Survivor Pool FAQ

Login and Registration Issues
Why can't I login? Have you registered? Seriously, you must register in order to login. Have you been banned from the board (a message will be displayed if you have)? If so then you should contact the webmaster or board administrator. If you have registered and are not banned and you still cannot login then check and double check your username and password. Usually this is the problem. If not, try quitting your web browser completely (all windows!), optionally deleting your cookies, and then try again. If still unsuccessful, contact the board administrator. → Back to top ←

Why do I need to register at all? To read the discussion forum, you do not have to register. But to post messages and to play in the pool game, you must create a user account. Registration will also give you access to additional features not available to guest users such as definable avatar images, private messaging, mini-pools, etc. It only takes a few moments to register so it is recommended you do so. → Back to top ←

Why do I get logged off automatically? If you do not check the Remember me box when you login the board will only keep you logged in for a preset time. This prevents misuse of your account by anyone else. To stay logged in check the box during login, this is not recommended if you access the board from a shared computer, e.g. library, internet cafe, university cluster, etc. → Back to top ←

I've lost my password! Don't panic! While your password cannot be retrieved, it can be reset. To do this go to the login page and click I forgot my password. Follow the instructions, be sure to click the link in the e-mail to activate your new password, and you should be back online in no time. → Back to top ←

I registered but cannot login! Firstly check your are entering the correct username and password. If they are okay then one of two things may have happened. First, all new accounts must be activated. When you created your account, you must have supplied a valid e-mail address, to which an activation e-mail is sent. To activate your account, you must click the link in the activation e-mail. Second, existing accounts may have trouble with stuck session cookies. To check, try quitting your web browser completely, optionally deleting your cookies, and then try again. If all else fails, contact the board administrator. → Back to top ←

I registered in the past but cannot login any more?! The most likely reasons for this are; you entered an incorrect username or password (check the email you were sent when you first registered) or the administrator has deleted your account for some reason. If it is the later case then perhaps you did not post anything? It is usual for boards to periodically remove users who have not posted anything so as to reduce the size of the database. Try registering again and get involved in discussions. → Back to top ←

I never received my activation e-mail! Activation e-mails are sent immediately upon registration and are often received within seconds of registration. Sometimes, delays on the internet can postpone delivery of a message by minutes or hours. If you do not receive your activation e-mail within a few hours of registration, check your Spam, Bulk, or Junk mailbox, or enquire with your service provider or mail administrator to see if your mailer mistakenly tagged it as spam. If not, please do not log in and try to create another account! Instead, send an e-mail to the system administrator with your username and e-mail address and request manual activation. It is possible that the address was entered incorrectly, which the administrator can correct when activating your account. → Back to top ←

Using the Pool
When can I join? You may join the pool any time, even in the middle of a game. If you join mid-season, you might not stand as great a chance in the overall standings, but depending on how late and how good/lucky you are, you can still win. For even more level odds, create a mini-pool for your friends, pick a ranking system of your choice, and start playing each other. → Back to top ←

Where do I go from here? Once you are registered, you are ready to go. If there is currently a Survivor season in progress, you may enter Picks, browse Standings, and participate in the Discussion Forums. If you know of friends who are playing, you might want to find out about creating or joining mini-pools. If we are between seasons, you can still participate in the Discussion Forums while you wait. → Back to top ←

How do I enter picks? This is documented in the Instruction Guide. Basically, click the Picks "Finger" button in the top navigation bar. If picks are available, you may enter them one at a time by clicking the small (enter) buttons. You may edit a pick you have entered by clicking the small ('e' edit) buttons next to your picks. Even if you think there will not be a challenge, it is a good idea to enter as many picks as are available. A good rule of thumb? If there is an 'enter' button available, use it. → Back to top ←

When do I enter picks? You may enter picks each week any time from when the week opens until the deadline, which is currently very late the night before the day of the show. You may start playing mid-season or skip weeks without penalty. For more specifics, see the Rules section. → Back to top ←

What if I think there will not be a reward challenge? Usually there are no reward challenges on the first week, the last week, and the week of the merge. But who knows what they have in store this time around? You should pick a contestant and/or tribe to win the reward challenge even if you don't think there will be one. If surprisingly there is, you might win some points. If not, no harm done. And no, there are no points for predicting "no challenge". → Back to top ←

Why do Reward and Immunity ask for both a tribe and a contestant? When there is a even a slight chance that the tribes may merge, you have the opportunity to pick both a tribe and a contestant to win Reward and Immunity challenges. Even if you don't believe there will be a merge, it is a good idea to pick both in case there is a surprise. Each has its own point value, and you will not receive more points for picking only one. → Back to top ←

Why does Castoff have two picks? When there is more than one tribe in the game, you should pick one contestant from each tribe to be cast off. This is not dependent on which tribe you think will win immunity, and you will not receive more points for picking only one. → Back to top ←

Why do you ask for Winner and Final Four picks every week? Because each week you get to take a crack at predicting the winner and final four. They are worth more at the start of the season, and decrease in value as the nuber of contestants narrow. Each week you may change your pick to reflect your thinking (or to spread around the odds). Or, if you're feeling bold and gambling, you can try to stick with your last week's picks with the hope of earning some cumulative bonuses. See the Rules & Scoring for more details on cumulative bonuses. → Back to top ←

When I click the button, I see contestant/tribe names but no selection buttons! Are you using the AOL web browser? The only time we have ever heard of this problem is when users were using the AOL web browser. Unfortunately, we don't have AOL and we don't know of a way to test why this happens. If you find yourself without selection buttons, try using a different web browser, like Internet Explorer 6, Netscape 7, Mozilla or Safari. All of these browsers work well over an AOL connections. → Back to top ←

Clicking the Picks logs me out to the main page! Are you using the AOL web browser? The only time we have ever heard of this problem is when users were using the AOL web browser. Unfortunately, we don't have AOL and we don't know of a way to test why this happens. If you find yourself unable to stay logged in or enter picks, try using a different web browser, like Internet Explorer 6, Netscape 7, Mozilla or Safari. All of these browsers work well over an AOL connection. → Back to top ←

How do I change games? You will find a drop-down Game Selector in the upper right corner. Switch between seasons of Survivor using this menu. If you are logged in, your selection will be remembered. → Back to top ←

How do I check my rank? Easy. Click the Standings "List" button in the top navigation bar. Using the tabs, you will be able to view your overall rank (All Players), your rank in each mini-pool you have joined (My Mini-Pools), and your mini-pools' rankings against other mini-pools (All Mini-Pools). Switch games using the pull-down menu at the top. → Back to top ←

Why am I not in the Standings? Players and mini-pools do not show up in the Standings until they have entered at least one pick for that season. Make sure you have the current season selected and that you have entered a pick. → Back to top ←

Why do I need to provide my real name for the pool? Your name is invisible and private until you join a mini-pool. At that point, your name is only visible to other members of your mini-pool(s). This is to help keep track of who's who, since often usernames are too non-descriptive. Your name is still private and invisible to everyone else. Also, your e-mail address is always invisible and by default inaccessible to everyone (unless you explicitly choose to accept e-mails from all users in your Profile settings -- it is private by default). If you join a mini-pool, fellow poolmates will be able to send you pool announcements and updates (without actually seeing your e-mail address). You may block e-mail from poolmates by using the 'Block' feature. → Back to top ←

How do I join a mini-pool? Some mini-pools are private, accepting membership by invitation only. If you received an invitation, you should get an e-mail and see an alert at the top of your screen. Click the alert and follow the prompts. You may either accept or decline an invitation. Some mini-pools are public, allowing you to request membership. To do so, click on a mini-pool's name to go to the mini-pool information page, then use the User Menu pull-down menu at the bottom of the screen to request membership. You may want to include information about who you are and why you want to join in the message space. Then the mini-pool administrator may decide to accept or reject your membership request. For more information, please see the Instruction Guide → Back to top ←

How do I create a mini-pool? Go to your My Profile screen (the "smiley" button in the navigation bar). If you already administer a mini-pool, click the "My Mini-Pools" tab at the top. Otherwise, stay on the My Profile screen. In either case, choose to Create a Mini-Pool from the pull-down menus at the bottom of the screen (or use this link). Enter a name and description for your mini-pool, and choose a scoring preference. Please see the Instruction Guide for more information. You may want to announce new mini-pools in the Mini-Pools discussion forum. → Back to top ←

Why are My Mini-Pool Standings colored? In the My Mini-Pools tab of the Standings, member names are color coded to track which members have entered picks. The Player column represents the current week and the Name column represents the previous week. Green indicates that picks were fully entered, black means that no picks were entered (week was skipped), and red means that picks were partially entered. Red, partial picks can hurt a mini-pools rank, speaking in probabilities. Mini-pool administrators may want to follow up on red, partial picks. If your name shows up in red, check your Picks to make sure you have not missed an 'enter' button. → Back to top ←

How do I reactivate my mini-pool for next season? You don't have to do anything special. Mini-pools are considered as participating as soon as any one member enters a pick. To see your mini-pool listed as "participating" and visible in the Standings, try entering a pick (if picks are available). → Back to top ←

User Preferences and settings
How do I change my settings? All your settings (if you are registered) are stored in the database. To alter them click the My Profile "smiley" button in the top navigation bar. From your profile screen, use the pull-down menu at the bottom to "Edit My Profile & Settings..." (or use this link). This will allow you to change all your settings. For more information, please see the Instruction Guide. → Back to top ←

The times are not correct! The times are almost certainly correct; however, what you may be seeing are times displayed in a timezone different from the one you are in. If this is the case, you should change your profile setting for the timezone to match your particular area, e.g. London, Paris, New York, Sydney, etc. Please note that changing the timezone, like most settings, can only be done by registered users. So if you are not registered, this is a good time to do so, if you pardon the pun! → Back to top ←

I changed the timezone and the time is still wrong! If you are sure you have set the timezone correctly and the time is still different, the most likely answer is daylight savings time (or summer time as it is known in the UK and other places). The board is not designed to handle the changeovers between standard and daylight time so during summer months the time may be an hour different from the real local time. → Back to top ←

My language is not in the list! This site was written in English and has not been translated into other languages. Unfortunately, this is a one-person operation, without a staff of multilingual developers to translate the pages. → Back to top ←

How do I show an image (avatar) with my username? There may be two images below a username when viewing posts. The first is an image associated with your rank; generally these take the form of stars or blocks indicating how many posts you have made or your status on the forums. Below this may be a larger image known as an avatar; this is generally unique or personal to each user. You may choose an avatar from our gallery, or you may upload your own (please be tasteful; image files may not be larger than 5kb and must be no larger than 74 pixels wide by 80 pixels tall). To add or select an avatar, edit your Profile. → Back to top ←

How do I change my rank? In general you cannot directly change the wording of any rank (ranks appear below your username in topics and on your profile depending on the style used). Most boards use ranks to indicate the number of posts you have made and to identify certain users. For example, moderators and administrators may have a special rank. Please do not abuse the board by posting unnecessarily just to increase your rank -- you will probably find the moderator or administrator will simply lower your post count. → Back to top ←

When I click the email link for a user it asks me to log in. Sorry, but only registered users can send email to people via the built-in email form (if the admin has enabled this feature). This is to prevent malicious use of the email system by anonymous users. → Back to top ←

Privacy, Security, and Private Messaging
How do you use my Profile information? Your Username is your login (a publicly viewable "handle" or "screen name") and uniquely identifies you on the site. Your Location is visible to give users an idea of where our user base comes from. Your Real First and Last Names are only used on a strictly limited basis in mini-pools you choose to join, to help your friends and family recognize you, and are otherwise invisible. Your E-mail Address is used to activate your account, receive important administration announcements and reminders, and to receive certain automatic alerts and notifications. You may opt to make your e-mail available (but not visible) to certain others by joining mini-pools, or even make it available to all registered users if you want to (this is a setting you must turn on specifically). Your E-mail Address will never be sold or shared with anyone, because we hate spam! Finally, the optional public information is not used by us at all -- it is only for display purposes if you want to share additional information about yourself with others. → Back to top ←

Who can see my Username and Location? Your public Username and Location are visible to everyone. → Back to top ←

*Who can see my real* first and last names?** Your real first and last names are invisible to everyone except members of your own private mini-pool(s), if you have any. In your private mini-pool(s), it is useful to see the real name because it is often difficult-to-impossible to recognize your friends by their public Usernames alone. Even then, some mini-pools are completely anonymous, in which case your real name is still hidden. → Back to top ←

Who can see my e-mail address? By default, your e-mail address is always invisible to everyone. If you join a mini-pool, the mini-pool administrator and your mini-poolmates can send you an e-mail message or mini-pool announcement through the site without seeing your e-mail address. Additionally, there is an option in your Profile preferences to allow any registered user to send you an e-mail message, but by default this is disabled. If you enable this feature, registered users will be able to send you an e-mail message through the site without seeing your e-mail address. Many people like to use this feature because they welcome communications from the friendly members of this site. In all cases, you may 'Block' further communications from any user on the site on an individual basis. → Back to top ←

Who can see my interests, occupation, and website? Everyone. This is information we do not require, but you are free to include it for display if you want others to know more about you. → Back to top ←

Who can see my Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, and ICQ instant messaging information? Registered users. This is information we do not require, but you are free to include it if you want other registered users to be able to instant-message you through these popular products. Note that you may also block specific users from accessing this information, too. → Back to top ←

Why do I see my e-mail address and name displayed on my Profile? Because you are viewing your own profile. It does not appear the same way to others. → Back to top ←

Why do I see another user's name in their Profile, the Standings, or in a member list? You are in at least one non-anonymous mini-pool with that user, in which the members all want visible names to help recognize their friends and poolmates. If you are very concerned about this, you should try contacting that mini-pool's administrator. → Back to top ←

Why do some user Profiles have an 'e-mail' button? This means that they will accept e-mail from you. This could be because you are in at least one mini-pool with that user, or it could be that they chose to allow e-mails from all registered users. You may send them an e-mail through the site, but you will not be able to see their actual e-mail address. (This is probably obvious, but if you decide to send a user an e-mail, your e-mail address is used as the 'From' or 'Reply-to' address, and therefore the recipient can both see and reply to your e-mail address.) → Back to top ←

Why do most user Profiles have a 'pm' (Private Message) button? The site supports Private Messaging between users by default. Since Private Messages can be sent from the discussion forum anyway, we also included the same button in the Pool Profiles. You may block any user from sending you Private Messages. → Back to top ←

What is Private Messaging, anyway? Private Messaging is a method of communicating short messages to other users on the site in a manner less intrusive than e-mail. Similar to a post in the discussion forum, a Private Message is stored here on the site and is not sent to the user's e-mail address. It is also more private than e-mail, as no e-mail or real name information is passed along with the message. Users may choose to receive e-mail notification when a new Private Message arrives off-line for them, but that is optional. Private Messages are a terrific way to enquire about mini-pools or to quickly exchange messages between friends who are simultaneously on-line. → Back to top ←

How do I block a user from sending me Private Messages? You may block any user by clicking the 'Block' button from the user's Profile page. This prevents all forms of communication, including e-mail, Private Message, and any public Instant-Messaging information you shared in your Profile. You may later Unblock that user if you wish. If you receive an abusive or harrassing communication, please Block the user and notify the system administator, including all the text and header information, if available. → Back to top ←

How do I block a user from sending me e-mail? Although by default e-mail can only be sent to you by mini-poolmates (if any), you may block any user by clicking the 'Block' button from the user's Profile page. This prevents all forms of communication, including e-mail, Private Message, and any public Instant-Messaging information you shared in your Profile. You may later Unblock that user if you wish. If you receive an abusive or harrassing communication, please Block the user and notify the system administator, including all the text and header information, if available. → Back to top ←

I have received a spamming or abusive communication from someone on this board! We are sorry to hear that. The email form feature of this board includes safeguards to try to track users who send such posts. First, you may want to Block that user from contacting you again (see above). If the user was in a mini-pool with you, you may want to notify an administrator of that mini-pool. You should also contact the board administrator with a full copy of the message you received. It is very important this include the headers, if available (these list details of the user that sent the email). They can then take action. → Back to top ←

Why do I not see e-mail, Private Message, or any contact buttons on my own mini-poolmate's profile? They have probably blocked you from communicating with them. If you have questions about this, contact the pool administrator if you can, or the site administrator. → Back to top ←

Why can't I send a Private Message? There are four reasons for this: 1) you are not registered and/or not logged on; 2) the user you are trying to message has blocked you from sending further communications; 3) the board administrator has disabled private messaging for the entire board; 4) the board administrator has prevented you individually from sending messages. If it is the latter case you should try asking the administrator why. → Back to top ←

Posting Issues
How do I post a topic in a forum? Easy -- click the relevant button on either the forum or topic screens. You may need to register before you can post a message. The facilities available to you are listed at the bottom of the forum and topic screens (the You can post new topics, You can vote in polls, etc. list) → Back to top ←

How do I edit or delete a post? Unless you are the board admin or forum moderator you can only edit or delete your own posts. You can edit a post (sometimes for only a limited time after it was made) by clicking the edit button for the relevant post. If someone has already replied to the post, you will find a small piece of text output below the post when you return to the topic that lists the number of times you edited it. This will only appear if no one has replied; it also will not appear if moderators or administrators edit the post (they should leave a message saying what they altered and why). Please note that normal users cannot delete a post once someone has replied. → Back to top ←

How do I add a signature to my post? To add a signature to a post you must first create one; this is done via your profile. Once created you can check the Add Signature box on the posting form to add your signature. You can also add a signature by default to all your posts by checking the appropriate radio box in your profile. You can still prevent a signature being added to individual posts by un-checking the add signature box on the posting form. → Back to top ←

How do I create a poll? Creating a poll is easy -- when you post a new topic (or edit the first post of a topic, if you have permission) you should see a Add Poll form below the main posting box. If you cannot see this then you probably do not have rights to create polls. You should enter a title for the poll and then at least two options -- to set an option type in the poll question and click the Add option button. You can also set a time limit for the poll, 0 being an infinite amount. There will be a limit to the number of options you can list, which is set by the board administrator → Back to top ←

How do I edit or delete a poll? As with posts, polls can only be edited by the original poster, a moderator, or board administrator. To edit a poll, click the first post in the topic, which always has the poll associated with it. If no one has cast a vote then users can delete the poll or edit any poll option. However, if people have already placed votes only moderators or administrators can edit or delete it; this is to prevent people rigging polls by changing options mid-way through a poll → Back to top ←

Why can't I access a forum? Some forums may be limited to certain users or groups. To view, read, post, etc. you may need special authorization which only the forum moderator and board administrator can grant, so you should contact them. → Back to top ←

Why can't I vote in polls? Only registered users can vote in polls so as to prevent spoofing of results. If you have registered and still cannot vote then you probably do not have appropriate access rights. → Back to top ←

Formatting and Topic Types
What is BBCode? BBCode is a special implementation of HTML. Whether you can use BBCode is determined by the administrator. You can also disable it on a per post basis from the posting form. BBCode itself is similar in style to HTML: tags are enclosed in square braces [ and ] rather than < and > and it offers greater control over what and how something is displayed. For more information on BBCode see the guide which can be accessed from the posting page. → Back to top ←

Can I use HTML? HTML is currently disabled in the discussion forums, except for use by the Administrator. This is to prevent disruptive HTML markups from disturbing the display of the page. You may still use text formatting, emoticons, and images with BBCode. → Back to top ←

What are Smileys? Smileys, or Emoticons, are small graphical images which can be used to express some feeling using a short code, e.g. :) means happy, :( means sad. The full list of emoticons can be seen via the posting form. Try not to overuse smileys, though, as they can quickly render a post unreadable and a moderator may decide to edit them out or remove the post altogether. → Back to top ←

Can I post Images? Images can indeed be shown in your posts. However, there is no facility at present for uploading images directly to this board. Therefore you must link to an image stored on a publicly accessible web server, e.g. http://www.some-unknown-place.net/my-picture.gif. You cannot link to pictures stored on your own PC (unless it is a publicly accessible server) nor to images stored behind authentication mechanisms such as Hotmail or Yahoo mailboxes, password-protected sites, etc. Please do not link to someone else's pictures on someone else's site without their prior permission. To display the image use the BBCode [img] tag. → Back to top ←

What are Announcements? Announcements often contain important information and you should read them as soon as possible. Announcements appear at the top of every page in the forum to which they are posted. Whether or not you can post an announcement depends on the permissions required, which are set by the administrator. → Back to top ←

What are Sticky topics? Sticky topics appear below any announcements in viewforum and only on the first page. They are often quite important so you should read them where possible. As with announcements the board administrator determines what permissions are required to post sticky topics in each forum. → Back to top ←

What are Locked topics? Locked topics are set this way by either the forum moderator or board administrator. You cannot reply to locked topics and any poll contained inside is automatically ended. Topics may be locked for many reasons. → Back to top ←

User Levels and Groups
What are Administrators? Administrators are people assigned the highest level of control over the entire board. These people can control all facets of board operation which include setting permissions, banning users, creating usergroups or moderators, etc. They also have full moderator capabilities in all the forums. → Back to top ←

What are Moderators? Moderators are individuals (or groups of individuals) whose job it is to look after the running of the forums from day to day. They have the power to edit or delete posts and lock, unlock, move, delete and split topics in the forum they moderate. Generally moderators are there to prevent people going off-topic or posting abusive or offensive material. → Back to top ←

phpBB 2 Issues
Who wrote the discussion forum software? The discussion forum software (in its unmodified form) is produced, released and is copyrighted phpBB Group. It is made available under the GNU General Public License and may be freely distributed; see link for more details → Back to top ←

Why isn't X feature available? This software was written by and licensed through phpBB Group. If you believe a feature needs to be added then please visit the phpbb.com website and see what the phpBB Group has to say. Please do not post feature requests to the board at phpbb.com, as the Group uses sourceforge to handle tasking of new features. Please read through the forums and see what, if any, our position may already be for features and then follow the procedure given there. → Back to top ←

Whom do I contact about abusive and/or legal matters related to this board? You should contact the administrator of this board. If you cannot find who that is, you should first contact one of the forum moderators and ask them who you should in turn contact. If still get no response you should contact the owner of the domain (do a whois lookup) or, if this is running on a free service (e.g. yahoo, free.fr, f2s.com, etc.), the management or abuse department of that service. Please note that phpBB Group has absolutely no control and cannot in any way be held liable over how, where or by whom this board is used. It is absolutely pointless contacting phpBB Group in relation to any legal (cease and desist, liable, defamatory comment, etc.) matter not directly related to the phpbb.com website or the discrete software of phpBB itself. If you do email phpBB Group about any third party use of this software then you should expect a terse response or no response at all. → Back to top ←

* Daron's Survivor Pool is not authorized by or connected with SEG, the television show Survivor, CBS, their affiliates or sponsors or any other websites.
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