Instruction Guide

Finally, some instructions for this site! And no, you don't have to read the whole thing. If you are just getting started, you might want to look over these sections: THE INTERFACE for the basic layout of the site, WORKING WITH PICKS to enter and edit your Picks, SCORES AND STANDINGS to view your score, and YOUR PROFILE if you need to know how to edit your account settings and preferences.

If you have questions about joining a Mini-Pool, you may want to read the MINI-POOL USER GUIDE. If you would like to know more about creating and running a Mini-Pool, please check out the MINI-POOL ADMINISTRATOR GUIDE.

THE INTERFACE

Please take a moment to become familiar with the layout of the site. The user interface is different than many sites, but once you are accustomed to navigating the site's controls, you will find that they are fairly consistent throughout most areas of the site. The most common elements of the interface are described generally in this section. Certain aspects of their use are explained in later sections.

The Navbar and Tabs

The Navbar

At the top of each page is a blue navigation bar, or "Navbar". On its left side, the Navbar contains a green page "Title Bar", and round "Navigation Buttons" to help you access important and commonly-used areas of the site. More Navigation Buttons are available when you are logged in. These Buttons can be used to return to the Main Page, access your Profile and Mini-Pools, access your Picks and Game Data, view the game Standings, visit the Discussion Forum, read the Rules and FAQ, and request E-mail help from the administrator.

Above the Navbar and to the right, you will find additional "Navigation Links" to other commonly-used areas and functions, including Links to Log in to and out of the site.

The right side of the Navbar contains a pull-down "Game Selector". This allows you to quickly switch between seasons of Survivor and to choose which season's information you would like to see. Unless you are viewing old scores, you will probably want to select the latest season. If you are logged in, your last game selection will be remembered in future sessions.

Occasionally, in the center of the Navbar, an "Alert" or event notification may appear. Alerts will appear if you have received a Private Message from another member on the site, if you have been invited to join a Mini-Pool, or if someone has requested to join a Mini-Pool that you administer. Click on the Alert to handle the event.

Tabs

On the bottom right of the Navbar, to the right of the page Title Bar, you will often find "Navigation Tabs". Tabs are extremely important to navigating the site. As you visit different areas of the site, Tabs allow you to switch between pages of closely-related information. In the Picks area, for example, you must click the Tabs to view your picks, the actual game results, and a summary of favorite pick statistics for the contestants.

Occasionally you will also find Tabs attached to tables further down on the page. "Table Tabs" also switch between related subsets of information, without necessarily changing pages. Two places where you will find Table Tabs are in the Standings area and in the Cast (Contestant and Tribe) Information Pages.

TIP: On many screens, you may find extra help and information by hovering your mouse cursor over a link or an object. If your browser supports it, these messages may appear in the browser's Status Bar or in the form of a hovering text box.

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Information Pages, Lists, and Pull-Down Menus

Information Pages

As you use the Pool, you will often need to deal with various Objects. Objects are simply entities in the game. Players, Mini-Pools, Contestants and Tribes are all Objects. Your account, for example, is a Player Object. All Objects have an associated "Information Page", containing detailed information about the Object. Your "Profile" page, accessible from the smiley-faced "My Profile" Navigation Button in the Navbar, is just a shortcut to the Information Page for your own Player Object, containing information about you (and don't worry -- your Information Page will appear much less detailed to other users). Usually, to see an Object's Information Page, you must click on the Object's name (or icon, if it has one) from somewhere else on the site.

Lists

Most of the time, you will access Objects through "Lists". Lists are simply pages containing columns of Objects, such as the Players page, or the Mini-Pools page. If you click the "Cast" Navigation Link at the top of the page, you will see a List of Contestants (Contestant Objects). Click the "Tribes" Navigation Tab to see the related List of Tribe Objects, then click the "Contestants" Tab to go back to the previous List. Click on a Contestant's name or icon, and you will see that Contestant's Information Page (complete with Table Tabs to view the Contestant's biography, favorites, and statistics). If the Contestant belongs to a Tribe, you can click the name of the Tribe to view the Tribe's Information Page.

When a List of Objects is too long to fit on one page, as is the case with Players and Mini-Pools, "Pagers" appear at the top and bottom of the List. Click the Page numbers to scroll through long Lists of Objects. The "Next" and "Prev" pages allow you to step through Lists one page at a time. The "All" page displays the entire List in one page. If you do this on a long List, be prepared for a long wait!

You may reorder most Lists by clicking on the column headings. You can even sort by two or more columns at the same time. To do this, select the primary sort column by clicking on its column heading. Then select your secondary sort columns by double-clicking on their column headings. A sort column may be sorted in ascending or descending order, but that order cannot be changed. Try this on the Contestants List by sorting by Tribe and Age, or in the Players List by sorting by Last Name and First Name.

Sometimes, a List will display checkboxes or radio buttons next to its Objects, allowing you to select one or more Objects from the List. This will happen, for example, when you want to select Contestants or Tribes for one of your weekly Picks, or when you want to perform bulk actions on groups of Members in a Mini-Pool you administer. You should never be surprised by the appearance of checkboxes or radio buttons, as they only appear in connection with an action you initiate, such as entering Picks. To accept your selection(s), use the form buttons or the Pull-Down Menus (below) at the bottom of the List.

Pull-Down Menus

The last item of importance to the site is the "Pull-Down Menu". Pull-Down Menus appear at the bottom of the page, under certain Lists and Information Pages, and they allow you to perform actions on Objects. For example, you may use the Pull-Down Menu that appears at the bottom of your "My Profile" page to perform actions on your account, such as to edit your Profile, administer your Mini-Pools, or create a Mini-Pool. Pull-Down Menus only appear when there is an action you can perform. The actions available in a Pull-Down Menu are context-sensitive, and the actions may vary according to your relationship (and authority) to the Object(s) in question.

If you want to perform any sort of account-based or administrative action, you will most likely be doing it through a Pull-Down Menu. This section only describes what a Pull-Down Menu is. You will learn more about Pull-Down Menus as you read about administering your Profile and your Mini-Pools.

TIP: Try to get comfortable navigating the site by clicking on Objects and Tabs to jump between Information Pages. Also try to avoid relying too heavily on your browser's "Back" button, as sometimes data is passed from page to page, making it difficult to navigate backwards. Using "Back", you may occasionally see a browser warning that the page's form data is out of date, requiring a "Refresh" to resubmit. Be very careful if you do this, as it could case an undesirable duplicate action to occur. Some pages protect against this by bouncing you forward again. The "Back" button works most of the time, but the information displayed may be cached in your browser, rendering some of the information out of date, and usually you can get back to the same place just as quickly by using the Navigation Links, Buttons, Objects, and Tabs instead.

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WORKING WITH PICKS

At its heart, Daron's Survivor Pool is all about Picks. Picks are the predictions you make on the outcome of the television show. If Survivor is in season and the Pool is open, the Picks feature is probably the first you will use.

Each week that there will be an episode of Survivor, you have the chance to enter Picks. All Picks must be entered by no later than the Deadline. The Deadline may be as early as the day before the show, to discourage spoiling leaks. Please see the Rules for the current Deadline time. The site will attempt to send a Reminder to your registered e-mail address a day or so before the Deadline if your Picks are not completely entered. Please ensure that the e-mail address in your Profile is current, active, and one that you check regularly.

To work with Picks, log in and click the pointy-fingered "My Picks/Favorites/Results" button in the Navbar. If a game is in season and open for picks, you should see a framed window containing your weekly Picks grid. (If the wrong season is displayed, you may use the Game Selector in the Navbar to switch seasons.)

At the top of the grid is the latest week, with five Categories for Picks: Reward, Immunity, Castoff, Winner, and Final Four. On smaller screens or smaller windows, you may need to use the inline horizontal scrollbar to see the Winner or Final Four categories on the right-hand side.

The Reward category is to enter your prediction for which Tribe and/or Contestant will win the upcoming Reward Challenge. The Immunity category is to enter your prediction for which Tribe and/or Contestant will win the upcoming Immunity Challenge. The Castoff category is to enter your prediction for which Contestant (or which Contestant from each Tribe) will be voted off the upcoming show. The Winner category is to enter your prediction for which Contestant will be the final Survivor at the end of the season. The Final Four category is to enter your prediction for which four Contestants will comprise the venerated Final Four near the end of the season.

If you can enter Picks, each category box for the active week should contain one or more small, rounded Enter buttons. To the right of each button is a small number in parentheses. This number is the Point Value you will earn for the Pick if you pick correctly.

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Entering Picks

The Picks page supports one-at-a-time entering and editing of Picks. The elegance of this feature is that you can browse and research Contestant and Tribe information while you enter your Picks. To read more about the Picks page, please read WORKING WITH PICKS, above.

One at a time, click the Enter buttons to select your Pick(s) for their respective categories. When you click an Enter button, you will be presented with a List of either Contestants or Tribes, depending on the type of Pick.

If you have already decided on your Pick, you may use the List radio buttons or checkboxes at the left to make your selection. Make your selection, then click the button at the bottom of the List to accept your selection. If, however, you have not yet made your decision, you may click on the Contestant and Tribe Object names or icons to read more about the cast, their bios and statistics. You may browse quickly between Contestants without returning to the List by using the Cast Bar on the left, and you may return to the List at any time by selecting the Contestants Tab in the Navbar. When your research is done, you may select your Pick from the List, or click the button at the bottom of the Contestant Information Page you are currently viewing. Normally, this will enter your pick and return you to the Picks page, but if more Contestants are required (as for Final Four), you will be returned to the List page to continue making more selections.

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Editing Picks

You may change your Picks at any time before the Deadline. While Picks are open, you should see a small Edit button to the right of each of your entered Picks. Click the Edit button to change the Pick in question.

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Copying Picks

Sometimes, in later weeks, you may also see a Copy button in certain Pick categories. When present, the Copy button allows you to quickly duplicate your Pick from the previous week. When absent, the Contestants or Tribes from the previous week are no longer active, or the scope of the Pick has changed.

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Entering Picks with QuickPick

QuickPick is an alternative way to enter all of your weekly Picks at one time. The advantage of QuickPick is that you reduce the number of screens you must navigate to enter your Picks. The main disadvantage of QuickPick is that you cannot browse and research Tribe and Contestant information while you enter each Pick.

When QuickPick is available, the QuickPick button will appear above the active Week number at the left of your Picks grid. Click the QuickPick button to display the QuickPick entry form.

The QuickPick form does not include a Copy feature to duplicate repeatable Picks from previous weeks. If you would like to use the Copy feature, you may do so using the Copy button on your main Picks grid, when available. You should do this before using QuickPick, or leave the QuickPick categories you wish to copy blank. Once a category's Pick has been entered, Copy is no longer an option. Please see Copying Picks, above, for more information.

When you have entered your QuickPicks, hit the 'Enter' button to confirm and return to your Picks grid.

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Results and Favorites

While working with Picks, there are two other Tabs in the Navbar that you might find useful. The "Results" Tab lists the "correct" Picks and other events within the season. The "Favorites" Tab displays an ever-changing statistical overview of which Contestants are favored for Castoff, Winner, and Final Four, according to the Picks entered by other Players in the current week and overall (every week).

TIP: Be sure to enter all Picks for all categories. If there are two or more Tribes, select one Castoff for each Tribe. If you can select both a Tribe and a Contestant for Reward and Immunity, you should do so. If there is a horizontal scrollbar, scroll to the right to make sure your Final Four and Winner Picks are selected. There is usually no Final Four Pick in the final two weeks. When selecting Winner and Final Four, you may want to be aware of the possibility for a "Cumulative Bonus" by sticking with the same Pick in consecutive weeks -- a daring move, but one you can read more about in the Rules and Scoring. When done entering Picks, there should be no Enter buttons remaining in your grid.

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SCORES AND STANDINGS

At the start of a season, scores and placement hardly matter. Players earn base points for Reward, Immunity, and Castoff Picks, which are low in value. Relatively few points means relatively little differentiation in score. The scores are not truly decided until the end of the game, when the Winner and Final Four points are awarded. You may check your Standing at any time, however, both after and during the game.

To view the Standings, log in and click the list-like "Player/Mini-Pool Standings" button in the Navbar. You will see a list of participating Players for the game, their scores, and their relative place. (If the wrong season is displayed, you may use the Game Selector in the Navbar to switch seasons.) Your name will not appear in the Standings if you have not entered a Pick for the displayed season.

In the Navbar, there will be Tabs to view "All Players", "All Mini-Pools", and, if you belong to any Mini-Pools, "My Mini-Pools". "All Players" lists all participating players and their relative ranking against all other participating players. "All Mini-Pools" lists all participating Mini-Pools and their relative (combined) ranking against all other participating Mini-Pools. "My Mini-Pools" lists all participating members of your Mini-Pools and their relative ranking within the Mini-Pool. In this view, member scores reflect the Ranking System preference of the Mini-Pool settings, and may appear differently than the actual Player scores. The "My Mini-Pools" Tab will not be available if you are not logged in.

There will also be Table Tabs on the Standings table to switch beween "Single Game" and "Overall" rankings. "Single Game" displays the Standings based only on the selected season of Survivor. "Overall" displays the cumulative Standings across all seasons. (In the "All Players" view, you may temporarily alternate the display between Total Points and Average Weekly Points by clicking on the relevant column heading.)

Players in the same place are sorted alphabetically. If the display is long, Pagers will be displayed to browse between pages of Standings information.

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YOUR PROFILE

Your Player Profile consists of your account settings, public information, and any Mini-Pools that you belong to or administer. Mini-Pools are discussed in a later section.

To view your Profile, log in and click the smiley-faced "My Profile" (or "My Profile & Mini-Pools") button in the Navbar. You will see a page containing a summary of information about your Player account: your Player's Information Page. The information on this page is for your review, and appears differently to others. Most notably, your e-mail address and real name are protected from view by others.

At the bottom of your Profile (if you are logged in), you will find a "User Admin" Pull-Down Menu. This Pull-Down Menu contains actions related to the administration of your Profile, including your account settings and Mini-Pool administration.

The only action of interest in this section is the "Edit My Profile & Settings..." option, which will allow you to edit your account settings, including Username, e-mail address, password, and other game and Discussion Forum preferences, on a page similar to the one you used to register.

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Editing Your Profile

If you would like to change your account settings and preferences, you must edit your Profile. This is done from your Profile page. If you are not sure how to access your Profile page, please read the YOUR PROFILE section, above.

When you choose to "Edit My Profile & Settings..." from your Profile's "User Admin" Pull-Down Menu, you will see a page very similar to the one you used to register. You may edit your account settings, change your personal preferences, and add a custom picture or "Avatar" to be displayed with your name. A description of the settings follows:

• Username: This is the name or User ID that you use to log in, and the "handle", "screen name", or "nick" that other Players see you as.
• Current password: Enter your current password here only if you wish to change your e-mail address or choose a new password.
• New password: Enter a new password here only if you wish to change your current password. Be sure to also type your existing password in the "Current password" field above.
• Confirm password: Re-enter your new password here if you are changing your password.
• First name: Your real first name. This information is protected and is only displayed to fellow members of a non-anonymous Mini-Pool.
• Last name: Your real last name. This information is protected and is only displayed to fellow members of a non-anonymous Mini-Pool.
• E-mail address: The e-mail address attached to your Profile. Be sure you use an e-mail address that is current, active, and one that you check regularly. If you change your e-mail address in this field, be sure to also type your existing password in the "Current password" field above. An activation e-mail will be sent to your new e-mail address to reactivate your account.
• Location: Your city, state, province, country, etc.
• Timezone: Your current local timezone relative to Greenwich Mean Time. This adjusts the display of dates and times for posts within the Discussion Forum to your local time. This setting does not account for Daylight Savings Time, and may need to be readjusted for DST changes. (Common settings: PST=GMT-8, PDT=GMT-7, MST=GMT-7, MDT=GMT-6, CST=GMT-6, CDT=GMT-5, EST=GMT-5, EDT=GMT-4)
• ICQ Number (optional): A publicly viewable link to your ICQ messaging account, if you have one.
• AIM Address (optional): A publicly viewable link to your AOL Instant Messenger account, if you have one.
• MSN Messenger (optional): A publicly viewable link to your MSN Instant Messenger account, if you have one.
• Yahoo Messenger (optional): A publicly viewable link to your Yahoo! Instant Messenger account, if you have one.
• Website (optional) : A publicly viewable link to your website or personal home page, if you have one.
• Occupation (optional): Publicly viewable information about your occupation.
• Interests (optional): Publicly viewable information about your interests, hobbies, etc.
• Signature (optional): Any special quotation, message, or signature you would like to appear at the bottom of your Discussion Forum posts (may be turned on and off per post).
• Mini-Pool Invitations: Whether or not you will receive Invitations to join Mini-Pools. If "Yes", you still have the option to Accept or Decline invitations. Default=Yes
• Receive weekly courtesy pick reminders: Whether or not you will receive weekly reminders to your e-mail address to make your picks before the deadline (only sent if picks not already entered). We cannot be responsible for lost, delayed, spam-filtered, out-of-date, or misdirected e-mails. Default=Yes
• Allow non mini-poolmates to send me e-mail: If "Yes", allows all Players, not just Players in your Mini-Pools (if any), to send you e-mail messages. Default=No
• Always notify me of replies: When you are watching a topic in the Discussion Forum, the system will send you an e-mail when a new message is posted to the topic. If set to "Yes", the system will default to watching topics that you post to (may be turned on and off per topic). Default=Yes
• Notify on new Private Message: If "Yes", when you receive a new Private Message, the system will send you a notification e-mail. Default=Yes
• Always attach my signature to discussion forum posts: If "Yes", the Attach Signature option will be checked by default for all new Discussion Forum posts (may be turned on and off per post). Default=Yes
• Always allow BBCode: If "Yes", the Enable BBCode option will be checked by default for all new Discussion Forum posts (may be turned on and off per post). BBCode is a system of tags to apply special text formatting and images to your posts. Default=Yes
• Always enable Smilies: If "Yes", the Enable Smilies option will be checked by default for all new Discussion Forum posts (may be turned on and off per post). Smilies allow you to add small "smiley faces" or emoticons to your posts. Default=Yes
• Avatar (optional): Your "Avatar" is a small picture you would like displayed next to your name on your Profile page and in Discussion Forum posts. You may choose one of the pre-existing Avatars from our Avatar Galleries (several to choose from), or you may upload a personalized one of your own making. Personalized Avatars must be no larger than 74 pixels wide by 80 pixels high and no bigger than 5KB in size.

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MINI-POOL USER GUIDE

Mini-Pools add a fun and exciting dimension to the game. Simply put, Mini-Pools are Pools-within-a-Pool. They are "teams" of Players who want to compete amongst themselves or against other "teams" in the game, in addition to participating in the global "All Players" Standings. Mini-Pools can be used to run office pools, family-friends-and-neighbors pools, or even pools for total strangers!

Players may belong to more than one Mini-Pool. By default, when you belong to a Mini-Pool, your real name will be visible to your Mini-Poolmates. This is because Mini-Pools are often created for friends, family and coworkers, and the typically uninformative Usernames are rarely descriptive enough to tell everyone apart. However, some Mini-Pools may choose to be "Anonymous", meaning that real names are kept private. This may be desirable for some "stranger" Mini-Pools, but is normally not recommended.

Also, members of a Mini-Pool will be able to send each other e-mails. Because e-mail addresses are private and invisible, e-mails must be initiated through the site. The recipient e-mail address remains invisible to the sender. If you receive an e-mail from a member of your Mini-Pool, that Player's reply-to address will be visible in the e-mail itself, as is standard e-mail behavior. Likewise, if you reply to the e-mail, your e-mail address will be included in the reply. Obviously, this is normal and expected behavior for e-mails.

If you should ever receive an unwanted or harrassing e-mail from another Player, do not reply to it. If you reply, you will effectively send them your address for more direct e-mails. Instead, log on to the site, click on the offending Player's name to view their Profile, and click the Block button on their Information Page. This will block that Player from sending you further messages without them ever discovering your e-mail address. So far, this has never been a problem on the site, but the option is there for your peace of mind.

Mini-Pools also employ different Ranking Systems. Some base their member rankings on Total Score, others on Average Weekly Score. Some base their rankings on Total Correct, others on Average Weekly Correct. Some start counting their members' rankings from the start of the season, others only since joining. Some impose a "missed week penalty" on members who do not enter their Picks, increasing the number of effective weeks used to divide averages. When considering a Mini-Pool, you might want to read about its Ranking System, listed on the Mini-Pool's Information Page, before joining.

Mini-Pool administrators are regular Players on the site, just like you. A Mini-Pool may have multiple administrators, and any of them may change its settings at any time. If you ever have questions about a Mini-Pool you belong to, please contact its administrator(s) as a first course of action.

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Accessing Your Mini-Pools

If you already belong to one or more Mini-Pools, the quickest way to view and access them is through the smiley-faced "My Profile & Mini-Pools" button in the NavBar (you must first be logged in). This will take you to your Profile page. Then click on the "My Mini-Pools" Tab in the Navbar to see a List of your current Mini-Pools.

To view the Information Page for one of your Mini-Pools, click its name in your "My Mini-Pools" List. The Mini-Pool Information Page will include a Tab in the Navbar to view its Members and a Tab to browse its Private Discussion Forum (if it has one).

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Joining Mini-Pools

Players may join Mini-Pools by Invitation or by Request.

In the Invitation system, an administrator of a Mini-Pool sends a Player an invitation to join the Mini-Pool. The Player may then choose to Accept or Decline the invitation. If the Player declines the invitation, the Mini-Pool will not be able to invite that Player again (the Player may later choose to UN-decline the invitation, however). Under this system, Players will not become official members of a Mini-Pool until they receive and then Accept an invitation.

In the Request system, a Player may request to join a Mini-Pool. The administrator(s) of the Mini-Pool will receive notification of the membership request, and may then choose to Accept or Deny the request. If an administrator Denies the request, the Player will not be able to request membership to that Mini-Pool again (the administrator(s) may later choose to UN-deny the request, however). Under this system, Players will not become official members of a Mini-Pool until they Request and are granted membership.

Both invitations and membership requests may be Withdrawn or Rescinded before being declined or accepted. If you ever receive notification of an invitation or a membership request, but cannot find it when you log in, it is possible that it was withdrawn by the initiator.

Some Players may set their Profile account preferences to not receive Mini-Pool invitations. Mini-Pool administrators will be unable to invite Players with this setting. These Players may only join Mini-Pools by request.

Some Mini-Pools are set up as Invitation Only, and are not open to membership requests. An invitation-only Mini-Pool will not have a check mark under the "Open" column in List view, and will also indicate their membership status on the Mini-Pool's Information Page. These Mini-Pools will only accept Players that have been explicitly invited.

If a Player is not receiving invitations and a Mini-Pool is not accepting membership requests, the Player will be unable to join the Mini-Pool. To get around this, the Player must either edit his/her Profile to receive Mini-Pool invitations, or the Mini-Pool administrator(s) must edit the Mini-Pool to receive requests.

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Mini-Pool Invitations

If you have been invited to join a Mini-Pool, you should receive a notification to your account's e-mail address. You should also see an alert in the Navbar while you are logged in.

You must be logged in. If you see an alert in the Navbar, you may click the alert to view the invitation(s). You may also view invitations by going to your Profile page (the smiley-faced button in the Navbar) and choosing to "View invitations..." from the "User Admin" Pull-Down Menu at the bottom of the page. If neither the alert nor the Menu action are available, it is possible that the invitation was sent in error and has since been withdrawn by the Mini-Pool administrator.

If all goes well, you should be presented with a List of Mini-Pools to which you have been invited. You may click on the individual Mini-Pool names to view their Information Pages, learn about the Mini-Pool, and read any specific invitation message the administrator may have sent you. You may then choose to Accept or Decline each invitation from the "User Menu" Pull-Down Menu at the bottom of the Mini-Pool's Information Page. If you prefer, you may Accept or Decline invitations in bulk using the checkboxes and the "User Menu" Pull-Down Menu at the bottom of the List page instead.

If you choose to Decline an invitation, you have the option to enter an explanatory message as to why you will not be joining. Once you have Declined an invitation, there will be an option under your "User Admin" Pull-Down Menu on your Profile page to "View declined invitations...". You may choose to UN-decline invitations at a later date.

If you Accept an invitation, you will immediately become a member of the Mini-Pool.

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Requesting Membership

If you would like to join a Mini-Pool, and you have not been invited to join, you may request membership. Click the Mini-Pools Navigation Link at the very top of the page to browse the List of Mini-Pools.

Mini-Pools with a check mark under the "Open" column are currently accepting membership requests. Those with a check under the "In" column are known to be participating in the currently displayed season (at least one member has entered picks). Those with a picture of sunglasses next to the name are Anonymous Mini-Pools that currently do not display their members' names.

Click on a Mini-Pool's name to read about its Ranking System and any other comments the administrators have included on its Information Page. When you have found an open Mini-Pool that you would like to join, make sure you are logged in. If you can request membership, there should be a "User Menu" Pull-Down Menu at the bottom of the Mini-Pool's Information Page. Choose to "Request membership..." from the Pull-Down Menu. On the confirmation screen, there will be a place to enter an explanatory message to the Mini-Pool's administrators. You will probably want to include a message indicating who you are and why you would like to join. Click 'Proceed' to continue.

The administrator(s) of the Mini-Pool should be alerted of the request. If an administrator Accepts or Denies your request, you should receive notification to your account's e-mail address. If no one handles your request within a reasonable amount of time, you may wish to Withdraw your request and request membership to a different mini-pool.

You may Withdraw your membership request at any time before it is Accepted or Denied. From the "User Admin" Pull-Down Menu at the bottom of your Profile page, choose to "View membership requests...". You may then choose to "Withdraw membership request..." from the "User Menu" Pull-Down Menu on the List page or the individual Mini-Pool Information Page(s).

If your membership request was Denied, you may read more about the reasons why by viewing the Mini-Pool's Information Page. To see a List of restricted and denied Mini-Pools, choose to "View my restricted Mini-Pools..." from the "User Admin" Pull-Down Menu at the bottom of your Profile page. Click on a Mini-Pool's name to view its Information Page.

If your membership request is Accepted, you will immediately become a member of the Mini-Pool.

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Leaving Mini-Pools

If you are a member, you may leave, or un-join, a Mini-Pool at any time. Go to the Information Page for the Mini-Pool you wish to leave. Choose to "Leave (mini-pool)..." from the "User Menu" Pull-Down Menu at the bottom of the Information Page. You may also leave Mini-Pools in bulk from the "My Mini-Pools" Tab of your Profile page. Simply check the Mini-Pools you wish to leave and choose to "Leave mini-pool..." from the "User Menu" Pull-Down Menu at the bottom of the List. When you leave a mini-pool, it is equivalent to declining an invitation. You may not be re-invited to the mini-pool, but you may later rejoin or UN-decline through the "View declined invitations..." function (please see Mini-Pool Invitations, above).

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Mini-Pool Scoring

Each Mini-Pool may have its own unique Ranking System to score and rank its members. Your Mini-Pool scores and Standings are separate from your global score and Standing, and your global score and Standing is not affected by your Mini-Pool memberships. To see your Standing within your Mini-Pool(s), log in and click the list-like "Player/Mini-Pool Standings" button in the Navbar. Make sure the "My Mini-Pools" Tab is selected. Administrators may change the Ranking System during the season, in which case your score and Standing within the Mini-Pool may be radically altered. This is at the discretion of the Mini-Pool administrator(s). There is also an "All Mini-Pools" Tab to view the Standings of Mini-Pools against other Mini-Pools. These Standings are calculated based only on weekly averages since joining and are not affected by individual Mini-Pool Ranking Systems.

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Banished!

A Mini-Pool administrator may decide to "Banish" you from a Mini-Pool for a variety of reasons. It may be that you have not been participating in the Mini-Pool, have failed to enter complete Picks, have done something inappropriate in the judgment of the administrator, or have been simply "cast off" as part of the Mini-Pool's individual game rules. You may read more about the reasons why by viewing the Mini-Pool's Information Page. To see a List of restricted Mini-Pools, choose to "View my restricted Mini-Pools..." from the "User Admin" Pull-Down Menu at the bottom of your Profile page. Click on a Mini-Pool's name to view its Information Page. If you have been Banished from a Mini-Pool, you may not request admission again, but the Mini-Pool administrator may UN-banish you later. This is entirely at the discretion of the Mini-Pool administrator(s). Banishment from a mini-pool has no effect on your regular site membership status.

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MINI-POOL ADMINISTRATOR GUIDE

As a registered Player you may create Mini-Pools for the enjoyment of your friends, family, co-workers, or others. If you would like to create or administer a Mini-Pool, please be prepared to deal fairly and patiently with your members and to respond to requests and questions in a short amount of time.

All Mini-Pool administration is performed through the "My Profile" (or "My Profile & Mini-Pools") area of the site, the smiley-faced button in the Navbar.

If you already own or administer a Mini-Pool, choose to "Administer Mini-Pools..." from the "User Admin" Pull-Down Menu at the bottom of your Profile page. Otherwise, to create a Mini-Pool, choose to "Create Mini-Pool..." from the "User Admin" Pull-Down Menu.

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Creating and Editing Mini-Pools

Mini-Pools are fairly easy to create and administer, as they have relatively few options. To create a Mini-Pool if you have not already done so, choose to "Create Mini-Pool..." from the "User Admin" Pull-Down Menu at the bottom of your Profile page. To edit a Mini-Pool you administer, open the Mini-Pool's Information Page and choose to "Edit (mini-pool)..." from the "(mini-pool) Admin" Pull-Down Menu. A description of the settings follows:

• Mini-Pool Name: The name of your Mini-Pool as seen by others.
• Rank standings by: Allows you to select the Ranking System for the Mini-Pool. You may score and rank your members according to a combination of several factors. 1) Score or Correct: use standard Pick point values, or number of correct Picks (unweighted), as "points"; 2) Total or Average Weekly: use "points" total, or total "points" divided by weeks played; 3) Whole Game or Since Joined: count "points" earned since start of season, or only "points" earned since member joined Mini-Pool. These are covered in more detail on the Mini-Pool edit page.
• Missed week penalty: When using a Ranking System based on Average Weekly "points", this assigns a "penalty" to members for weeks they do not enter Picks. By default, a setting of zero means no penalty: a missed week counts as zero weeks against the Weekly Average. A setting of one means full penalty: a missed week counts as a full week against the Weekly Average. The penalty is exacted in the Weekly Average calculation as ("points" / (weeks played + (weeks missed * penalty))).
• Invitation Only: Turn this on if you do not want to receive Membership Requests to join your Mini-Pool. You must Invite Players to join (note that not all Players have opted to receive invitations).
• Anonymous: Turn this on only if you want to hide members' real names. Normally this is not desirable for friend, family and coworker pools, as members' usernames are not terribly descriptive.
• Description: Include any special comments, rules, or other important information about your Mini-Pool.

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Membership Requests

When a Player has requested to join a Mini-Pool you administer, you should receive a notification to your account's e-mail address. You should also see an alert in the Navbar while you are logged in. If your Mini-Pool is set up to be Invitation Only, Players will not be able to request membership.

You must be logged in. If you see an alert in the Navbar, you may click the alert to view the request(s). You may also view requests by going to your Profile page (the smiley-faced button in the Navbar), choosing to "Admininster Mini-Pools..." from the "User Admin" Pull-Down Menu at the bottom of the page, then choosing to "View outstanding requests..." from the "Mini-Pool Admin Functions" Pull-Down Menu. If neither the alert nor the Menu action are available, it is possible that either the request was made in error and has since been withdrawn by the Player, or the request was already handled by another administrator.

If all goes well, you should be presented with a Requests List of Players requesting membership and the corresponding Mini-Pools. You may click on the individual Player names to view their Profiles and read any specific messages the Players may have included. You may then choose to Accept or Deny each request from the "(mini-pool) Admin" Pull-Down Menu at the bottom of the Player's Profile page. If you prefer, you may Accept or Deny requests in bulk, per Mini-Pool. To do this, from the Requests List you originally opened, click on the name of a Mini-Pool instead of the individual Players. You may then use the checkboxes and the "(mini-pool) Admin" Pull-Down Menu at the bottom of the List page to Accept or Deny requests in bulk, and repeat as necessary for other Mini-Pools.

If you choose to Deny a request, you have the option to enter an explanatory message. Once you have Denied a request, there will be an option under your "(mini-pool) Admin" Pull-Down Menu on your Profile page to "View restricted players...". You may choose to UN-deny requests at a later date.

If you Accept a request, the Player will immediately become a member of your Mini-Pool.

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Inviting New Members

At some point in administering your Mini-Pool(s), you may want to invite new members. If a Player's account is set up to not receive invitations, or if it has not been activated, you will not be able to invite that Player to join. In these situations, you may want to contact uninvitable Players with instructions to Request Membership to your Mini-Pool (if available), or to edit their account settings to receive invitations.

There are three ways to invite new members to your Mini-Pool. The first way is individually, one Player at a time. To do this, locate in the Players List a Player that you would like to invite. Take advantage of the List's sort columns as necessary to help you locate your Player by username, first name, last name, and/or location. When you find a Player you would like to invite, click on their username to view their Profile. The Profile will tell you if they are accepting invitations. Use the "(mini-pool) Admin" Pull-Down Menu at the bottom of the page (if you administer more than one Mini-Pool, you may first need to select the desired Mini-Pool from the "My Mini-Pools Admin" Pull-Down Menu: "Use (mini-pool) for player..."). If the player can be invited to the Mini-Pool in question, you may choose to "Invite to join (mini-pool)..." from the "(mini-pool) Admin" Pull-Down Menu. Enter any special messages to the Player and click 'Proceed' to send the invitation.

A second way to invite registered Players is in bulk. To do this, go to the Information Screen for the Mini-Pool in question. From the "(mini-pool) Admin" Pull-Down Menu, choose to "Invite Players...". You will be redirected to the Players List, where you may select the Players you would like to invite. Only Players that can be invited will be listed. Take advantage of the List's sort columns to aid in your search, and click on Players' names to see more of their Profile information. Return to the List view any time by clicking the "Players" Tab in the Navbar. You may select a Player by clicking the "Invite to (mini-pool)..." button at the bottom of his/her Profile page (you will be returned to the List) or by checking the Player's box in the List view. When all Players have been selected, click the "Invite to (mini-pool)..." button at the bottom of the List. Enter any special messages to the Players and click 'Proceed' to send the invitations.

Finally, new members may be invited in bulk by e-mail address, even if they have never used the site. To do this, go to the Information Screen for the Mini-Pool in question. From the "(mini-pool) Admin" Pull-Down Menu, choose to "Invite by E-mail Address...". In the "To:" field, enter the e-mail addresses of the people you would like to invite, the addresses separated by commas, as in "joe@domain.com, famke@otherdomain.net". In the "Personal invitation message" field, add any extra information you would like to include about the site and your Mini-Pool. Then click 'Send'. If any addresses are invalid or removed for other reasons, you will receive a warning and have the opportunity to make changes before hitting 'Send' again. If an e-mail address is already registered to a Player on the site, and that Player can be invited to the Mini-Pool, the Player will receive a standard invitation instead of an e-mail. All other recipients will be sent an e-mail invitation with a link to register a Player account and join your Mini-Pool. If the recipient does not register under the same e-mail address that was sent, it is important that they use the entire link in the e-mail to bind the two addresses together.

If one of your invitations was Declined, you may check for a reason by choosing to "View declined invitations..." from the "(mini-pool) Admin" Pull-Down Menu at the bottom of your Mini-Pool's Information Page. From this List, click on a Player's name to see more details.

If a Player Accepts your invitation, the Player will immediately become a member of your Mini-Pool.

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Private Discussion Forum

Every Mini-Pool is permitted to have a Private Discussion Forum for its members. Only members of your Mini-Pool will have access to the forum, and the administrators of your Mini-Pool will function as moderators of the forum. To create a Private Discussion Forum, choose to "Create Private Discussion Forum..." from the "(mini-pool) Admin" Pull-Down Menu on the Mini-Pool's Information Page. The Discussion Forum will be created automatically. It will be visible on the main Discussion Forum page under a Private Forums section, and will also have a new Tab in the Navbar of your Mini-Pool's Information Page. Member posts in a Private Discussion Forum are automatically pruned (removed) after a period of inactivity. To remove your Private Discussion Forum, you may choose to "Destroy Private Discussion Forum..." from the "(mini-pool) Admin" Pull-Down Menu on the Mini-Pool's Information Page. In doing so, all posts to that forum will be deleted and cannot be restored.

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Member Administration

There are several administrative actions you may perform on members of your Mini-Pool(s). Most of these may be done from the members' individual Profile pages (if you administer more than one Mini-Pool, you may first need to select the desired Mini-Pool from the "My Mini-Pools Admin" Pull-Down Menu: "Use (mini-pool) for player..."). Some of these actions may also be performed in bulk from the Members List. To see the Members List, click the "Members" Tab in the Navbar while on the Mini-Pool's Information Page.

Banishing Members

You may banish members from your Mini-Pool at any time, effectively removing them as members and preventing them from requesting membership again. If you ever decide that you need to do this for any reason, there is an option in the "(mini-pool) Admin" Pull-Down Menu to "Banish from (mini-pool)...". This may be done individually from the Profile page of a member (if you administer more than one Mini-Pool, you may first need to select the desired Mini-Pool from the "My Mini-Pools Admin" Pull-Down Menu: "Use (mini-pool) for player..."). This may also be done in bulk using checkboxes in the "Members" Tab of the Mini-Pool Information Page. You will have the opportunity to provide a reason or other message when you Banish a member.

E-mailing Members

You may e-mail some or all members with announcements and other information. To e-mail all members, choose to "Send e-mail to members..." from the "(mini-pool) Admin" Pull-Down Menu of the Mini-Pool's Information Page. To e-mail only certain members, select the members in bulk using checkboxes in the "Members" Tab of the Mini-Pool's Information Page, then choose to "Send e-mail..." from the "(mini-pool) Admin" Pull-Down Menu under the Members List. To e-mail only one member, you may use the bulk menu or you may use the e-mail button on the member's Profile page.

Assigning Additional Administrators

You may grant administrative privileges to other members at any time. To do this, there is an option in the "(mini-pool) Admin" Pull-Down Menu to "Grant admin privileges to (mini-pool)...". This may be done individually from the Profile page of a member (if you administer more than one Mini-Pool, you may first need to select the desired Mini-Pool from the "My Mini-Pools Admin" Pull-Down Menu: "Use (mini-pool) for player..."). This may also be done in bulk using checkboxes in the "Members" Tab of the Mini-Pool Information Page. (Note that if you grant administrative privileges to another user, they will have the power to banish you or revoke your administrative privileges.)

Revoking Administrative Privileges

If you have granted administrative privileges to other members, you may revoke those privileges at any time. This may be done individually from the Profile page of an administrative member, or it may be done in bulk on the List of administrators. To do this individually, choose to "Revoke admin privileges to (mini-pool)..." from the "(mini-pool) Admin" Pull-Down Menu on the administrator's Profile page (if you administer more than one Mini-Pool, you may first need to select the desired Mini-Pool from the "My Mini-Pools Admin" Pull-Down Menu: "Use (mini-pool) for player..."). To do this in bulk, you must first display the List of administrators by choosing to "View administrators..." from the "(mini-pool) Admin" Pull-Down menu on the Mini-Pool's Information Page.

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Rescinding Administrative Privileges

If you have assigned another administrator to your Mini-Pool, you may downgrade your own status to a regular member by rescinding administrative privileges. Because every Mini-Pool needs an administrator, you will not be able to do this unless you have assigned at least one other administrator. This is actually a member function -- not a Mini-Pool administration function -- and as such you will find this option listed under your "User Menu" Pull-Down Menu on your Mini-Pool's Information Page (it will not be available if you have not assigned other administrators).

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Leaving Your Mini-Pool

Even if you are the creator, you may leave, or un-join, your Mini-Pool at any time. Because every Mini-Pool needs an administrator, you will not be able to do this unless you have first assigned at least one other administrator (see above). This is actually a member function -- not a Mini-Pool administration function -- and as such you will find this option listed under your "User Menu" Pull-Down Menu on your Mini-Pool's Information Page (it will not be available if you have not assigned other administrators). When you leave a mini-pool, it is equivalent to declining an invitation. You may not be re-invited to the mini-pool, but you may later rejoin or UN-decline through the "View declined invitations..." function (please see Mini-Pool Invitations in the MINI-POOL USER GUIDE, above). If you are the only member, you probably want to Delete your Mini-Pool instead.

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Deleting Your Mini-Pool

To delete a Mini-Pool you administer, choose to "Delete..." from the "(mini-pool) Admin" Pull-Down Menu on your Mini-Pool's Information Page. All members scores and Standings for that Mini-Pool will be erased, and any Private Discussion Forum posts will be deleted.

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