There are several reasons why this could occur. First, ensure your username and password are correct. If they are, contact the board owner to make sure you haven't been banned. It is also possible the website owner has a configuration error on their end, and they would need to fix it.

You may not have to, it is up to the administrator of the board as to whether you need to register in order to post messages. However; registration will give you access to additional features not available to guest users such as definable avatar images, private messaging, emailing of fellow users, usergroup subscription, etc. It only takes a few moments to register so it is recommended you do so.

If you do not check the Log me in automatically box when you login, the board will only keep you logged in for a preset time. This prevents misuse of your account by anyone else. To stay logged in, check the box during login. This is not recommended if you access the board from a shared computer, e.g. library, internet cafe, university computer lab, etc. If you do not see this checkbox, it means the board administrator has disabled this feature.

Within your User Control Panel, under "Board preferences", you will find the option Hide your online status. Enable this option with Yes and you will only appear to the administrators, moderators and yourself. You will be counted as a hidden user.

Don't panic! While your password cannot be retrieved, it can easily be reset. Visit the login page and click I've forgotten my password. Follow the instructions and you should be able to log in again shortly.

First, check your username and password. If they are correct, then one of two things may have happened. If COPPA support is enabled and you specified being under 13 years old during registration, you will have to follow the instructions you received. Some boards will also require new registrations to be activated, either by yourself or by an administrator before you can logon; this information was present during registration. If you were sent an e-mail, follow the instructions. If you did not receive an e-mail, you may have provided an incorrect e-mail address or the e-mail may have been picked up by a spam filer. If you are sure the e-mail address you provided is correct, try contacting an administrator.

Attempt to locate the e-mail sent to you when you first registered, check your username and password and try again. It is possible an administrator has deactivated or deleted your account for some reason. Also, many boards periodically remove users who have not posted for a long time to reduce the size of the database. If this has happened, try registering again and being more involved in discussions.

COPPA, or the Child Online Privacy and Protection Act of 1998, is a law in the United States requiring websites which can potentially collect information from minors under the age of 13 to have written parental consent or some other method of legal guardian acknowledgment, allowing the collection of personally identifiable information from a minor under the age of 13. If you are unsure if this applies to you as someone trying to register or to the website you are trying to register on, contact legal counsel for assistance. Please note that kristacy.org cannot provide legal advice and is not a point of contact for legal concerns of any kind, except as outlined below.

It is possible the website owner has banned your IP address or disallowed the username you are attempting to register. The website owner could have also disabled registration to prevent new visitors from signing up. Contact a board administrator for assistance.

"Delete all board cookies" deletes the cookies created by kristacy.org 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.

If you are a registered user, all your settings are stored in the board database. To alter them, visit your User Control Panel; a link can usually be found at the top of board pages. This system will allow you to change all your settings and preferences.

It is possible the time displayed is from a timezone different from the one you are in. If this is the case, visit your User Control Panel and change your timezone to match your particular area, e.g. London, Paris, New York, Sydney, etc. Please note that changing the timezone, like most settings, can only be done by registered users. If you are not registered, this is a good time to do so.

If you are sure you have set the timezone and Summer Time/DST correctly and the time is still incorrect, then the time stored on the server clock is incorrect. Please notify an administrator to correct the problem.

Because this board is for an American band, all posting is done in English. No other languages will be added. You are welcome to use the Babelfish translator, however. Please note that your posts MUST be in English!

There are two images that may appear below a username when viewing posts. Depending on the used style, the first may be an image associated with your rank, generally in the form of stars, blocks or dots, indicating how many posts you have made or your status on the board. The second, usually a larger image, is known as an avatar and is generally unique or personal to each user. It is up to the board administrator to enable avatars and to choose the way in which avatars can be made available. If you are unable to use avatars, contact a board administrator and ask them for their reasons.

Ranks, which appear below your username, indicate the number of posts you have made or identify certain users, e.g. moderators and administrators. In general, you cannot directly change the wording of any board ranks as they are set by the board administrator. Please do not abuse the board by posting unnecessarily just to increase your rank. Most boards will not tolerate this and the moderator or administrator will simply lower your post count.

Only registered users can send e-mail to other users via the built-in e-mail form, and only if the administrator has enabled this feature. This is to prevent malicious use of the e-mail system by anonymous users.

You must have 25 posts before you can view the memberlist and profiles. This is a security measure for our members. We do not want people signing up just to have an account to gather personal information with.

Username changes are highly discouraged because it makes it harder for members to remember you. However, if you absolutely must have a new username, please PM Krista or Stacy and they can change it for you. Only one username change per user will be permitted.

To post a new topic in a forum, click the relevant button on either the forum or topic screens. You may need to register before you can post a message. A list of your permissions in each forum is available at the bottom of the forum and topic screens. Example: You can post new topics, You can vote in polls, etc.

Unless you are a board administrator or moderator, you can only edit or delete your own posts. You can edit a post by clicking the edit button for the relevant post, sometimes for only a limited time after the post was made. If someone has already replied to the post, you will find a small piece of text output below the post when you return to the topic which lists the number of times you edited it along with the date and time. This will only appear if someone has made a reply; it will not appear if a moderator or administrator edited the post, though they may leave a note as to why they've edited the post at their own digression. Please note that normal users cannot delete a post once someone has replied.

To add a signature to a post you must first create one via your User Control Panel. Once created, you can check the Attach a signature box on the posting form to add your signature. You can also add a signature by default to all your posts by checking the appropriate radio button in your profile. If you do so, you can still prevent a signature being added to individual posts by un-checking the add signature box within the posting form.

When posting a new topic or editing the first post of a topic, click the "Poll creation" tab below the main posting form; if you cannot see this, you do not have appropriate permissions to create polls. Enter a title and at least two options in the appropriate fields, making sure each option is on a separate line in the textarea. You can also set the number of options users may select during voting under "Options per user", a time limit in days for the poll (0 for infinite duration) and lastly the option to allow users to amend their votes.

The limit for poll options is set by the board administrator. If you feel you need to add more options to your poll then the allowed amount, contact the board administrator.

As with posts, polls can only be edited by the original poster, a moderator or an administrator. To edit a poll, click to edit the first post in the topic; this always has the poll associated with it. If no one has cast a vote, users can delete the poll or edit any poll option. However, if members have already placed votes, only moderators or administrators can edit or delete it. This prevents the poll's options from being changed mid-way through a poll.

Some forums may be limited to certain users or groups. To view, read, post or perform another action you may need special permissions. Contact a moderator or board administrator to grant you access.

Attachment permissions are granted on a per forum, per group, or per user basis. The board administrator may not have allowed attachments to be added for the specific forum you are posting in, or perhaps only certain groups can post attachments. Contact the board administrator if you are unsure about why you are unable to add attachments.

Each board administrator has their own set of rules for their site. If you have broken a rule, you may be issued a warning. Contact the board administrator if you are unsure about why you were issued a warning.

Either you broke one of the rules by posting you posted hanson.net material, nudity, porn, etc. or your post was moved. Check the other forums for your post, if it's not there, it was deleted for a good reason.

If the board administrator has allowed it, you should see a button for reporting posts next to the post you wish to report. Clicking this will walk you through the steps necessary to report the post.

This allows you to save passages to be completed and submitted at a later date. To reload a saved passage, visit the User Control Panel.

The board administrator may have decided that posts in the forum you are posting to require review before submission. It is also possible that the administrator has placed you in a group of users whose posts require review before submission. Please contact the board administrator for further details.

By clicking the "Bump topic" link when you are viewing it, you can "bump" the topic to the top of the forum on the first page. However, if you do not see this, then topic bumping may be disabled or the time allowance between bumps has not yet been reached. It is also possible to bump the topic simply by replying to it, however, be sure to follow the board rules when doing so.

All posts in a thread belonging to the topic starter will be starred in order to set the author apart from the other posters.

BBCode is a special implementation of HTML, offering great formatting control on particular objects in a post. The use of BBCode is granted by the administrator, but it can also be disabled on a per post basis from the posting form. BBCode itself is similar in style to HTML, but tags are enclosed in square brackets [ and ] rather than < and <. For more information on BBCode see the guide which can be accessed from the posting page.

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.

Smilies, or Emoticons, are small images which can be used to express a feeling using a short code, e.g. :) denotes happy, while :( denotes sad. The full list of emoticons can be seen in the posting form. Try not to overuse smilies, however, as they can quickly render a post unreadable and a moderator may edit them out or remove the post altogether. The board administrator may also have set a limit to the number of smilies you may use within a post.

Yes, images can be shown in your posts. If the administrator has allowed attachments, you may be able to upload the image to the board. Otherwise, you must link to an image stored on a publicly accessible web server, e.g. http://www.example.com/my-picture.gif. You cannot link to pictures stored on your own PC (unless it is a publicly accessible server) nor images stored behind authentication mechanisms, e.g. hotmail or yahoo mailboxes, password protected sites, etc. To display the image use the BBCode [img] tag.

Global announcements contain important information and you should read them whenever possible. They will appear at the top of every forum and within your User Control Panel. Global announcement permissions are granted by the board administrator.

Announcements often contain important information for the forum you are currently reading and you should read them whenever possible. Announcements appear at the top of every page in the forum to which they are posted. As with global announcements, announcement permissions are granted by the board administrator.

Sticky topics within the forum appear below announcements and only on the first page. They are often quite important so you should read them whenever possible. As with announcements and global announcements, sticky topic permissions are granted by the board administrator.

Locked topics are topics where users can no longer reply and any poll it contained was automatically ended. Topics may be locked for many reasons and were set this way by either the forum moderator or board administrator. You may also be able to lock your own topics depending on the permissions you are granted by the board administrator.

Topic icons are author chosen images associated with posts to indicate their content. The ability to use topic icons depends on the permissions set by the board administrator.

Administrators are members assigned with the highest level of control over the entire board. These members can control all facets of board operation, including setting permissions, banning users, creating usergroups or moderators, etc., dependent upon the board founder and what permissions he or she has given the other administrators. They may also have full moderator capabilities in all forums, depending on the settings put forth by the board founder.

Moderators are individuals (or groups of individuals) who look after the forums from day to day. They have the authority to edit or delete posts and lock, unlock, move, delete and split topics in the forum they moderate. Generally, moderators are present to prevent users from going off-topic or posting abusive or offensive material.

Residents are users that have been registered for at least 2 months and have made at least 100 posts. Residents receive a few extra perks such as a private forum, the ability to PM groups, give/take more reputation points, deposit gold into the bank and earn interest, etc.

Usergroups are groups of users that divide the community into manageable sections board administrators can work with. Each user can belong to several groups and each group can be assigned individual permissions. This provides an easy way for administrators to change permissions for many users at once, such as changing moderator permissions or granting users access to a private forum.

You can view all usergroups via the "Usergroups" link within your User Control Panel. If you would like to join one, proceed by clicking the appropriate button. Not all groups have open access, however. Some may require approval to join, some may be closed and some may even have hidden memberships. If the group is open, you can join it by clicking the appropriate button. If a group requires approval to join you may request to join by clicking the appropriate button. The user group leader will need to approve your request and may ask why you want to join the group. Please do not harass a group leader if they reject your request; they will have their reasons.

A usergroup leader is usually assigned when usergroups are initially created by a board administrator. If you are interested in creating a usergroup, your first point of contact should be an administrator; try sending a private message.

It is possible for the board administrator to assign a colour to the members of a usergroup to make it easy to identify the members of this group.

If you are a member of more than one usergroup, your default is used to determine which group colour and group rank should be shown for you by default. The board administrator may grant you permission to change your default usergroup via your User Control Panel.

This page provides you with a list of board staff, including board administrators and moderators and other details such as the forums they moderate.

Your rank is a small starry image that appears by your name when viewing a topic or the memberlist. Your rank depends on your post count only.

The only way to change your rank is to post more (while following the rules). Certain forums, like the Games and Ask Taylor forum, do not count posts and therefor posting in those forums will never change your rank.

The current ranks for post counts are as follows:

• 1-24 posts: Village Newcomer
• 25-99 posts: Page
• 100-249 posts: Squire
• 250-499 posts: Knight
• 500-999 posts: Mage
• 1000-2499 posts: High Priest(ess)
• 2500-4999 posts: Royal Advisor
• 5000-9999 posts: Royal Highness
• 10,000+ posts: Majesty

Only administrators and moderators have extra ranks in addition to posting ranks. You can tell an administrator from the full crown and a moderator from the tiara.

There are three reasons for this; you are not registered and/or not logged on, the board administrator has disabled private messaging for the entire board, or the board administrator has prevented you from sending messages. Contact a board administrator for more information.

You can block a user from sending you private messages by using message rules within your User Control Panel. If you are receiving abusive private messages from a particular user, inform a board administrator; they have the power to prevent a user from sending private messages.

We are sorry to hear that. The e-mail form feature of this board includes safeguards to try and track users who send such posts, so e-mail the board administrator with a full copy of the e-mail you received. It is very important that this includes the headers that contain the details of the user that sent the e-mail. The board administrator can then take action.

You can use these lists to organise other members of the board. Members added to your friends list will be listed within your User Control Panel for quick access to see their online status and to send them private messages. Subject to template support, posts from these users may also be highlighted. If you add a user to your foes list, any posts they make will be hidden by default.

You can add users to your list in two ways. Within each user's profile, there is a link to add them to either your Friend or Foe list. Alternatively, from your User Control Panel, you can directly add users by entering their member name. You may also remove users from your list using the same page.

Gold is given to members per posts and replies. A new post earns you 5 points, and each time you reply to a post you earn 2 points. THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN SPAM THE BOARDS! Pointless posts (ie, posting just for gold) will be deleted and gold earned for those posts will be taken away. There are other ways to earn gold, such as trivias, games, and the lottery.

The shop goes along with the gold. After you accumulate enough gold, you can buy items in the shop. These items will display in your profile and under your posts.

The Lottery is an easy way for you to earn points. A ticket costs 200 points and you have a week to sign up. The amount you win depends on how many people buy a ticket. The more people that buy a ticket, the larger the jackpot is.

Reputation points are given to you based on your posts and personality on the board. Your Reputation shows in your posts and profile. Please keep in mind that the points may be positive or negative depending on how you come across to other users!

If you have at least 25 posts, you may click the positive or negative symbol on the side of a user's post you wish to rate, depending on whether you wish to give them points or take away points for that particular post. You must then give a reason for altering their Reputation.

The longer you are a member and the more posts you have, the larger your "power" is when it comes to giving/taking Reputation points. For every year you are a member, every 1000 posts you make, and every 50 Reputation points you earn, you gain an extra power. Older, more active members can judge you more harshly than a newbie.

If you like a person's post for whatever reason (it was extremely funny/helpful, etc) you may wish to give them a positive point. If a person's post is rude, insulting, or blatently breaks a rule, you may wish to give them a negative.

You can hide your Reputation (and block others from giving/taking points) in your Preferences panel. (Preferences > Board preferences > global settings)

Nothing. It's just for fun, and a way to remind people to play nice.

Enter a search term in the search box located on the index, forum or topic pages. Advanced search can be accessed by clicking the "Advance Search" link which is available on all pages on the forum. How to access the search may depend on the style used.

Your search was probably too vague and included many common terms which are not indexed by the board. Be more specific and use the options available within Advanced search.

Your search returned too many results for the webserver to handle. Use "Advanced search" and be more specific in the terms used and forums that are to be searched.

Visit to the "Members" page and click the "Find a member" link.

Your own posts can be retrieved either by clicking the "Search user's posts" within the User Control Panel or via your own profile page. To search for your topics, use the Advanced search page and fill in the various options appropriately.

Bookmarking on kristacy.org 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. Subscribing, however, will notify you when there is an update to the topic or forum on the board via your preferred method or methods.

To subscribe to a specific forum, click the "Subscribe forum" link upon entering the forum. To subscribe to a topic, reply to the topic with the subscribe checkbox checked or click the "Subscribe topic" link within the topic itself.

To remove your subscriptions, go to your User Control Panel and follow the links to your subscriptions.

We'd like to thank Mazeguy for some of the smilies, Mainsky for the medal images, and Kawaiiness for the post icons. Many shop items are from Mazeguy, Kawaiiness, Star Co, Rainbow Bitsy, Quiescent, Sucai, Pumpkin, tennyo.net, Candy, Cuteness, Glitterbug, Ready for Rainbows, Cristalplanet, and akuhei.nu. Mood images are from abeautifullie.org, like-honey.com and ilumine.net. Some icons kindly provided by famfamfam and Comotized.

We're human and we make mistakes just like everyone else. If something of yours is not credited or the credit is wrong, please contact us by clicking on the KRISTACY link in the footer of every page.