Q: Where did Seasoned Gamers come from?
A: Seasoned Gamers was founded just before the launch of Halo 2. Jamo, like many others here, was a member of the xbox.com forums. He was witness to all the badgering, name calling, shouting, poor sportsmanship, backwards driving, etc. etc. that flooded Live and the message boards. What he originally had planned was to make a post in the Halo 2 discussion forum, seeking anyone who was an adult, mature, and just wanted to play the game for the love of the game. Basically, he wanted some good people to start filling up his friends list. Friends that had the same background as him (ie. Spouse, kids, mortgage, bills, chores, etc.), people that he could level with, and people that he trusted would make a great game even better by offering a solid play experience. So, he made the post, and the people came. Within a couple days there were over 50 names on this list. Jamo was shocked, couldn't believe the amount of response. One of the guys on the list, jlov18t, said something along the lines of, "Wouldn't it be great if we had our OWN place on the net to post, as opposed to here on xbox.com"! Instantly Jamo's gears were turning, he worked hard over the next couple of days, and on October 22, 2004 Seasoned Gamers was born. Within one week we had attracted over 100 people. We quickly became a "family" and haven't looked back since.
Q: What is SG about?
A: Our goal here at SeasonedGamers.com is to provide a relaxed atmosphere for adults to chat without being bothered or annoyed by the more immature types that you mostly find on the internet and on Xbox live.
Q: What is SG NOT about?
A: If you enjoy intentionally team killing, verbally abusing other players, using a modded console or cheating in any way, or being a tool on the forums…don't let the door hit you on the way out.
Q: I just signed up and want to be a part of SG! What should I do first?
A: Welcome to SG! The first thing you should do is introduce yourself to the rest of the community. Head on over to the 'Welcome!' forum and create a new post for yourself. Tell us a bit about yourself so we get an idea of who you are and what you're looking for here. In a short amount of time you will start getting replies from current SG-ers. Feel free to use this space to ask questions about SG that is not covered here
Q: Do I have to use my gamertag as my forum name?
A: This is not a rule, but it is something we recommended. Using your GT sometimes cuts down on any confusion when sending out friend requests. If you do choose to use your tag as your forum name, and then decide to change your gamertag, send a PM to Jamo or one of the mods so they can change your forum name for you as well.
Q: Is it required that I fill out all of the information in my profile?
A: No, you should fill out as much as you fell comfortable with, but we do request that you fill in your gamertag, even if it is the same as your login. Doing this will allow others to send messages and/or friend requests to your 360… directly from the forums!!
Q: Is there a proper way to surf the forums?
A: No, there is no right or wrong way to go about browsing the forums, although use of the "view new content" link seems to work the best for most members. Others explore the forum and find the places that interest them, and check those areas for new posts. However you choose to do it is entirely up to you.
Q: How do I insert my gamercard into my signature?
A: To insert your gamercard, click the "my controls" link on the forums page. Then look on the left side of your screen for "Edit Signature" and click-it. This will open your signature page allowing you to make changes. In the first line of your signature, insert the following line:
[gamercard]your gt[/gamercard]
Be sure that you enter it exactly as your gamertag appears on xbl. For example, using my GT, it would look like this
[gamercard]SG Steelhead[/gamercard]
Q: What is this "warning meter" thing below my avatar and how come nobody else has one??
A: The warning meter is a tool available to the moderators and/or admins for the purpose of warning a member who has either broken a rule or acted in some other non-SG' like fashion. Each member can only see his own meter. One of moderators, SG Jaycurl was recently asked about the warning meter on the forums. Here was his response, which sums it up very well.... "Most of the people that we've had to warn (which are very few) have ultimately gotten banned. If you're respectful to people in the forums and don't do bad stuff when playing online, you won't have anything to worry about."
Q: Dude, where's my avatar??
A: Can't see your avatar? There could be several reasons why this is happening. There are rules for avatars that must be followed to ensure yours is not removed. No pornographic images, racial slogans, profanity of any type, or drug references can be used in any way, shape or form. Avatars also may NOT be animated and must be at least 80x80 in size but no larger than 100x100. If you have a pic you would like to use as your personal avatar, but do not know how to resize it, I would suggest making a post asking for help on a picture re-size. There are many SG'ers talented in the field of digital graphics design and you will normally have no problem at all getting the help you need.
Q: While browsing the forums yesterday I noticed that some people have sweet looking banners under their name that say "SG Sponsor" and "SG Live", how do I get one of those???
A: The SG Sponsor banner is a reward given to those who have donated to SG, while the SG Live banner is Jamo's way of recognizing those who have went the extra mile in representing SG by inserting it into their gamertag.
Q: How do I insert a photo into my post?
A: Images cannot be uploaded directly from your computer to the SG forums. To insert images you first need to locate an image hosting service. Some like photobucket.com but there are many of these sites available at no cost. After uploading your photo to the hosting service you will usually see your photo with a series of links below it. One of these links should be labeled "image url". Highlight this link and cut or copy it to the clipboard and return to the SG forums. Open the posting window and paste the url into the body of the message. It should look similar to this: (minus the asterisks) [img*]http://i65.photobuck...picturename.jpg[*/img] Click "preview post" to ensure that image has been properly uploaded. Once you have verified that the image is visible, you may then submit your post.
Q: How do I insert a hyperlink into the text of my post?
A: You may have seen other SG'ers post a link that shows up as a word in bold - underlined text rather than an actual web address and wondered how they did this. Well, it is very simple. Type your post, word for word, as you would like it to be viewed. Then go back and highlight the word, or series of words, that you would like to be the link. After highlighting the text, click the "insert link" button, which looks like a blue globe with two yellow links of chain in front of it. A window will then pop up asking for the URL (web address) of the page to which you would like to link. Type in, or paste, the url in this box and click done. Wah-lah! You have just created a text link!
Q: What is a "Mod" and what do they do??
A: Mod is short for moderator. These guys and gals are the "cops" and "customer service reps" of SG. They are available to answer any questions you have regarding SG or they will at least point you in the right direction to get the answers you need. They are also responsible for enforcing the rules at the site. They are a great group of people and will treat you with respect when hashing out any problems. As long as you conduct yourself in a mature and respectful manner these people will end up being someone you can consider a friend.
Q: I'm not a mod, but I saw someone use a racial slur… what should I do?
A: If the problem hasn't been dealt with yet, it would be best to contact a mod via a personal message. We do our best at SG to "self-police" our forums, but if you decide to attempt this, do so in a mature manner. Calling the person a name is not going to solve the problem. Simply tell the person that what they said was inappropriate and not "SG-Like". Normally members will deal with this problem quickly and efficiently but if the guilty party maintains belligerence, a mod will need to step in and take control of the situation. Our mods at SG are: SG Blackzipper, DaddyO, KillerAssClown, SG Stretch, Tupalev, SG Jaycurl, Citizen Oni, SG Roshambo Ya, Ark Malmeida and Wicked Catfish.
Q: What does it mean to subscribe to a forum topic?
A: Subscribing to a topic will enable email notification each time someone posts in the thread to which you subscribed. You will receive an email stating "member-name has posted a reply in topic
Q: Yesterday I posted a link to a hilarious video I found online and wanted to share. Someone replied saying that I had "Killed a Kitten". What the heck does that mean???
A: Killing a Kitten is a term used for posting a topic that has already been posted in the past. To avoid this, please use the forums search tool to check back and see if anyone else has already posted the material you are planning to share. By not searching first, there is an approx 89.5% chance that Citizen Oni will humiliate you by finding the older post and replying with the link
Q: Why can't we talk about Politics and Religion on the SG forums?
A: As you know, our group was formed as an outlet for gamers to play together without the woes experienced in standard MM games. Although we do not adhere strictly to "gaming talk", we do try to limit any discussions that may result in permanent problems between fellow SG members. People in general tend to have very strong feelings on these two subjects and we feel that avoiding them at SG could tend to prevent a lot of long-term ill feelings between members.
Q: Hey, wait a minute. I saw a thread that was obviously political in nature. It even said "Warning: Politics!" on it! What's up with that? Is it some sort of double standard??
A: In short: Yes… not so much a double standard, but this site is self policed and as such, people/ideas tend to get the benefit of the doubt. There have been and probably will be discussions that involve political and faith based matters, some are tangent topics that spin off of a thread, and others are just naturally connected to a gaming topic like game ratings and youth violence. We generally avoid these discussions because of the risk of dividing the community we've come to love. We understand that some people here have the ability to discuss these matters in a civil and respectful manner and ask that anyone who partakes in such dialogs, to be nice and avoid flame wars. Unlike other forums, people here can agree to disagree and do so without taking things personally. If you venture into one of these threads, know that you are on a short leash and that the topic can and will be closed/removed without warning. We respect freedom of speech but in all honesty, the terms of usage were made clear and approved when you joined… be respectful and you should have little problem, cross the lines and you might get a chance to experience the seldom used "warning system" built in to keep members in line with the T.O.U. and preserve the culture of the community.
Q: What sort of games do SG-ers play?
A: The diverse community of SG accommodates all genres of games. It shouldn't be hard to find someone who shares your enthusiasm for a certain type of game. However, you should know that SG was initially created around Halo 2, and while many members have since turned to other games, we are still almost completely an Xbox Live based community (with a PC game or two in as well, mostly World of Warcraft). We don't turn away those who don't play Xbox, but chances are good you'll have a hard time finding someone to play SOCOM on the PS2 with.
Q: I've got Xbox Live, and I want to play with SG-ers! What should I do? Also, what do 'FR' and 'FL' mean?
A: FL stands for your Xbox Live Friends List, and an FR is a Friend Request. To get into games with SG-ers, you need to get on their FLs so you can be invited into games. You can feel free to send an FR out to anyone in SG, but because may SG-ers are wary of getting a non-SG-er onto their FL, please be sure to put 'SG' into the text of the FR. That way we know you're from the site. Of course, not all games let you put text into a FR, so your best bet is to find one that does and use that for sending out your FRs (Halo 2 is one game that allows text in FRs). Your 'Welcome!' thread is a great place to start when looking for people to send FRs out to. When you do manage to get into a game, send FRs out to the other players in the game with you to quickly build a list of people who like to play the games that you play.
Q: I tried sending out Friend Requests, but everyone's list is full! What do I do?
A: SG is a large enough community that many people a close to or at the maximum number of friends (which is 100). Many of us don't even realize that our FL is full, so please don't take it personally and don't get discouraged. If someone asked you to send him or her an FR, then send him or her a PM (Personal Message) on the forum that you tried. They should be willing to create some space for you.
Q: I had this one guy on my Friends List yesterday, but now he's not. Why did he drop me? I didn't do anything wrong! What's with this jerk??
A: A lot of SG-ers have very full FLs, and so in order to make room they will sometimes drop someone that they don't see very much. It's nothing personal. We don't have (any/many) jerks at SG, so please don't get upset at the person who dropped you. If you'd like to be back on their FL, just ask and they'll make room for you if they can.
Q: I love it here and would like to help. How can I make a donation to SG?
A: There are several ways you can go about helping out here at SG: 1. You may make donations directly to SG by using PayPal 2. You can use your control panel to donate LINK 3. If shopping at Amazon.com, link to them through SG and a portion of the proceeds will go to the site 4. Purchase great gamergear at the SG Shop!
