Hello my fellow House-loving Fanpoppers!

Recently, 팬팝 has undergone some mini make-overs, with the introduction of new features such as IM and the 답변 section. And 팬팝 has become a much bigger site, attracting new users and perhaps confusing some of us old-timers! So I thought I would put together a guide to help all Fanpoppers come to grips with everything that goes on in our little 팬팝 world, specifically focusing on the House MD Spot, because we are one of the biggest, most active spots on 팬팝 (Muhahahahahaha!)
So, here are some key things on 팬팝 that I think every Fanpopper should at least consider while they are participating in crazy House fandom. For this guide, I have collected 기사 from all over Fanpop, written 의해 팬팝 users just like 당신 and me, that are intended to help explain certain features, practices and other aspects of 팬팝 in order help all Fanpopper and make 팬팝 a better place. Hopefully, this guide will provide 당신 with a quick, user-friendly reference for issues on Fanpop.


~The Basics

I recommend 읽기 an 기사 written 의해 harold called link. This 기사 explores basic 팬팝 functions like how to find a spot/fan club, how to 팬 other users, how to "favourite" things and so on. harold also provides 링그 to other 기사 in his User Guide, including his 조언 on how to make a spot, how to format your text and how to post links. These 기사 are great reads for new Fanpoppers who are unfamiliar with how 팬팝 works. I highly recommend that new House MD Spot 팬 check out harold's fantastic User Guide articles.


~Medals

Ok, lets get this out of the way quick. For new fans, the medal system is an ever-interesting topic of discussion. Basically, medals are rewards for your efforts in contributing to a spot. No one knows exactly how 당신 get a medal in a spot. All we know is that the 더 많이 content 당신 add, the 더 많이 likely 당신 are to get a medal. BUT WAIT! Before 당신 run off and post masses of crap, 당신 must read an 기사 written 의해 germany123 called link. This 기사 will answer all your 질문 about medals. In addition, there are other issues relating to rating, crediting and repeat content that need to be considered when posting content to a spot, which I will talk about later in this guide. But germany123's 기사 is an excellent place to start if 당신 have any 질문 또는 concerns about 팬팝 medals.


~Crediting

Image crediting is a very tricky issue, especially as it is not compulsory on Fanpop. Basically, image crediting is acknowledging the owner of the image that 당신 are posting. Confused? Don't worry, so is everyone else. There are no set rules for image crediting (despite what some people, including me, will have 당신 believe!), but an 기사 의해 astroasis called link provides some information that many 팬팝 users follow. While I personally do not agree with all the information provided, other people follow all these guidelines without a problem. At this risk of looking like I'm pimping my own work, I have also written an 기사 about image crediting called link, in which I talk about how I image credit and the reasons why it is important to credit images. If 당신 have any 질문 about image crediting I suggest that 당신 read both of those articles. The reality is that there is not agreed upong right way to credit images, but there are definitly some wrong ways (i.e. claiming other people's work as your own).


~Ratings

For those of 당신 who know me, 당신 will know that I am a ratings nut! Rating content is important for a number of reasons, but I believe the most important reason is that ratings give 당신 an indication as to whether the content 당신 are posting is appreciated 의해 users 또는 hated 의해 users. For example, if I post an image that gets rated '1' star, I can assume that people think it is crap, therefore, I could be 더 많이 mindful to not post similar 이미지 in the future. Conversely, if my content gets rated '4' stars, I know that people like it and would probably like it if I 게시됨 similar content. I suggest 읽기 another one of harold's User Guide 기사 called link, as well as an 기사 의해 Cammie called link. Now, from my perspective, image crediting, keywording, titling and repeated content are also very, very important to the rating process, however that is just my opinion and many other people do not rate based on those other aspects of the image. It is up to the individual user how they chose to rate. The important thing is that 당신 rate, and can explain why 당신 rated the content a certain way.


~Keywords & Titles

Lets ignore my pet peeve of people putting "<3" in titles for the moment, and just focus on why keywording and descriptive titles are important. There are a number of 기사 on this suject, so here are 3 great ones:

link 의해 cliff

link also 의해 cliff

And my personal favourite,
link 의해 heeeresjoyce.

I encourage 당신 to take special note to an important point in heeeresjoyce's 기사 about bulk uploads and keywords. If 당신 are posting multiple 이미지 with say different members of the cast of 'House MD', please do not use all of their names as 키워드 unless they are all in every single image. Using "Wilson", "Chase", "Foreman" and "Cuddy" as a 키워드 for a bulk 업로드 of which only one picture of each character renders your 키워드 pretty much useless. 키워드 are there to help other people find the 이미지 when using the 검색 function. For example, if someone were to searcd for a picture Chase, using my 이전 example, pictures of Wilson, Foreman and Cuddy would also appear because the way in which the 키워드 have been used. 키워드 are also important for people searching for content to avoid posting repeated images. If 당신 have used your 키워드 to effectively describe the image, people will be able to 검색 for those 이미지 to avoid posting them again. If 당신 have not given good 키워드 (or any at all!), then it is much 더 많이 likely that people will mistakenly add repeated content.


~Repeated Content & Searching

Repeated content is a HUGE problem in this spot, mainly because it is so big. Firstly, please use the 검색 function to 검색 for content BEFORE 당신 post it. Please read germany123's 기사 called link This 기사 tells 당신 all 당신 need to know about searching and avoiding repeated videos, picks, 링그 and images.
Unfortunately, if people have not used their 키워드 effectively, the 검색 function is not useful to finding the content. Thus, posting reapeated content is a mistake that anyone can make. So, if someone leaves a 코멘트 telling 당신 that 당신 have 게시됨 repeated content, please be aware that 99% of the time, the people leaving these 코멘트 are being very polite and simply informing 당신 of your mistake. Please do not be offended. We all know that this is a very large spot and we cannot expect everyone to be familiar with all the content 게시됨 here. So if someone does inform 당신 that your content is repeated content, please do not get angry about it. Ideally, if someone does inform 당신 that the content 당신 have 게시됨 has already been posted, 당신 should remove it. This is because repeated content clutters up the spot and is also pointless. There is no point in everyone posting the same image of Wilson 300 times, no matter how cute he is. When in comes to picks, it is very, VERY easy to serch for them, so there is not exucse for a repeat pick. People usually get a little angrier about repeat picks because they are so easy to 검색 for. So if 당신 post a repeat pick, people will tell 당신 so, and sometimes less than politely (although that is very naughty! People need to at least try to be polite about it). 더 많이 than likely, your pick will be reported and removed. Don't be upset 의해 this, but use it as a lesson to remember to 검색 before 당신 post.












~Questions/Answers

I have decided to include this section because oh my god people are driving me nuts with it. Here are 3 기사 to help 당신 understand the purpose of the 답변 section:

link 의해 papa

link 의해 Cinders

And,
link 의해 harold.

Please, please, please note that the Questions/Answers section is for asking 질문 that will have a factual answer. link is a good question, because even though there may be some different was to argue and justify the answer, ultimately there will be a difinitive answer available. However, asking 질문 like "Who is your favourite character?" 또는 "Who loves Huddy?!?!?!?!?!" are NOT supposed to be asked in the Questions/Answers section. Such 질문 will only produce OPINION-BASED answers. So, I beg you, read those 3 기사 and think carefully about where 당신 post a question.


~Reporting

Just a small aside, please also read an 기사 on reporting called link 의해 harold. It provides an excellent guide for when to 신고 content 또는 when to just rate it. I think this could be very important as sometimes people over-react (particularly when it comes to shipping...) and 신고 people who have done nothing wrong except express an alternative point of view. So I definitely encourage 당신 to read this article.




So that is my little guide to point people in the right direction if there is something about 팬팝 또는 the House MD Spot that is confusing them. I have tried to present a few different points of view, as there are definitely some aspects of some of the 기사 that I have recommend that I do not agree with, but we all have different perspectives on things. So even if 당신 don't agree with the ideas in the articles, sometimes the 코멘트 that other people make on the 기사 will be of some benefit to you, so I suggest that 당신 not only read the articles, but also read the 코멘트 that other users leave on the articles.

Of course, all of this stuff applies to all spots on Fanpop. I had just noticed a few issues creeping in lately because during the House MD off-season, 팬 often look for ways to fuel there House addiction 의해 joining 팬 clubs like Fanpop, so repeated content and other general missunderstanding increase in occurance.

I hope that this guide points someone in the right direction, and as always, feel free to 코멘트 with any thoughts 당신 have on these issues, especially if 당신 feel as though there is something that I have not covered in this guide.