What is the difference between a Starter Forum and a Premium Forum?
Starter Forums have these features:

• Forum Moderation
• Word Filtering
• Related Forums
• Forum Indexing
• Invite Friends
• Gag members
• Ban members
• Message Indexing

• Disable guest access
• Make Forum private
• Private folders
• Create Polls (host option)
• Forum Web page link
• Message and Discussion Ratings
• Advanced Manage Discussions
• Advanced Active content (Better Active Content and x-delphi tag control)
• Add Chat to Forum
• Color themes
• Change log
• Advanced usage reports (Summary only in Starter Forums)
• Enhanced Forum listings (Premium gets bolded, enhanced listing)
• Use of the Delphi promotions system
• Custom CSS
• Priv Change Log
• Bozo members
• Give A, E, C and other flags (Starter Forums have Wizard, no other staff)
• Ability to purchase ad-free views
• Enhanced host support (E-mail support and 1-on-1 support from mentors)
• Chat logging
• Outline View

Why doesn't my Forum show up in a search on Delphi Forums?
Premium Forums are now indexed automatically as soon as they are created, and will show in the index within a day or two after creation. Forums that are private and/or under the 'Adult' category will not be listed in Delphi Forums' searchable index, and will not have active Chat rooms listed on the Main Chat page.

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What are promotions and how do they work?
Once your Premium Forum is indexed, Delphi Forums provides a series of tools to help you promote your Forum in and outside of Delphi Forums. Promotions allow you to tell lots of people about things that are going on in your Forum. You can submit promotions from your Forum Control Center. You can promote discussions in your Forum, chat events, and Web articles.

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What can I do to attract people to my Forum?
There are many things you can do yourself to call attention to your new Forum. Write to your friends and give them the address. Find related Forums on Delphi Forums and join in the discussions. Include the address of your Forum in your signature to make it easy for people to get to your Forum. Put announcements in Forums that encourage them -- but make sure they are encouraged before you post. Some Hosts don't like you to advertise, and you should always respect their wishes. Also visit the 'Promoting Your Delphi Forum' tutorial.

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How do I submit a promotion once my Premium Forum is indexed?
To submit a promotion, go to your Forum Control Center by clicking on the Controls tab at the top of your Forum. In the left-hand frame, you'll see several options under Forum Promotion. Simply select the type of promotion you'd like to submit, and follow the instructions.

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How do I promote a specific discussion thread in my Premium Forum?
From the Forum Promotion menu in your Control Center, select Hot Topics, and fill out the form. You'll be asked to write a brief headline and text for your promotion. The system only allows 100 characters as a maximum for your promo, so keep it short, sweet, and to the point.

You can also promote any discussion thread from the Promote Discussions link on the bottom right of the thread.

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I've just created my Premium Forum, so there are no discussions to promote yet. Can I promote my welcome message?
No. But you can start discussions on your own by simply posting in your Forum. Then, you can promote those discussions. When starting a new discussion to promote, post a message that makes a bold statement or asks a provocative question. Then, use the Hot Topics promotion tool to write and submit a promotion for the discussion.

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How do I promote a chat event?
Chat event promotions are designed to help you publicize a chat you have planned for a specific time. From the Forum Promotion menu in your Control Center, select Chat Event and fill out the form. Chat is only available in Premium Forums.

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I often point participants in my Premium Forum to information on other Web pages they might be interested in.
Can I promote those Web pages, too?
Yes. From the Forum Promotion menu in your Control Center, select Web Article, and fill out the form. If you link to a non-Delphi Forums page, that page must include a prominent link back to Delphi Forums - preferably to your Forum.

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What is ActiveContent?
You can use Active Content to put your promotions and other dynamic Forum content on non-Forum Web sites - including people.delphiforums.com pages. Visit our Active Content page to learn more.

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What are <x-delphi> tags?
You can place your promotions in your Delphi Forums start page, and your Forum messages using special web tags and HTML code. Complete instructions are available in the Publishing on the Web Forum as well as the "Using X-Delphi Tags" lesson in the 'Promoting Your Delphi Forum' tutorial.

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What happens to my promotions after they are submitted?
As soon as you submit your promotions, they are available for you to use with Live Links and <x-delphi> tags. They are approved automatically, and should be available for immediate use. Only Premium Forums may submit promotions.

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Can my promotions be rejected?
Promotions submitted for distribution across the Delphi Forums site are approved automatically. However, Delphi Forums reserves the right to reject those promotions deemed inappropriate for site-wide distribution. Please keep in mind that Delphi Forums does have underage members when you write your promotions. Your promotions cannot be rejected for use on your own site or in Live Links.

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My promotion was rejected. Why?
If your promotion was rejected, there's a reason for it. That reason could be anything from foul language to insufficient information about what you are promoting. If your promotion is rejected, it will be deleted and you will receive email stating the reason why it was rejected. To review your currently running promotions, select Review All from the Forum Promotion menu in your Control Center.

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What are some of the reasons a promotion might be rejected?

Promos must lead to open discussions, be unique (no duplications) and be appropriate for all audiences.

Most rejected promos contain errors or violate our style guidelines. Some common mistakes include spelling or grammatical mistakes, writing in ALL CAPS other than an occasional stressed word, using multiple punctuation [???!!!] or mIxINg cAsE in the writing of the promotion.

In the case of Web article promotions, incorrect URLs will lead to rejection. Include a prominent link back to your Forum on any promoted Web article.

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Can Delphi Forums edit my promotions?
No. Promos with spelling or grammatical errors, or those that do not  conform to editorial and style guidelines are removed.

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Where can I get help with promotions?
Delphi Forums' "Publishing on the Web" series includes a page devoted to Delphi Forums promotions. You can also get help at the Hosts' Forum, where you'll find an entire folder devoted to promotions tools: "How to Promote your Forum." Review questions and answers posted by others, or post your own question. You can also get very detailed help at the 'Promoting Your Delphi Forum' tutorial.

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How do I get my Forum on the search engines?
When you submit your Forum to a search engine or Web directory, you'll need to submit this special URL:

   http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?webtag=WEBTAG&nav=spider

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How do I send email to all members of my Forum at once?
Delphi Forums purposely does not provide the means to mass-email visitors to your Forum, to ensure their privacy.

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What determines the order that Forums are listed in on the index?
There are several different variables that go into the 'Forum ranking' computation. Among them are number of visitors, frequency of visits, number of recent visits, and number of posts. The mathematics involved are not published, and are subject to change at any time.

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Can my Private Delphi Forum run promotions?
No - Private Delphi Forums cannot run promotions, strictly because they are private.

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Nothing's working! This is too hard! Why isn't anyone visiting MY FORUM ?!?!?!
Portions contributed by Jim Crider, former host of Delphi Forums Automotive Forum

Patience - Rome was not built in a day, and neither will a successful Forum. There are many elements that go into building a successful Forum community:

• The Forum's subject should have a broad appeal. Maximum PC Magazine Commport, which has a broad general appeal to anyone who owns a computer, is a prime example. Look at others in the Computers heading from the main Delphi Forums page, though, and you'll see whole Forums devoted to a particular games, software, operating systems, programming languages, etc. Some of them are successful and well-subscribed, some are not.

• The Forum's name, description, and keywords should clearly convey what it's all about. A Forum about Garden Weasels should be called The Garden Weasel Forum, not "Fred's Lair", for example. Similarly, the description should be something along the lines of "A place to discuss the use and care of that great gardening tool AS SEEN ON TV, the Garden Weasel." instead of "this is a stupid Forum i made. visit it if you dare." Keywords might be "Garden,Weasel,Ronco,weeding,cultivating,easy- to-clean,cheap", again continuing with the Garden Weasel Forum example.

• Similarly, set up Folders in the message board relevant to the subject: General Weaseling, The Extension Handle, One Tine vs. Three, Weasel Accessories, etc.

• Use the Promotional tools to advertise your chats and interesting Forum Discussions across the whole of the Delphi Forums system: "Talk about creative uses of the Garden Weasel with our online weasel pros every Tuesday" for a chat, "Fred finds new love through the magic of the Garden Weasel" for a Forum Discussion promo.

• Build a Forum Home Page that contains useful information -- original articles ("Garden Weasel Restoration in 23 Easy Steps"), pictures ("Garden Weasels at the Battle of the Bulge saving the day for the Allies"), etc. -- not available on the message board. The Forum Home Page is viewable by the public at large and once listed in some of the search engines, will enable you to draw more folks into your message board and chats.

• Use the resources... like Walt's Publishing on the Web Forum, which includes a number of ways to get your site listed with various search engines.

• Invite Friends. Know a bunch of people who share your interest? Use the Invite Friends feature to drop them a nice invitational note (you can write your own outgoing message, instead of using the default if you wish).

• Put your URL in your signature that you use everywhere you go, in e-mail, etc. It'll be a draw, especially if you post on USENET or on other BB systems.

• Be patient and persistent. Keep updating those promos. Plant seeds of conversation in the message board when you see you have a lot of visitors but few posters. Sometimes you can get someone to de-lurk and post if you put out the right 'bait'. But don't get discouraged when it doesn't work, just try something else. Lurkers are lurkers -- and if they keep coming back because they see content in your Forum they like or want, but still are too shy to post themselves, they still count in the ranks of visitors to your Forum.