HTML can be applied using BBCode instead.
Who wrote this bulletin board?
This software (in its unmodified form) is produced, released and is copyright phpBB Group. It is made available under the GNU General Public License and may be freely distributed.
What does the “Delete all board cookies” do?
“Delete all board cookies” deletes the cookies created by phpBB which keep you authenticated and logged into the board. It also provides functions such as read tracking if they have been enabled by the board owner. If you are having login or logout problems, deleting board cookies may help.
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Contacting Your Moderators and Reporting Misconduct
There are several reasons why you might want to contact your forum Moderator directly. You may have questions about how to use a Lounge function, about the Participation Guidelines or about whether or not a photo is appropriate to post.
REMEMBER: You MUST get permission from a Moderator before posting a picture of an unclothed body in any forum.
It's easy to find out who your forum Moderators are: On all the All Forums page, each forum's Moderators are listed underneath the forum's description. On individual forum pages, the forum's Moderators are named near the top of each page, just under the forum title in blue.
The best way to get in touch with your Moderator is by Private Message. When you are asking permission to post a photo, please attach the image to your PM and send the message to ALL of your forum's Moderators. This will help avoid confusion later about whether permission was granted for your image.
Reporting Misconduct from Posts or Private Messages
Reporting a forum post or Private Message draws it to the attention of the Forum Moderators and Lounge Administrators. You might choose to report a forum post if you know that it breaks the Lounge Community Participation Guidelines, or because it appears to be an advertisement or contain links to illegal or pirated software.
You might choose to report a Private Message if it breaks the Community Participation Guidelines, appears to be an advertisement or contain links to illegal or pirated software, or simply because makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe in any way, and you would prefer to have a Moderator’s help in resolving the situation.
To report a forum post or Private Message, while reading the post, click the exclamation point (!) in the upside-down triangle which is located in the top right corner of the post or message.
Click on the up/down arrows far right of the Reason drop-down bar to select the reason you are reporting the post or private message.
To select whether or not you’d like to be notified when the report has been dealt with by a Moderator, check the “Yes” or “No” boxes below the Reason bar.
Type any extra information about why you are choosing to report the message (this is greatly appreciated!) in the large text box below the Notify Me boxes.
When you are satisfied with your report and ready to send it to the Moderators, click “Submit.”
The post or Private Message has now been reported, and the Moderators will get to it as quickly as possible. They may reach out to you by email or PM with further questions, or simply handle the report as they deem best. If you are unsure whether or how your report has been dealt with, feel free to contact your forum Moderator and ask about it.
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