For those of you posting introductions, it is nice for us to know a little about you. We don't need a full-length autobiography, but we would like more than one line that says "I'm vegan, now let me in d00d!!!11" In your introduction, you must cover why it is that you're vegan. Be descriptive. That said, a long bio is not a bad thing! We're nosy and love to get to know our new vegans, so don't be embarassed if your bio seems a bit ... lengthy. Tell us a little about yourself. Let us get some insight into you. You aren't just joining a forum, you're entering a community, and this introduction is a non-negotiable aspect of your entry.
These forums are meant for people who are already vegan or significantly on the way to veganism. If you're not committed to veganism, this is not the place for you. We say this not out of elitism or an attempt to be the vegan police or whatever other ill will you might imagine, but only because this is a place for vegans to rant, rave, and live as vegans. It is a safe space for ethical vegans. If you're not an ethical vegan or significantly on the way to being an ethical vegan, you probably will not be happy here. Though we applaud any reduction in the consumption of animal products, our past experience dictates that people who are not fully vegan or significantly interested in going fully vegan will generally not be happy here. If you're a vegetarian or omnivore, you might find more support and company on other forums like veggieboards.
With that said, here are some possible topics for discussion in intros:
-Where you live
-What you like to do in your free time
-Music tastes (if you like Dave Matthews Band, expect at least one of us to tease you...j/k)
-Books that you've read that have helped you into veganism
-Influences that helped you to realize that the exploitation of animals is wrong
In short, we're trying to get a sense of who you are and why you're vegan (or very, very close to vegan). Help us figure that out. If we feel your intro is too short, we may ask you to expand upon it.
Yes, this is a pain in the ass. But our experience dictates that this procedure means that we have a better community here in the long run. If you don't like this procedure, remember that no one is forcing you to post here.
If you were invited here by another user: Tell us who invited you in your introduction.
Please note: it may take up to 72 hours for a moderator to activate your account. Please be patient! Thanks. Don't PM or email us looking for entry unless at least a few days have passed. We'll get to you when we can.
One last thing: bold, colors, and font tags are something that we don't appreciate in posts or in signatures, but you know that already because you read the terms of service and rules, right?
Last edited by veganfreak; 23rd June 2008 at 04:44 PM.
Reason: added new info
"I won't say anything because no one ever listens to me anyway! I might as well be a Leonard Cohen record!" - Neil, the Young Ones
We have had a recent rash of introductions that are not following the required, yes REQUIRED guidelines. Please note the newly bolded line above, with the important word being MUST. If we do not feel that your introduction adequately expresses why you are vegan, your account will not be approved. Please spare us from having to ask you for additional information by posting a complete intro initially... thank you.
Easy! First, log into your account. Right underneath the "Vegan Freak Forums" banner, you should see a rectangle. In that rectangle, you'll see various things. On the far upper right, you should see something that says, "Welcome (your name)," a date and time for when you last visited, and a link that takes you to your private messages. To the far upper left, you should see a series of links that shows you what forum you are currently browsing. Directly underneath those two elements, in a dark grey section with white text, you should see the following links: User CP, Donate, FAQ/Rules, Chat Room, Members List, Calendar, New Posts, Search, Quick Links, Log Out.
Since we're updating our Avatars, so that we don't have those weird 1980s avatars with Richard Simmons or Tom Cruise, we want to go to the User CP, as shown below.
Click on the User CP link. This will take you to your User Control Panel. There are various things on here that you can customise, including your avatar, your signature, your email and password, and all sorts of other fun stuff. For now, we'll concentrate on your avatar, because I'm really sick of staring at Richard Simmons. Seriosuly.
Click on the "Edit Avatar" link.
You're almost there! Once you click the "Edit Avatar" link, you'll be taken to a screen that looks something like this:
If you have an avatar already saved on your computer that you would like to use, click on the "Choose..." button. It will bring up a box that will let you browse for the location of the file, and upload your new avatar directly. If you have a url for an Avatar that you want, you're welcome to use that as well. Here's how:
Type the URL (or copy and paste it as needed) into that little box over there. Once you've done all that, you have a shiny new avatar.
Please note that user accounts are upgraded manually by moderators. This is not an automated system and creating new threads will not get you upgraded any faster.
