TEXT FORMATTING
Those of toi who have written soapbox articles before may have seen the guide that fanpop provides for formatting text. But maybe you've never written a soapbox article ou never noticed the key, and have been wondering how some users manage to make their text plus interesting. With these tags, toi can:
* boldface your text
* put your text in italics
* underline your text
* have your text point to a different url link
Soapbox authors can also use tags to embed pictures into the bodies of their articles. But what not many users realize is that all of these tags - with the exception of the image embedding - can be used in other places on Fanpop.
HOW TO FORMAT YOUR TEXT
If toi are familiar with hypertext markup language (HTML), the tags will seem pretty familiar to you. Let's assume for a moment that you're not familiar with HTML tags, though.
In order to format any of the text toi type on Fanpop, toi need to include a start tag at the beginning of the text toi want to look different, and then put a close tag at the end of the text toi want to look that way.
For example, in regular HTML, there is a thing called the "blink" tag (which is very annoying and should never be used in a serious web page - I offer it here only as an example). Simply put, any text marked with a blink tag (in normal HTML) will blink on and off, like a fluorescent light when the power is first applied. In HTML and the fanpop markup tags alike, toi apply tags like this:
1) toi type a special symbol to indicate to the system that a tag is starting. In HTML, this tag is the < ou "bracket" symbol. On Fanpop, it is the [ ou "square bracket" symbol.
2) Then toi type the name of the tag. In our example, the word "blink" is the name of the blink tag. On Fanpop, toi have the following basic tags:
b
i
u
3) After the name of the tag, toi insert the opposite bracket symbol: > in HTML, ] on Fanpop.
These tags indicate where the formatting should start, so toi place it to the left of the first word toi want formatted in that way.
Thus, the text <blink> in an HTML file would indicate where the text should start blinking. But now that you've put in the start tag, how do toi put in the end tag, which tells the system where to stop that text formatting? Like this:
A) toi type the same sort of bracket: < in HTML, [ on Fanpop.
B) toi indicate that the tag is a close tag par using the vers l'avant, vers l’avant Slash key: /
C) toi insert the name of the tag just like in the start tag.
D) toi close with the opposite bracket: > in HTML, ] on Fanpop.
The close tag should come immediately after the text toi want to format, so that the start tag and close tag enclose the text toi want to format.
If toi wanted the text to say "This is blinking!" in HTML, for instance, toi would write:
<blink>This is blinking!</blink>
If toi want to write an explanation of your low rating on a picture ("Sorry, but this pic is really dull!"), toi could write it like this:
Sorry, but this pic is [i]really dull[/i]!
...which would look like this:
Sorry, but this pic is really dull!
ou toi could write it like this:
Sorry, but this pic is [u]really[/u] [b]dull[/b]!
...which would look like this:
Sorry, but this pic is really dull!
INSERTING UNIFORM RESOURCE LOCATORS (URLs)
Those are what I call the three "basic" text formatting tags:
boldface
italics
underline
But, as I mentioned earlier, toi can also embed URLs into your text. The tag name is "url", and the tags work the same way, except that toi also need to provide the actual url of the site to which toi want to link. toi then put this link in the start tag with an "equals" sign. The close tag is unaffected.
For example, if toi wanted to link to the Neverending Story forum game on Fanpop, toi would take the link link and put it in the start tag, to read like this:
[url=http://www.fanpop.com/spots/writing/forum/post/2421], then type the text toi wanted to be that link, then the close tag: [/url]. In that way, toi could write something about link and continue on without cluttering up the post with a long URL.
People know that they can click on links, and will do so if they're curious. Note to users seeing these hyperlinks, though: if toi have any reason to be suspicious of a link that someone has posted, most browsers will let toi see the url without clicking on the link, but just hovering the souris cursor over the link. Then toi can read the url and judge whether it feels sûr, sans danger ou not. Some liens (www.spamspamspamittyspam.com?counter) are going to seem suspect, and so toi shouldn't click on them.
Three things of interest for placing these liens on Fanpop:
i) The url should be absolute. This means that toi should include the link at the beginning. This may not be necessary for all browsers, but it is good practice for people using older browsers, who would be unable to resolve a link like "fanpop.com" over "http://www.fanpop.com"
ii) In case it isn't obvious, the url can be any URL, not just a fanpop one. That way, toi can point to link.
iii) If toi want to reference a particular passage from a particular thread of a particular forum, toi can link to the donné page of that forum. For instance, toi could point to link, which is just the haut, retour au début page of that forum, leaving the user to read through multiple pages to get at the end ou any page in between, ou toi could point to link, if toi wanted to reference, say, link's mention of Mrs. Doubtfire (or anything else on that page).
The way toi do it is simple: just insert /, then the number of the page, then a # and then "comments" after the url of the base forum thread. In the example above, we started with link's movie titles game: link.
Then, to point to page 4 of the thread, we added /4#comments to the end of that, making link as the url to point to page four of that thread.
Finally, I should note that, if toi don't want to substitute text for some obscure URL, toi can still just type the URL, and fanpop will recognize it as an url and will format that text for toi as a link (see the link and www, above: a link that points nowhere - my apologies to any users who actually clicked on that!)
WHERE toi CAN USE TAGS
All this is well and good, but where can toi use these tags on Fanpop? The most obvious place is in soapbox articles like this one. But, toi can also use these tags in any commentaire box on the site, which includes forum thread postings, responses to forum threads, and commentaires on videos, links, images, picks, and articles. Basically, if the content is already there and toi want to post a comment, toi can do it with tags.
WHERE toi CAN'T USE TAGS
toi can't use these tags in the titles ou descriptions of anything toi add to Fanpop: links, articles, videos, images, questions ou their picks. Basically, if toi are adding content to the site, toi cannot format the name ou the description of the content with tags. toi can take some comfort in the fact that toi can immediately commentaire on your addition, and in that commentaire toi can use tags, though.
A WORD OF CAUTION/BEST PRACTICE
So, now toi know how to format your text to be plus interesting, and carry greater emphasis than just putting *asterisks around words*! But realize that too much emphasis can quickly get to be annoying, much like the <blink> tag I mentioned earlier: use that on an HTML page these days, and toi will get pilloried. Much like TYPING IN ALL trophée FOR EXTENDED PERIODS, using too much boldface, italics ou underlining only annoys people, so use these items with moderation. Two final things to keep in mind:
a) Remember to always use a close tag to stop whatever text formatting toi start (if toi don't, the entire contents of your posting will be formatted for emphasis after the start tag)
and
b) Try to stick to a conservative ratio of emphatic ou formatted text to regular text, like no plus than 10% of what toi write should be formatted as bold/italic/underlined, ou linked to a different URL. Doing otherwise will likely get toi reported par your fellow fanpop users.
With all that said, enjoy!
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Here's liens to other parts of the guide for your quick reference:
* link
* 1: link
* 2: link.
* 3: link
* 4: Picks: this is the generic name both for the vote questions that toi see on the site and for the réponses toi can pick to that question. Papa has created a link.
* 5: link
* 6: link
* 7: link
toi may also want to see:
* link feature
* link
