Are you new in town? Unfamiliar with what to do first? Pop in and take a look at several helpful guides to get you settled into your new home! You'll also find Mayoral announcements to keep you abreast of the latest developments!
1.Welcome: Welcome to the Town of Odyssey, or, as it's often referred to as, the ToO! We're are so glad that you joined this fine community. Below you'll find some helpful information that will help you as you learn your way around the site. If you have any questions, you can always reach out to a member of management.
Feel free to introduce yourself to the community, and we hope you enjoy your time here.
Are you new in town? Unfamiliar with what to do first? Pop in and take a look at several helpful guides to get you settled into your new home! You'll also find Mayoral announcements to keep you abreast of the latest developments in The Steps of City Hall !
If there's something on your mind that just doesn't seem to fall into any of the other categories, well, it quite likely belongs inside Joe Finneman's marketplace. Think of it as a general store for general discussions!
Whit's wiping down the counter, Connie's mopping the floor, and the kids are sipping on their milkshakes. If you want to talk about Adventures in Odyssey the radio drama, this is the spot to do just that! You can also review episodes or partake in AIO podcast discussions.
Are youse looking for quality electronics at a fair price? Well, come on down to The Electric Palace where we have everything youse are looking for! While money can't be earned by posting here, youse'll find great deals on nonsense of all kinds. So what are youse waiting for? Join the conversations that just don't quite fit anywhere else!
The place where role players come to play! If you want to start an interactive war, chat with real citizens of the town, or find other uses for your faction, this field can accommodate those desires. As with anything else, please try to keep your role playing appropriate... but you're still welcome to have a little fun!
This forum is home to contests of all various shapes and sizes. Members are welcome to start and participate in contests on this board.
At the Second Church of Odyssey you'll find different ways of expressing your beliefs, finding prayer support or being encouraged through regular devotionals.
No two people are the same and while the Town of Odyssey is designed to facilitate many different types of discussions, there are many categories of discussions that are of little interest to other people. Many factions have open membership and are created for people with similar interests or hobbies to get together and talk about those interests. These are private boards, visible only to those who are in the faction, which limits the number of uninteresting topics overwhelming members who have no interest in the discussions. These private boards also help categorize similar posts into one place, so that it is easier to find topics that interest you.
Below is a list of some of the open-member factions that may appeal to you:
All the World's a Stage Description: For the Drama Kings or Queens of this board, where we discuss acting, plays we are in or trying out for, and acting techniques.
The Manly Man Faction Description: Where manly men do manly things in a manly environment with Manly Wilder
Campbell College Debate Society Moderators: Ayn Rand - CCDS moderators are subject to change every four month term. Description: The faction for those who love to debate!
Join these and other great factions by using the link below.
The Ruins of the Town of Odyssey is a special section that holds the very history of this site. From story arcs, to the celebrations of seasons like fall and winter. Plus archives for past ToO elections and a whole lot more.
First, there are 2 ways to post a reply to a topic. There is a quick reply, and then a regular full reply page. At the bottom of every topic page, there is the quick reply box. It looks like this:
It's a basic text box without the extra bells and whistles. Simply type your message, hit submit, and you're good to go!
If you hit the Post Reply button right above the Quick Reply box, you will see a similar page come up. Type any message you want. You can add smilies either by clicking on the one you want to the left of the reply box, or by typing the code if you know it. For example, typing
makes a simple smilie. If you wish to change the color of your text, highlight it and click the color on the right that you want. To learn how to use the BBCode buttons, see "Using BBCode."
Below where you type your message, there are options you can choose from:
Make sure the first two boxes are unchecked so smilies and formatting will work correctly. If you wish to have your signature attached, make sure that is checked. You also have the option of whether to get emails when the topic is updated.
If you want to include an attachment on your post, select browse files, choose the files you want, and hit add the file. It will then be available to place in your post. After attached, you can select "Display inline" to have it appear in the body of your message.
Using BBCode:
BBCode is how to format your text. You can read a guide on how BBCode works HERE - it includes instructions on how to make your text bold, italicized, or underlined, change the color and size, make lists, how to quote people, and how to insert images and links into your post.
Below are explanations of how to use the other custom options available.
Bible: This will automatically display the verses you want without you having to type it out. Here's how the code will look:
— aiowiki: If there is an article on AIOWiki about something you write about, enclosing the text in the aiowiki tags will automatically link to the article. Example:
spoiler: Spoiler tags are useful if there is information in your post others may not wish to see. Also, if there are large pictures or blocks of text, you can put it in spoiler tags so the page won't take quite as long to load.
At the top of every forum, there is a button that says "New Topic."
Click, and it will bring up a page similar to the regular reply page. There are a few more options to choose from. First, you have to make sure to fill in the topic title, and you can also choose to write a topic description and choose an icon.
The other option is adding a poll, and is found at the bottom underneath the attachment section. You don't have to add a poll, so just leave everything blank if you don't want one. If you do, fill out the Poll Question box with the question you want to ask. Then add your answer choices to the box below. Example:
You can choose whether to let people vote for 1 or more options, run it for a limited time or let it stay open indefinitely, hide the poll results until the time is up, and whether or not to let people change their vote.
After titling the topic, writing your message, and deciding to add a poll or not - you're all done and ready to hit submit!
How to use private messaging:
A private message is almost like an email message that you can send to one or members on the board. It's not publicly posted, hence the term private message.
To get to your inbox, look at the top left of your screen. You can access your PMs by clicking on the new messages button or by going to your User Control Panel and clicking on the private messages tab.
When you bring up the inbox, you can see a list of options in a box on the left.
Starting out, you have the Inbox for PMs you receive, the Outbox for ones you send that have not been read yet, the Sentbox for those sent that HAVE been read, and Saved messages. You have the option of creating extra folders for whatever purposes you want by clicking on Rules, folders, & settings and naming and adding a new folder.
You can create many different kinds of custom rules for your messages - for example, if you create a folder for Messages from Friends, you can make a rule that says all PMs from friends go automatically to that folder. Experiment and see what you want to do!
To send a new message, click on the Compose Message button. This is basically just like a post, but you have to add the username of the person/s you want to send it to. You can click Find a Member if you can't remember the exact name or spelling. You can add multiple people, as well as selecting one of the premade groups on the side. For example, selecting the Mayoral Team for your recipient will send your message to the current mayor and chief of police as well as Catspaw, the head admin. You can also choose to BCC (blind carbon copy) another member in addition to the main recipient and no one will see that that they were sent it as well.
Once you type in the names you want or click the group, click the Add [To] or Add [BCC] buttons.
One difference between posts and PMs is that you can save your private messages in a draft to finish later. To access your drafts, go to Manage PM Drafts, and load the one you want to finish.
There are some special features on The Town of Odyssey that are sure to enhance your time here.
Odyssey Chat is a great place for general discussions, and often for special board-wide commentaries and chats. You'll need a "nickname" to chat, and have the option of using Mibbit, Java or IRC chat programs (which are explained at the chat site).
Notifications: The ToO provides many different ways to keep informed about the latest happenings. One of the best ways is our nifty notifications panel. Instead of filling up your email inbox with messages any time something new happens, our board notifies you right on the site instead.
You’ll get a little red-ish “unread notifications” indicator next to the bell icon in the top right of the yellow navigation bar.When you click this, you’ll get a drop-down list of all the notifications you’ve received.
And when you click the ‘settings’ link in the top right of the notifications drop-down, you’ll be taken to a page of the User Control Panel (UCP) where you can configure how and when you’d like to be notified of different activities on the message boards, including the option of having emails sent to you.
Mentions: Working together with our notification system, we have implemented a mentions system that works similarly to mentions on most social networking sites.
When composing a new topic or writing a reply to a topic, simply type in an “at symbol” (@) followed by a users’ name. A little dialog will appear suggesting usernames you can mention. Either select the name you’d like or hit enter to select the top option that’s highlighted.
When you @mention someone, they’ll get a notification that they were mentioned in your post along with a link to jump directly to read what you wrote.
5.Elections and Special Events: Elections occur every four months on the Town of Odyssey. An election board will be set up three months into each term for the teams hoping to be elected. The team, consisting of a Mayor and Chief of Police (COP), can create a thread to begin their campaign. In order to to officially be on the ballot, teams must gain support from their fellow members. The teams earn support by persuading the citizens of the board PM Catspaw with their support by what the teams are offering for their term in their official campaign thread.
Once a team has raised the proper support, they are granted a faction for their team head quarters where they can discuss the election and share new ideas with their supporters. At the end of the fourth month, a poll will be held to decide the winning team.
Moderators, or mods, are chosen by each newly elected team to keep the board running smoothly. These people are chosen for the position based on their behavior on the board: if they follow all the rules, if their posts are meaningful, and if they are all-around upstanding citizens.
Birthday threads for the Town of Odyssey are created to celebrate the day that Shadowpaw created the ToO on April 1, 2005. There will be a board-wide celebration, so grab your friends and come join the party!
Special events can occur during any team's term who wish to provide a board-wide fun activity. Different events that have taken place in the past are the AIO Risks and Rewards, Mayor for a Weekend, and different holiday celebrations.
Newb - Newb, n00b, or newbie can have a couple of meanings. One, it's simply a member who is new to the board. Second, it is someone who is still getting used to things so they may spam, have bad grammar, and other non-desirable posting skills. Once you form some relationships, post maturely, and are comfortable on the board, you won't be considered a newb!
NPC - This stands for Non-Playing Character. Essentially, on the ToO it means characters like Whit and Eugene who are controlled by other members for story arcs and such. (See below for explanation of story arcs.) They will post as if they really are the Odyssey character.
PM - Private message, explained above.
RPG - Role-Playing Game. If you like to make up characters and act out stories, you may enjoy role playing in Gower's Field. Read a Newbie Guide here.
Spam - Spam is undesirable posting behavior. This can be posting a LOT of short posts, posting on months old topics, off-topic posts, and posting just to get money and/or boost your post count.
Shadowpaw - Shadowpaw is the founder of the Town of Odyssey. He opened the board on April 1, 2005 and was the head administrator for a couple years. While he has had to leave for real life, he may pop in occasionally just to say hi.
Story arcs - One unique thing about this board are the story arcs that take place. There is a secret panel of ToO members who work on story arcs and control the NPCs. Things happen on the board such as Regis Blackgaard coming back, Bennett Charles taking over the board, etc. Usually the bad guys are up to no good, and the members of the ToO are supposed to jump in and help foil their plans. Often there are clues and codes to be found, and everyone works together to figure out what to do.
TH - The Town Hall. This was an AIO message board that preceded the ToO. Shadowpaw and other older members were once members there before he opened this board.
Town Council - The Town Council is an administration of more than 2 members to help lead the town during a term. This concept was first used in 2016 to help balance the workload across several elected officials.
WE - Whit's End, where you can talk about all things related to Adventures in Odyssey.
If you wish to change the color of your text, highlight it and click the color on the right that you want. To learn how to use the BBCode buttons, see "Using BBCode."
