Help:MacRumors FAQ

From Mac Guides

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 on payments in your Forum User Control Panel. 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.

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.

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 most 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 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 and the email address you used for registration.

I forgot my forum username or password

If you know the email address you registered with, go to the Lost Password Recovery Form and fill in your 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.

If you have forgotten your registration email address as well, use the Contact Us page to contact the administrators for assistance.

It says my email address has been banned

Due to abusive registrations, we have sometimes had to block registrations from particular free email services (e.g., Hotmail, Yahoo). 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.

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.

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 a message in the Forums

In order to post to the Forums, you need to have a registered user account and have activated your account by clicking on the activation link in your email. If you are certain you have done both of these things, 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.

Additionally, they can't create threads in forums for the DailyTunes and iPod Gear websites.

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:

Only users with a history of 100 posts (user title Regular or higher) can start a thread in the Marketplace forum. Only users with a history of 100 posts can start a thread or post replies 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 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 posts.

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.

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 6502 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.

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.

Posts made to the Politics, Religion, Social Issues and Console Games forums are not included in your count. Since January 2006, posts made to the Marketplace forum are not included either.

Individual posts deleted by moderators are also excluded from your post count.

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 certain forums)
6502 => 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
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 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.

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.

The reason and length of the "time-out" are not shown, but they are known to the member involved.

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.

Where can I find more information about forum features?

Right here!

Who are the MacRumors Staff?

The forums are loosely moderated by site-owner arn with help from volunteers AmbitiousLemon, Blue Velvet, devilot, Doctor Q, edesignuk, eyelikeart, HexMonkey, jsw, Knox, longofest, mad jew, Mitthrawnuruodo, mkrishnan, Mr. Anderson, Mudbug, Nermal, Rower_CPU, WildCowboy, WinterMute, xUKHCx and yellow. Doctor Q, Knox, Mudbug and WildCowboy also assist arn as administrators. Longofest also works as a senior editor on news and rumor stories.

Forum Tips and Tricks

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.

Frappr Map

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