Glossary
Common Terms
Admin
The member who has complete control (all available powers) and utmost responsibility for a forum; and is owner of the account with the username: admin. The user who creates a forum. The Admin is sometimes referred to as the "main admin" so as to make the distinction from other staff members assigned as Administrators.
Administrator
- A staff member of a forum who has an expanded set of assigned powers to assist in administering a forum. Presiding over the whole forum, an Administrator will in some cases manage a forum in the same capacity as the main admin. And though sometimes referred to as an "admin" or "co-admin" this role is different than the forum creator Admin.
- One of three preset groups on a new forum (Administrator, Global Moderator, Moderator).
Admin Panel
The back-end of a forum where the Admin, and forum staff with appropriate privileges, can configure the forum's settings and customize the forum's look and features.
Announcement
A thread that displays at the top of all boards on a forum, usually for the purpose of generating attention to the information contained in the thread.
Attachment
A file that is included as part of a forum post but is not embedded in the post. Attachments can be documents or images and will display in the post as a link or thumbnail image depending on the attached file type. Attachments are uploaded to the forum's storage area and are not hosted externally.
Avatar
An image or graphic that represents a user on a forum. Guests are represented by a default image as set by the forum, whereas registered members can elect to use the default image or one of their own choosing. A user's avatar appears in various locations on a forum, such as the members list, on the account sidebar, and the mini-profile that accompanies their posts.
Ban
A process in which a user is denied the ability to access and/or participate on a forum. (See I have been banned)
BBCode
BBCode is short for Bulletin Board Code and is the markup language of forum posts or more simply put, the use of tags to stylize forum posts. In addition to styling text (e.g. bold, italic, underline), BBCode also allows you to add links and embed content. (See Using BBCode)
Board
A collection of threads (topics) that are usually based on a common concept.
Bookmark
A means to identify a thread for quick access. Similar to the bookmarks or favorites of a browser, threads can be bookmarked for later viewing or for notification of updated activity.
Bump / Bumping
Posting in a thread so it moves to the top of the board for the sole purpose of bringing more attention to the thread. Generally this is an undesired action, though there are some exceptions. Often forums have specific rules regarding bumping. (See also necroposting.)
Category
Separators on the home page of a forum which group boards usually based on similarity or defined criteria.
Cloudflare
A service used by ProBoards to enhance security and optimize content delivery (forum loading).
Computing Device
A generic reference that encompasses desktop and laptop computers, smartphones and tablets.
Conversations
See "Personal Message".
Dashboard
An interactive visual management tool that displays information from multiple sources in a way that is easy to read. ProBoards employs two different dashboards: one designed for users to manage their accounts, and one for admins to administer their forum.
- Forum Dashboard - Displays a user's forum accounts and is the base for a user's Global Account. The forum dashboard also includes a user's purchase information.
- Admin Panel Dashboard - Displays items needing attention such as newly registered users pending approval, and offers quick links to frequently used areas of the admin panel.
Display Name
An alias for a member's username that is shown on a member's profile. Unlike usernames, display names can be changed and can contain special characters and symbols. They cannot however, be used for logging in to forum accounts.
Embedding
The integration of content such as images or videos into posts through the use of external linking. When you embed, the content is hosted elsewhere and you are simply linking to it, however the linked content will display in the post rather than the link.
Falling
When a thread has falling enabled, it will not be moved to the top of the thread list if it has a new reply. (By default, posting to a thread moves the thread to the top of the of board.)
Floating Action Button
The floating action button (FAB) is a circled icon button that triggers an action on the forum, such as Create New Thread or Reply to Post. The button's action is contextual, meaning the button's action will differ based on what part of the forum is currently being viewed.
Forum
An online discussion site where people's ideas and views can be exchanged in the form of posted messages. (See also What is a forum?)
Global Account
A collection of all your forum accounts that have been created using the same email address. A Global Account is also a master login for those accounts. Using just your single email address and password you can log in to your accounts saving the need to remember different login credentials. (See also Dashboard)
Global Moderator
- A staff member of a forum who has a defined set of assigned powers to assist in administering a forum. Not limited to a specific board (or boards) like a Moderator, a Global Moderator presides over the whole forum.
- One of three preset groups on a new forum (Administrator, Global Moderator, Moderator).
Guest
Any user who visits (and/or participates) on a forum and is not logged into an account. Typically a guest is considered a user who is not a member of the forum, however a member is considered a guest if they are not logged into their account.
Group
A means to apply a condition or status to a specified group of users. Groups can be used to grant administrative powers. They can be used to grant or deny access to designated areas of a forum. They can also be used to grant or deny participation, such as creating and/or replying to threads.
Locked
An action used on a thread to prevent further replies (posting) from users.
Long Click / Long Press
Clicking and holding the mouse button down longer than usual, generally 1~2 seconds. For touchscreen devices the equivalent is to tap and continue pressing for 1~2 seconds.
Member
A user who has a registered account on a forum.
Member Group
See "Group".
Member Rank
See "Rank".
Moderator
- A member, often forum staff, who has limited assigned powers to assist in administering a forum. A moderator usually only presides over a specific board (or boards).
- One of three preset groups on a new forum (Administrator, Global Moderator, Moderator).
Necroposting
Posting in a thread that has been inactive for a relatively long period of time. Necroposting is an undesired action.
Notification
An alert that some action has occurred on a forum. For instance, when a thread you have bookmarked has been updated, or when you have been tagged in a post. A member subscribes to notification alerts via their profile settings. Members can receive notifications through a numbered indicator on the forum, by email, or by both methods.
Personal Message
The personal messaging (PM) system allows for one-on-one or group messages between members. PM conversations operate in a similar fashion to text messages, in that posted messages cannot be edited, and a participating member can leave a conversation. PM conversations do not appear on the boards of a forum.
Plugins
Prepackaged code (either self-made or from the ProBoards' plugin library) that can be installed on a forum. Plugins are used to enhance a forum with additional features. Often plugins will have a user interface for the admin to customize the settings or actions of the plugin.
Poll
A feature available when creating a thread that adds a question and a set of options (or answers) which users can then vote on.
Post
Content submitted by a user as a reply to a thread. Posts can contain text, images, videos, and links.
Post Count
The number of posts that an individual member has made on a forum. (See also Rank)
ProBoards Admin
An employee of ProBoards, Inc. While a ProBoards Admin can be any staff member regardless of position (e.g. developer, tech support, systems), the title often refers to the employees who oversee the Support Board and specialize in offering technical support.
Rank
The participation level a member achieves based on the number of posts that member has made on a forum. Ranks are sometimes equated with member experience, as the more posts a member has made can reflect their activity or longevity with a forum.
Shoutbox
The Shoutbox is an integrated live instant messaging chat room that can be enabled for a forum. Individual messages are referred to as "shouts."
Signature
Preset text or images as defined by a member that is automatically added to the bottom of that member's posts.
Skin
See "Theme".
Staff
A forum member with a "Staff" designation. Usually staff are members who have assigned powers and assist the Admin in managing the forum.
- A member may be given a staff designation and have no assigned powers. Staff designation can be used to allow access to content not available to regular members.
The forum Admin is automatically considered staff. For a member to be considered staff, they must belong to a group with a staff designation. Common staff groups are Administrator, Global Moderator, and Moderator.
Sticky
An action used on a thread so that it remains pinned at the top of the list of threads on a board.
Tagging
A means to get the attention of a forum member by including that member's username prefixed with the '@' symbol, in a post (ex. @username). The tagged member would need to have their notifications configured to receive a notification when tagged.
Template
The layout structure of a forum. Templates are primarily comprised of HTML, but can also include JavaScript and CSS. Forum templates often contain variables, which are specialized scripts unique to ProBoards' forums and allow for easier template customization.
Theme
A customization that changes the appearance (or design) of a forum. A theme can alter the color, font, and layout of the various elements that constitute a forum, as well as a forum's default graphics. Themes can be made directly on a forum or be a pre-made package and installed. A packaged theme contains all the modified templates, CSS, and graphics.
Thread
A collection of posts that form a discussion on a specific topic. Starting with an opening post that indicates the topic of discussion, users then post replies creating a conversation. The opening post and its replies is what constitutes a thread.
Topic
See "Thread".
URL
Stands for Uniform Resource Locator. A URL is the address of a specific webpage or file on the internet. For example, the URL of the ProBoards official support forum is: https://support.proboards.com.
Username
A sequence of no more than twenty alphanumeric characters that identifies a member on a forum. Usernames are also used for logging in to a forum and for tagging another member in posts. Usernames should not be confused with display names when logging in.
Variables
Variables (also known as template variables) are predefined code represented in an abbreviated form depicted as $[text]. The use of brackets [] should not be confused with BBCode tags.
The majority of variables are template specific and depending on their code only work for a single template or set of templates. Global variables can be used in all layout templates, custom pages, and plugins. Variables will not work in CSS or in posts.
WYSIWYG Editor
The post editor of a forum. WYSIWYG is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get and refers to the previewing of styled content while creating or editing a post. The editor shows the post content in a manner that resembles what will be displayed once the post is published (saved).
Acronyms & Abbreviations
CSS
Cascading Style Sheets. A style sheet language used for describing the look and formatting of a document written in a markup language
FAB
GMod
HTML
HyperText Markup Language. The standard markup language used to create web pages.
iOS
The operating system for Apple’s mobile devices
IP
Internet Protocol. The method by which data is sent from one computer to another on the internet. Also can mean IP Address based on context.
IP Address
Internet Protocol Address. The identifying number for a computer or device on the internet.
ISP
Internet Service Provider
Mod
MP
Mini-Profile
OP
Original Post / Original Poster
OS
Operating System (e.g. Windows, Linux)
PM
RSS
Rich Site Summary (referred to as Really Simple Syndication) Method for publishing frequently updated information (blogs, news headlines, etc.) and delivering to the end user.
TOS
Terms of Service
V5
Version 5 of the ProBoards forum software
V6
Version 6 of the ProBoards forum software