TEXT FORMATTING
Those of Du who have written soapbox Artikel before may have seen the guide that Fanpop provides for formatting text. But maybe you've never written a soapbox Artikel oder never noticed the key, and have been wondering how some users manage to make their text Mehr interesting. With these tags, Du can:
* boldface your text
* put your text in italics
* underline your text
* have your text point to a different URL link
Soapbox authors can also use Tags to embed pictures into the bodies of their articles. But what not many users realize is that all of these Tags - with the exception of the image embedding - can be used in other places on Fanpop.
HOW TO FORMAT YOUR TEXT
If Du are familiar with hypertext markup language (HTML), the Tags will seem pretty familiar to you. Let's assume for a moment that you're not familiar with HTML tags, though.
In order to format any of the text Du type on Fanpop, Du need to include a start tag at the beginning of the text Du want to look different, and then put a close tag at the end of the text Du want to look that way.
For example, in regular HTML, there is a thing called the "blink" tag (which is very annoying and should never be used in a serious web page - I offer it here only as an example). Simply put, any text marked with a blink tag (in normal HTML) will blink on and off, like a fluorescent light when the power is first applied. In HTML and the Fanpop markup Tags alike, Du apply Tags like this:
1) Du type a special symbol to indicate to the system that a tag is starting. In HTML, this tag is the < oder "bracket" symbol. On Fanpop, it is the [ oder "square bracket" symbol.
2) Then Du type the name of the tag. In our example, the word "blink" is the name of the blink tag. On Fanpop, Du have the following basic tags:
b
i
u
3) After the name of the tag, Du insert the opposite bracket symbol: > in HTML, ] on Fanpop.
These Tags indicate where the formatting should start, so Du place it to the left of the first word Du want formatted in that way.
Thus, the text <blink> in an HTML file would indicate where the text should start blinking. But now that you've put in the start tag, how do Du put in the end tag, which tells the system where to stop that text formatting? Like this:
A) Du type the same sort of bracket: < in HTML, [ on Fanpop.
B) Du indicate that the tag is a close tag Von using the vorwärts-, nach vorn Slash key: /
C) Du insert the name of the tag just like in the start tag.
D) Du close with the opposite bracket: > in HTML, ] on Fanpop.
The close tag should come immediately after the text Du want to format, so that the start tag and close tag enclose the text Du want to format.
If Du wanted the text to say "This is blinking!" in HTML, for instance, Du would write:
<blink>This is blinking!</blink>
If Du want to write an explanation of your low rating on a picture ("Sorry, but this pic is really dull!"), Du could write it like this:
Sorry, but this pic is [i]really dull[/i]!
...which would look like this:
Sorry, but this pic is really dull!
oder Du could write it like this:
Sorry, but this pic is [u]really[/u] [b]dull[/b]!
...which would look like this:
Sorry, but this pic is really dull!
INSERTING UNIFORM RESOURCE LOCATORS (URLs)
Those are what I call the three "basic" text formatting tags:
boldface
italics
underline
But, as I mentioned earlier, Du can also embed URLs into your text. The tag name is "url", and the Tags work the same way, except that Du also need to provide the actual URL of the site to which Du want to link. Du then put this link in the start tag with an "equals" sign. The close tag is unaffected.
For example, if Du wanted to link to the Neverending Story Forum game on Fanpop, Du would take the link link and put it in the start tag, to read like this:
[url=http://www.fanpop.com/spots/writing/forum/post/2421], then type the text Du wanted to be that link, then the close tag: [/url]. In that way, Du could write something about link and continue on without cluttering up the post with a long URL.
People know that they can click on links, and will do so if they're curious. Note to users seeing these hyperlinks, though: if Du have any reason to be suspicious of a link that someone has posted, most browsers will let Du see the URL without clicking on the link, but just hovering the maus cursor over the link. Then Du can read the URL and judge whether it feels safe, sicher oder not. Some Links (www.spamspamspamittyspam.com?counter) are going to seem suspect, and so Du shouldn't click on them.
Three things of interest for placing these Links on Fanpop:
i) The URL should be absolute. This means that Du should include the link at the beginning. This may not be necessary for all browsers, but it is good practice for people using older browsers, who would be unable to resolve a link like "fanpop.com" over "http://www.fanpop.com"
ii) In case it isn't obvious, the URL can be any URL, not just a Fanpop one. That way, Du can point to link.
iii) If Du want to reference a particular passage from a particular thread of a particular forum, Du can link to the gegeben page of that forum. For instance, Du could point to link, which is just the oben, nach oben page of that forum, leaving the user to read through multiple pages to get at the end oder any page in between, oder Du could point to link, if Du wanted to reference, say, link's mention of Mrs. Doubtfire (or anything else on that page).
The way Du do it is simple: just insert /, then the number of the page, then a # and then "comments" after the URL of the base Forum thread. In the example above, we started with link's movie titles game: link.
Then, to point to page 4 of the thread, we added /4#comments to the end of that, making link as the URL to point to page four of that thread.
Finally, I should note that, if Du don't want to substitute text for some obscure URL, Du can still just type the URL, and Fanpop will recognize it as an URL and will format that text for Du as a link (see the link and www, above: a link that points nowhere - my apologies to any users who actually clicked on that!)
WHERE Du CAN USE TAGS
All this is well and good, but where can Du use these Tags on Fanpop? The most obvious place is in soapbox Artikel like this one. But, Du can also use these Tags in any Kommentar box on the site, which includes Forum thread postings, responses to Forum threads, and Kommentare on videos, links, images, picks, and articles. Basically, if the content is already there and Du want to post a comment, Du can do it with tags.
WHERE Du CAN'T USE TAGS
Du can't use these Tags in the titles oder descriptions of anything Du add to Fanpop: links, articles, videos, images, Fragen oder their picks. Basically, if Du are adding content to the site, Du cannot format the name oder the Beschreibung of the content with tags. Du can take some comfort in the fact that Du can immediately Kommentar on your addition, and in that Kommentar Du can use tags, though.
A WORD OF CAUTION/BEST PRACTICE
So, now Du know how to format your text to be Mehr interesting, and carry greater emphasis than just putting *asterisks around words*! But realize that too much emphasis can quickly get to be annoying, much like the <blink> tag I mentioned earlier: use that on an HTML page these days, and Du will get pilloried. Much like TYPING IN ALL Auszeichnungen FOR EXTENDED PERIODS, using too much boldface, italics oder underlining only annoys people, so use these items with moderation. Two final things to keep in mind:
a) Remember to always use a close tag to stop whatever text formatting Du start (if Du don't, the entire contents of your posting will be formatted for emphasis after the start tag)
and
b) Try to stick to a conservative ratio of emphatic oder formatted text to regular text, like no Mehr than 10% of what Du write should be formatted as bold/italic/underlined, oder linked to a different URL. Doing otherwise will likely get Du reported Von your fellow Fanpop users.
With all that said, enjoy!
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Here's Links to other parts of the guide for your quick reference:
* link
* 1: link
* 2: link.
* 3: link
* 4: Picks: this is the generic name both for the Umfrage Fragen that Du see on the site and for the Antwort Du can pick to that question. Papa has created a link.
* 5: link
* 6: link
* 7: link
Du may also want to see:
* link feature
* link
Photo Courtesy of pbase.com
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