Table of Contents

• Starting Out
  
• Staff
  
• Groups
  
• Upgrades
  
• Awards
  
• Capital System
  
• Reputation System
  
• Donating
  
• MyCodes
  
• Conclusion
  
• Update Log
  

I know there is already a thread very similar to this located here, however I wanted to create my own version as I want to contribute something to the site. If you believe I have missed something/made an error, please let me know. Thanks!

Starting Out
It can be hard when you first sign up to a forum to familiarize yourself with the community and it's rules, so I have complied a bit of information in regards to what you should do after signing up to ensure your journey through DiscussionZone will be a smooth one.

• Read and familurize yourself with the help documents. You don't want to break any rules as you may receive a warning or any other form of punishment. I recommend reading the general rules help document first.
  
• Post an introduction thread in the member introductions forum. Don't write a huge thread, however tell the community a little about yourself. What country you're from, your age, hobbies and anything else you can think of that members may like to know.
  
• Make your posts relevant to the topic you're posting in.
  
• Use relevant thread titles when creating threads.
  
• If you can, donate to the forum and/or upgrade. Donations help the forum stay strong and brings more contests and features.
  

I also recommend customizing your profile via your user control panel. Get yourself a nice avatar, put on a signature, set up your settings, update your profile information etc. Note that your avatar cannot be any larger than 150x150 pixels.

Staff

Here is a list of the current staff members. You can also visit the forum show team page to see the current staff members. Note that if a staff member isn't wearing their staff userbar, they will not be displayed on the page.

Blue
Uzi
Pali


Harvey
Wonders


Slyestcat

Groups
On DiscussionZone, there is quite a few user-owned groups. To have an official usergroup, you need to send Blue a private message (you can do so by clicking here) and pay. Prices are negotiated via private message and usually stay undisclosed. Below is a list of all current user-owned groups.

Getting into these usergroups can be hard. You need to be spotted out by a group leader and invited or buy into a group. Some groups often have recruitment periods in which you can apply for said group. Frequently visit our group recruitment and initiation forum to find out when a group is recruiting.

You can also apply for a group via your user control panel. Simply click here to view all groups or hit the group memberships tab in your user control panel. Note that it isn't recommended to apply for a group via your user control panel unless asked to as many group leaders find it frustrating.


Marvelous - Led by Judas and Pali.
We are the elite of the forums. We are a talented and unique brotherhood. Our aim is to contribute to the forums, set an example and make Discussion Zone a better place overall.


Prestige - Led by Ocean and Uzi.
We are an assemblage of gaming fanatics. That is all you need to know about us.


Writers - Led by Blue and Ocean.
News team.

Upgrades
There are a few groups on DiscussionZone which you can purchase membership with money. You can find more information on the upgrade page. Below is an image with all privileges and userbars for our upgrade groups.


NOTE: To purchase Sapphire, you need to meet set requirements and to purchase Diamond you need to be approved, so don't purchase either group until you're 100% certain you're ready.

Awards
On DiscussionZone, there are many awards you can both achieve and purchase. Awards are small images added to your profile to acknowledge something noteworthy you've done. It's suggested that you do not ask or hint for awards as they should be earned, not asked for. There is however an award requests thread in which you can request certain awards. For more information, view the award requests thread here. Be sure to only request an award that you have acquired. Below is a list of all current awards.

Veteran - You are one of the first twenty members to hit one-hundred posts on Discussion Zone. No longer available.
Cool Beans - You're a fine natured person towards everyone.
Proven Gamer - You're an active contributor in the gaming section.
Graphic Guru - Show us your creativity to earn this award.
Securely Stuck - Awarded to those users that have created a thread worthy of a sticky.
Donator (Rank I) - Donate a one-off payment of $10.00 to Discussion Zone's forums.
Donator (Rank II) - Donate a one-off payment of $25.00 to Discussion Zone's forums.
Donator (Rank III) - Donate a one-off payment of $55.00 to Discussion Zone's forums.
Donator (Rank IV) - Donate a one-off payment of $100.00 to Discussion Zone's forums.
Emerald - You have supported the site by purchasing the 'Emerald' rank.
Sophisticated - You're a sophisticated member of the forum. You're wise and intelligent.
Grammar Nazi - You have advanced knowledge of the English language. Your grammar, spelling and punctuation is extremely precise.
In The Shadows - Contribute to the forums without seeking attention. Only Pali can grant this award.
Zap! - You have been zapped! Only Uzi has the ability to grant you this award.
Guardian - You are a true guardian. You are constantly on the lookout for posts worthy of being reported; you help out the moderation team; and we respect your contributions.
Programmar - You know your way around the programming languages.
Sapphire - Member of the upgrade usergroup, Sapphire.
Upgrader - Upgrade 5 or more members to Emerald or Sapphire membership.
Lightning Bolt - Post 50 or more threads in the 'Accounts & Downloads' category.
Diamond - Member of the upgrade usergroup, Diamond.
Marvelous - You're a member of the prestigious usergroup Marvelous. Thank-you Pal for this award.
Member of the Month - You have been voted "MOTM".
Broadcaster - To acquire this award you must broadcast Discussion Zone on YouTube for thirty seconds.
Surprise - Gift this award to another user for $5.00.

Capital System
The capital system is a point/credit-like system for DiscussionZone. It's basically a virtual currency used on the forum where you can buy items, stocks and more. It's a nice incentive to post and refer members as you actually achieve something. If you take a look here, you can see how much capital you can earn. Alternatively, here is the list.

Source Amount Paid
New Post - 1 Capital Point
New Thread - 2 Capital Points
Per Referral - 10 Capital Points
Lottery Winnings - 250 Capital Points

There is also a nice statistics page where you can view the richest users, the latest donations and previous lottery winners. You can view the statistics page by hitting the statistics tab on the capital system page or by simply clicking here.

You can also buy stocks in our virtual stock market. It works the same as stocks in real life, you purchase a certain amount of stocks and slowly you make profit. You can view the virtual stock market by hitting the virtual stock market tab on the capital system page or by simply clicking here.

Last but not least, we also have a lottery. The lottery is exactly that; a lottery. You can purchase as many tickets as you like for 10 capital each. After 7 days, a winner is drawn and the winning ticket earns 250 capital. You can view the lottery by hitting the lottery tab on the capital system page or by simply clicking here.

Reputation System
The reputation system on DiscussionZone is a way for members to express their opinions of a member on their profile. Members can either leave a positive, neutral or negative reputation on another members profile. There are certain rules that must be followed when leaving reputation on a members profile. I also highly recommend to never ask for rep. It's recommended that you read the reputation system help document before handing out reputation. You can view it here. There are limits as to how much certain groups can rep.

Regular members cannot give any form of reputation.
Emerald members can give up to +3 positive and -3 negative reputation.
Sapphire members can give up to +5 positive and -5 negative reputation.
Diamond members can give up to +8 positive and -8 negative reputation.
Staff members can give up to +10 positive and -10 negative reputation.
Administrators can give up to +15 positive and -15 negative reputation.

Donating
Donations both big and small greatly help DicussionZone. Donations help keep the site active, running smoothly and helps to ensure that lots of new features, contests and plugins are coming through. It's not complusory to donate, however the administrators have set up a forum 100% free to use, the least you can do is give $5-10 back to the site. There is also a few awards which you can donate for.




Donator (Rank I) - Donate a one-off payment of $10.00 to Discussion Zone's forums.
Donator (Rank II) - Donate a one-off payment of $25.00 to Discussion Zone's forums.
Donator (Rank III) - Donate a one-off payment of $55.00 to Discussion Zone's forums.
Donator (Rank IV) - Donate a one-off payment of $100.00 to Discussion Zone's forums.

If you wish to donate, send Blue a private message by clicking here. You're greatly helping the forum!

MyCode
DiscussionZone uses a special code known as 'MyCode' to format posts and threads. I have gathered a small list of the frequently and most commonly used MyCodes and posted them below.

On the left is the action and on the right is the code.

(07-05-2013, 02:05 PM)Muzzy Wrote: Nice thread. Now I know where you've been for the past four hours :3

(07-05-2013, 02:09 PM)Wonders Wrote:

(07-05-2013, 02:05 PM)Muzzy Wrote: Nice thread. Now I know where you've been for the past four hours :3

Lol yeah.

Thanks guys, I will keep this updated.

(07-05-2013, 02:10 PM)Judas Wrote:

(07-05-2013, 02:09 PM)Wonders Wrote:

(07-05-2013, 02:05 PM)Muzzy Wrote: Nice thread. Now I know where you've been for the past four hours :3

Lol yeah.

Thanks guys, I will keep this updated.

Also, Marvelous is a Discussion/Debating group now, as every group had to have a niche.

(07-05-2013, 02:14 PM)Wonders Wrote:

(07-05-2013, 02:10 PM)Judas Wrote:

(07-05-2013, 02:09 PM)Wonders Wrote: Lol yeah.

Thanks guys, I will keep this updated.

Also, Marvelous is a Discussion/Debating group now, as every group had to have a niche.

I was just going off the descriptions on the groups page. Do you have a new description you'd like me to put in?

(07-05-2013, 02:16 PM)Judas Wrote:

(07-05-2013, 02:14 PM)Wonders Wrote:

(07-05-2013, 02:10 PM)Judas Wrote: Also, Marvelous is a Discussion/Debating group now, as every group had to have a niche.

I was just going off the descriptions on the groups page. Do you have a new description you'd like me to put in?

Nothing specific, keep the current one for now I guess. I think Pali will make blue change the description on the groups page soon.

god bless

(07-05-2013, 02:36 PM)Harvey Wrote: This is the best thread ever. Period.