Help:MacRumors FAQ

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1 MacRumors
2 MacRumors Forums
3 Who are the MacRumors Staff?
4 Forum Tips and Tricks
5 Frappr Map
6 More Questions?

MacRumors

How do I contribute to MacRumors.com?

MacRumors.com and the associated pages (Forums, Guides, etc.) are free for everyone to use.

However, users who enjoy using the site and want to support the site may contribute ($25/year). To contribute, click Paid Subscriptions in your User Control Panel (User CP in the toolbar). We accept Paypal.

For $25/year, you receive the following benefits:

The satisfaction of knowing you are helping MacRumors (the primary reason to contribute)
Access to a private forum
Removal of most ads on MacRumors.com and Forums.MacRumors.com
A Demi-God, Demi-Goddess, or Contributor user title, if you want it

How else can I support MacRumors.com?

Participate. Register for membership, join the MacRumors forums, post questions, comments and answers. Contribute your knowledge to our Guides. Join our distributed computing teams, which are always happy for further assistance.

Shop. Click ads of interest when you see them, to support our sponsors. Use the "Shop" links near the tops of forum pages, which provide quick access to popular Mac-related vendors such as Amazon and MacMall. Use the MacRumors Shop whenever you shop for computer hardware and software, consumer electronics, office products, and photographic equipment, as well as console, portable, and computer games. Although you can buy MacRumors logo merchandise at CafePress, it is not a fundraiser for MacRumors, in order to keep prices down.

Spread the word. The ongoing success of this site depends on interested users, so we actively encourage you to tell others about the site. Link to MacRumors and its associated sites from your blogs and from other websites. Refer your friends and associates to MacRumors and encourage them to do all of the above.

What do the positive and negative ratings on the front page mean?

They mean different things to different people. A positive rating can be a vote of confidence that a rumor is true, a belief that a product announcement is a positive development, happiness with the performance of a software update, and so on. A negative vote could have just as many different meanings. Even the most positive news can get some negative votes; that's fine, everyone has an opinion.

Note that the vote counts you see are not updated instantly when you vote. The display is cached for performance reasons, since we have a large volume of site traffic. Your vote was counted and the number will be updated within minutes.

Why are some stories on Page 2?

The MacRumors front page is used for confirmed news stories, credible rumors, and other stories of wide interest to the Mac community.

Page 2 is used for less credible rumors, news stories of lesser importance or interest, and stories with fewer supporting details.

The distinction allows visitors to limit their viewing to only the most important news and rumors, if they so choose.

How do I submit a news story or a rumor?

If you know of a news item or rumor that is suitable for Page 1 or Page 2 of MacRumors, and it hasn't already appeared on those pages, you can submit it by clicking Got Mac News/Rumors? Submit It. at the top of the main page. Not every story is chosen for publication.

The MacRumors editors are always on the lookout for newsworthy stories, and submissions help us recognize news quickly. You can make submissions anonymously or choose to identify yourself. When it is clear that a particular forum member first led us to a story, credit is given with the phrase Submitted by (your name here) below the story. If you have submitted a story that subsequently appears on Page 1 or Page 2, you may not have been the first to submit it.

Links to routine media stories related to Apple and its products, including reviews and announcements, can be submitted to our sister site Macbytes by clicking Submit Link on the top right of its main page.

Why do I see a certain ad at MacRumors?

MacRumors uses an advertising service that supplies ads from a pool. We do not select the specific ads shown or the specific advertisers who participate. Sometimes you will see an ad that doesn't seem suitable for an Apple-related discussion site, such as an ad for Windows-only software. If so, don't worry about it. Ads support the site, and allow us to provide news and discussion forums free to members and site visitors.

If you find a particular ad especially annoying (e.g., an ad that is oversized or has sound), let us know by posting a screenshot of it in our Site and Forum Feedback forum. If you can also tell us the URL it links to, that can help. Using this information, we can ask to have it removed from the ad pool.

Why does a "Mac rumors" site have so many stories about iPods and iPhones?

Applerumors.com is an alias of this site, and more correctly describes the purpose of the site, to provide up-to-date news and rumors about Apple Inc. and its products.

MacRumors was established before Apple expanded its business from computers to the digital music and mobile phone markets and added products and services as varied as Apple TV, the iTunes Store, and MobileMe.

The reason the site is still called MacRumors is that the name is so well-known and "market branded" with millions of visitors every month.

Our news and rumors will continue to reflect Apple's business, wherever that takes us. We also cover stories of widespread interest to our regular readers, such as news and speculation about major software developers and third-party product and service vendors closely associated with Apple or competing with Apple.

MacRumors Forums

How do I register?

MacRumors registration is free to those age 13 and over. The rule is one person, one account. Registration allows you to participate in the MacRumors forums and our associated sites. You must agree to the Registration Agreement and observe all Forum Rules.

To register:

If you use email that has a junk/spam filter, add webmaster@macrumors.com to your Address Book or to your whitelist so you'll receive email from that address.
Fill out all registration forms starting at the Registration page. You'll get to pick a unique User Name that will become your forum identity.
Look for an activation message in your email inbox. If you don't get the email, see Troubleshooting below.
Click the link in the email to activate your MacRumors account. If you are an AOL user, use the separate link for AOL users.
If activation fails, see Activation troubleshooting below.
You should now be able to log into the MacRumors forums.

Activation troubleshooting

These steps will solve account activation problems.

Did you receive the activation email? If so, skip to Step 6.
Did you complete all registration web pages? If not, start the registration process again.
Has it been less than 15 minutes since you registered? If so, wait for the email in case it simply didn't arrive yet, then return to Step 1.
The activation email was almost certainly sent to you, but perhaps you didn't receive it. Check if your email program has filed the message in another folder, or has quarantined it as potential spam. If you find it, click the activation link, then skip to Step 6.
Double-check if your email program is set to allow email from webmaster@macrumors.com. If so, skip to Step 11. If not, fix your email settings, then skip to Step 11.
Did the activation link in the email work? If so, you are done.
Did you get the error message "We could not activate your account because this web address is not valid"? If not (i.e., you encountered some other type of error), skip to Step 11.
Has it been more than 24 hours since you registered? If so, the Activation ID timed out, so skip to Step 11.
Check if your email program wrapped the activation URL onto multiple lines, so that clicking the URL gave you only a partial URL. If so, paste the whole URL together and use it in your web browser. It works, you are done.
Go to the Manual Activation Page. Copy and paste your User Name and Activation ID from the activation email into the web page, and click the button. If it works, you are done.
If this is the first time you have reached this step, have another activation email sent to you, with a fresh Activation ID, using the Email Activation Codes page. Fill in the email address that you used to register for MacRumors, click the button, and return to Step 1.
If you have still not received the requested activation email, check if people who don't share your ISP can send email to you. When your email is rejected because your mailbox is full or your mail server can't deliver your mail for any other reason, MacRumors activation messages bounce back to MacRumors. Even if you contact us, we can't reply to you because our messages to you bounce as well. To check for this possibility, ask a friend who has a different email domain to send you email. If you don't receive it, you'll need to solve that problem with your ISP before coming back to MacRumors and repeating Step 11.
If these troubleshooting steps have failed to solve the problem, use the Contact Us page to contact the administrators for assistance. Please provide your User Name, the email address you used for registration, and tell us what happened when you followed these steps.

It says my email address has been banned

Due to abusive registrations, we have sometimes had to block registrations from particular free or anonymous email services. When that is the case, you need to supply an alternate email address to successfully register.

We apologize for the inconvenience but we feel it is unavoidable.

I forgot my forum username or password

If you know the email address you registered with and can still receive email at that address, go to the Lost Password Recovery Form and fill in that email address. You will be sent your username and instructions for resetting your password. After you reset it, you can use the Edit Email & Password page to change your password to one you can remember. You can change your account's email address there as well.

If you have forgotten your password and either forgotten your registration email address or can no longer receive email at that email address, use the Contact Us page to contact the administrators for assistance. Tell them your forum user name, current email address, and any other information you remember about your MacRumors account so they can look up your account.

How do I post?

To start a new thread or post a reply in an existing thread you must first be logged into the forums. To log in, enter your user name and password at the top right of any forum page.

You cannot post from the main forum page. You must be in a particular forum to start a thread and in a particular thread to post a reply.

How do I start a new thread?

To start a new thread:

Browse or search the forums to see if there is already a thread on the topic. If so, post there instead of creating a new thread.
Start at the main forum page.
Click the name of one of the forums, e.g., Mac Basics and Help.
Click the New Thread button at the top or bottom of the page.
Type a thread title in the Title box and your post in the Message box.
Click the Preview Post button to check if your post came out as you want it.
Click the Submit New Thread button.

How do I post a reply?

To post a reply in a forum thread:

While viewing the thread, click the Post Reply button at the top or bottom of the page.
Type your post in the Message box.
Click the Preview Post button to check if your post came out as you want it.
Click the Submit Reply button.

To reply to somebody else's post and show a quote of their post in your reply:

Click the Quote button at the bottom of their post.
Type your post in the Message box after the quote that will appear there.
Click the Preview Post button to check if your post came out as you want it.
Click the Submit Reply button.

To quote more than one previous post:

Click the multi-quote icon (it looks like a double quote mark) next to each post you would like to quote.
Click the Post Reply button at the top or bottom of the page.
Type your post in the Message box, which will contain all of the quoted posts.
Click the Preview Post button to check if your post came out as you want it.
Click the Submit Reply button.

I can't post

In order to post in the forums you need to have a registered user account, have activated your account by clicking on the activation link in your email, and be logged in.

To start a new thread you must be on a particular forum page, not the main forum page. To reply to a thread, you must be viewing that thread.

If you are certain that all of these conditions are true, there are a few other considerations.

Regular users cannot post new threads in the News and Article Discussion forums:

Regular users also cannot post new threads in the iPhone News Discussion forum.

Only administrators can create new threads in these areas, but all registered users can reply to existing threads.

The following forums have a minimum post count requirement:

Marketplace
Politics, Religion, Social Issues

Only users with a history of 250 posts (user title 6502 or higher) and membership for at least 6 months can access the Marketplace forum. Only users with a history of 100 posts can post in the Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. If you start a "for sale" thread or political thread in another forum to avoid this rule, your thread will be deleted. Once you reach 100 or 250 posts, you may not immediately be able to post in these forums. The privilege is added automatically when the forum system does routine processing, so check again in a few hours. The delay is normal, so please do not contact us to report it as a problem on the same day that you reach 100 or 250 posts. When you first gain access to the Marketplace forum, you will see it in the Community section of the forums.

I think that my post count is wrong

If you posted to a thread that was moved to the Wasteland or deleted, those posts will be removed from your total. Individual posts deleted by moderators are also excluded from your post count.

Posts made to the Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum, the Console Games forum, the Code Sharing forum, and the Marketplace forum are not counted.

If your post count reaches a total that entitles you to a new forum privilege, such as uploading and avatar or using the Marketplace forum, the new privilege may not take effect immediately. It will work by the following day at the latest.

How do I edit or delete my post?

To edit a post you have already made:

Click the Edit button below your post.
Edit the text in the Message box.
If you would like to preview your changes or use the full set of editing features, click the Go Advanced button.
Click the Save or Save Changes button.

As a courtesy to other members, we ask that you not change posts in a way that interferes with a discussion by other members.

You cannot delete your own posts, but you are welcome to use the Report Post icon () to request that the moderators remove a post you have made. They will do so in most cases, as long as it won't interfere with a discussion by other members.

How do I find my own posts?

To find your own posts, click on your user name next to a post and select Find More Posts by (yourname).

You can also find your posts by clicking either Find all posts by (yourname) or Find all threads started by (yourname) in your User Profile. To go to your User Profile, click on your user name and select View Public Profile, or click Quick Links in the toolbar and select My Profile.

You can create a bookmark to find the threads in which you have posted as follows.

Create a bookmark to an arbitrary page, with a name like My MacRumors Threads.
Edit the bookmark and paste this string into the URL: http://forums.macrumors.com/search.php?do=process&starteronly=0&searchuser=USERNAME&exactname=1&sortby=lastpost&order=descending&searchdate=0
Replace USERNAME with your forum user name, changing any space in your user name to %20, e.g., user name Mac Guru would become Mac%20Guru.

To create a bookmark to find your posts, e.g., My MacRumors Posts, do the same but start with this string:

http://forums.macrumors.com/search.php?do=process&starteronly=0&searchuser=USERNAME&exactname=1&sortby=lastpost&order=descending&searchdate=0&showposts=1

How do I know if someone replies to my post?

To follow the discussion in a particular thread, subscribe to that thread (see How do I use thread subscriptions? below).

Go to your User Control Panel at any time to see a list of your subscribed threads in which there have been new posts. This applies to all posts in the thread, not just posts that quote or reply to a post by you.

You can also identify threads you have subscribed to by a checkmark in the New Posts display or the Forum Spy.

How do I use thread subscriptions?

Thread subscriptions are used to track threads you are interested. This lets you identify them using your User Control Panel, with email notifications, in the New Posts display, and/or in the Forum Spy.

To subscribe to a thread you are viewing, click Thread Tools and select Subscribe to this Thread. You then have four choices:

No Email Notification. You won't get email when there are new posts in the thread. Use your User Control Panel to check for new posts.
Instant notification by email. The forum system will email you a link to new posts in the thread. If more than one new posts is made before you visit MacRumors, you will get only one email.
Daily updates by email. The forum system will email you a link to new posts in the thread at most once per day.
Weekly updates by email. The forum system will email you a link to new posts in the thread at most once per week.

To remove thread subscriptions, use the Thread Tools menu or your List subscriptions page.

If you want to automatically subscribe to threads in which you post, go to your User Options page. In the Messaging & Notification section, set Default Thread Subscription Mode.

How do user titles work?

User titles are based on post counts:

Newbie => 0 - 29 posts
Member => 30 posts
Regular => 100 posts (minimum required to post in the Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum)
6502 => 250 posts (minimum required for access to the Marketplace forum)
6502a => 500 posts (minimum required to have an avatar)
65816 => 1,000 posts
65832 => 1,500 posts
68000 => 1,505 posts
68010 => 2,000 posts
68020 => 2,005 posts
68030 => 2,500 posts
68040 => 3,000 posts
601 => 5,000 posts
603 => 10,000 posts
604 => 15,000 posts
G3 => 20,000 posts
G4 => 25,000 posts
G5 => 30,000 posts

etc....

Demi-Goddess, Demi-God or Contributor => Member who has contributed to the site and has chosen to use one of those three titles.
(Moderator) suffix => Member who is also a moderator
(Moderator emeritus) suffix => Member who is a former moderator
macrumors god => administrator

The numbers come from the increasingly powerful microprocessors used in Apple computers over the years. The 6502 and 658xx are from the Apple II family, 680x0 were used in early Macintosh systems, 601 and beyond are PowerPC chips.

I can't upload an avatar

Avatars are small images that display alongside a user's name. This is a feature that is reserved for established users on the MacRumors Forums. We require a 500 post minimum (user title 6502a or higher) before you are given the opportunity to upload your own custom avatar. Alternatively, a select few are given avatar privileges before this milestone if they win a forum contest.

Once you reach 500 posts, you may not immediately be able to upload an avatar. The privilege is added automatically when the forum system does routine processing, so check again in a few hours. The delay is normal, so please do not contact us to report it as a problem on the same day that you reach 500 posts.

How do I send email or Private Messages to other forum members?

You can communicate with other forum members publicly by posting in the forums. You may also be able to send private communications to other forum members. MacRumors supports both Private Messages and email initiated within the forum system.

Private Messages (PMs) are like email but stored within the forum system and addressed by User Name. They do not reveal any personal information beyond your User Name. In contrast, if you send email to another member via the forum system, your email address (which MacRumors would otherwise never release to anyone else) will be revealed to the recipient of your message. You will learn their email address only if they choose to reply to you by email.

The Private Message is not available to the newest forum members. See Why can't I send a Private Message? below.

When you receive a Private Message, it will be noted under the Welcome message at the top right of a forum page. When you send a Private Message, you have no guarantee that the other member will notice your message. Each member can choose, in their User Options, whether to be notified when a Private Message is sent to them. The options are named Receive Email Notification of New Private Messages and Show New Private Message Notification Pop-up and we recommend that you enable them.

You can send or view messages on your Private Messages page. You can send or receive an unlimited number of Private Messages, although you can store a maximum of 150 at one time. You can delete or save your stored Private Messages using choices at the bottom right of the Private Messages page. Email initiated at MacRumors is not stored.

Private Messages and email sent via the forum system must obey all forum rules, including those against advertising and against sending unsolicited unwanted messages.

Why can't I send a Private Message?

You may not be eligible to use this feature yet.

Before you can send a Private Message or email to another forum member, these conditions must apply:

You must have a post count of at least 5, as shown in your user profile.
You must have been a forum member at least one day.
The recipient must have enabled receipt of Private Messages or email in their User Options. The options are named Enable Private Messaging and Receive Email from Other Members.

The first two eligibility requirements are necessary to prevent spammers, advertisers, or "bots" from joining MacRumors merely to send spam by Private Message. They are a slight inconvenience for new members but are for the benefit of all members. The third requirement is a matter of personal privacy. If a forum member chooses not to enable receipt of Private Messages or email, the moderators will not send them a message on your behalf. However, members should enable receipt of Private Messages when posting in the Marketplace forum.

How do I cancel my account?

There is normally no need to cancel a MacRumors account. If you expect not to need to post at MacRumors, you can simply stop visiting our site. There is nothing you need us to do. Under our Privacy Policy, we won't email you or release your contact information. Inactive accounts are of little consequence. The advantage is that if you change your mind, perhaps because you have an Apple-related question, you can return to MacRumors, log in, and post.

For additional privacy, you are welcome to remove the information in your User Profile (Instant Messaging names, Location, etc.) since this information is visible to the public for both active and inactive MacRumors accounts.

If you have subscribed to any forums or threads, have asked for email notifications, and are no longer interested in receiving those messages, delete the subscriptions on your List Subscriptions page.

If there are exceptional circumstances, such as an employment contract, that require that your account be canceled to prevent you from logging in, use the Contact Form to let us know. We'll probably direct you to this FAQ section unless you tell us you've already read it!

Canceling an account does not remove previously made posts from the forums, nor quotes of those posts by other members. If you are concerned about information in one of your previous posts (e.g., it contains too much personal information), you can edit the post yourself or report it to the moderators and ask that it be deleted. We strongly discourage you from editing or deleting large numbers of previous posts, since that may leave thread discussions "broken" or confusing to those who read them in the future.

Can I change my user name?

The forum software does not let you change your user name.

If you mistyped your user name while registering, typed a user name longer than 15 characters that was then truncated, or mistakenly tried to put your email address in the user name field, promptly ask for it to be corrected using the Contact form.

If you are simply tired of your user name, consider the following problems that can result if your user name is changed:

Other forum members will be confused, wondering where you went or how an apparently new member appeared.
Your new user name will be shown next to each of your posts, but posts that mention you by name will still show your old user name, causing further confusion.
In particular, posts that quote your posts will say Originally Posted by (oldusername) while the linked-to post will not match that name.
If you have participated in editing any of the MacRumors Guides, the edit history will show the wrong information, listing the old user name as page author and in edit histories.
If you use the Marketplace forum, your records of successful transactions will probably be missed by other users.
If you use the same name at multiple websites and think that your user name at MacRumors should match, remember that making yourself easier to find across websites can have disadvantages as well. Using different user names adds to your privacy.
If you have been mentioned in lists or forum announcements or been given kudos for achievements, e.g., contest winners, member directories, top poster reports, or credit for news story submissions, they will reflect the wrong user name.
User names can be changed only manually by the administrators. While we understand that it is sometimes necessary, handling such requests, including the required recordkeeping, takes time away from work that benefits all forum users.

If you think that your case represents an exception to these cautions, use the Contact form to request a change of user name and explain the circumstances. You must mention that you have read this FAQ section; otherwise we will refer you to it. We will consider your request and grant it, deny it, or ask for more information.

We have found that this policy strikes the right balance between members with user name concerns and the forum community as a whole.

We prohibit user name changes made for the purpose of "hiding" from previously made posts, covering up a bad reputation, or to trick other users. You may not change user names by re-registering since re-registration violates forum rules.

The quality of your posts defines you more than your user name, but once you've established a presence in the forums people tend to recognize you by your user name and your avatar if you have one. It benefits the community for you to keep your user name, which is why we discourage user name changes. If you are itching for a change and have an avatar, we suggest that you upload a new avatar!

Forum rules and moderation

I saw a post that violates the forum rules; how can I contact the moderators?

The best way to report posts that violate the forum rules is to click the Report Post icon () to the left of the offending post. More information is available on the rules page.

For other moderation issues, see How to send messages to moderators.

What do the "Banned" and "In Time-Out" user titles mean?

The "Banned" title used to apply to both temporary and permanent bans. Even though moderation issues are handled privately, we added the separate "In Time-Out" title for temporary bans so that others would know it wasn't permanent.

If someone is "Banned" or "In Time-Out" it means they broke forum rules. The severity, frequency, or circumstances determine which type of ban it is. The reason and the length of the "time-out" are known to the member involved.

If you see a title of "Guest", it means that the MacRumors account has been canceled, usually by the user's request.

Why did I get a warning or time-out when somebody else broke the rules first?

We hold each member responsible for his or her own posts. If you break the rules, we do not accept as an excuse that somebody else broke the rules before you did, e.g., that someone made a post insulting you so you deserved to insult them back.

If you see a post that breaks the rules, including posts containing name-calling or personal insults, report it to the moderators so they can take care of it. If you respond to an inappropriate post with an inappropriate post, you are subject to moderation or discipline.

Who are the MacRumors Staff?

The forums are loosely moderated by site-owner arn and a team of selected volunteer Forum Moderators. See the Show Groups display for the list of Forum Moderators.

Doctor Q, Knox, Mudbug and WildCowboy assist arn as administrators. Longofest and WildCowboy are senior editors on news and rumor stories.

Forum Tips and Tricks

When you log in, checking the 'Remember Me? checkbox will prevent your session from being timed out after 15 minutes of inactivity. If you are on a shared or public computer, do not use this checkbox or, if you use it, be sure to Log Out of MacRumors before anyone else uses the computer.

The New Posts link at the top of each forum page shows you the latest new threads and posts. By bookmarking the appropriate URL, you can exclude particular forums from the New Posts display.

Forum Spy constantly updates, showing you all the new posts as they are added. You can configure it to exclude certain forums if you wish by using the Preferences option at the top of the forum spy page.

For more information about forum features, see:

Frappr Map

Locations of many MacRumors members can be found on the MacRumors Frappr map. See also discussion thread.