Forumotion (FM) has introduced a new feature: hashtags!  I'm sure some of you are thinking, "Oh...greeeaaaaat..."  However, this has some benefits for us, specifically for tagging characters/gamers.

I've started tagging threads with characters' names.  This allows us to access a specific page for each character's name and see all the posts they're tagged in.  As I play with the feature, I'm working out some rules for it, so I'll be adding to these as we designate scenarios where they can be used.

Here's an example of what a hashtag will look like in your post: #Hlee

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Hashtag Rules

1. Characters'/Gamers' names only.  At this time, please only tag characters' or gamers' names.  I'm assessing the ability to use hashtags to identify threads that are related to the main plot, but haven't decided if this is worthwhile at this point.  If you encounter a situation where you'd like to use some other sort of hashtag, please check with me about it first.
   
2. First post only!  Only tag the character/gamer in the first post to which they're expected to respond.  In the threads I've made so far, all of the tagged characters are expected to respond to info in the very first post, so I put all my hashtags in the very first post.  However, if you've got a thread going with someone else and you decide to involve a third person, then whichever character makes the statement to "go find so-and-so" or whatever should put that character's/gamer's name as a hashtag in THAT post (not in the first post of the thread).
   
3. NO special characters except underscores (_) and hyphens (-).  Unfortunately, non-alpha-numeric characters such as apostrophes break the hashtag, so you need to exclude them from the tag.  For example, use #Hlee instead of #H'lee.  Not sure yet what other characters break them besides apostrophes and back-slashes (\), but if you come across any, please post them here.
   

Feel free to tag yourself (either your gamer tag, e.g. #Kestrana, or your character tag, e.g. #Hlee) so you can keep track of threads you've posted in.  This includes thread-crashing (i.e., you decide to drop in on someone else's thread).

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Finding Hashtag Results

There are five ways to find hashtag results:

• Find a thread with the hashtag in it and click it; this will take you to a search results page showing the post content that the tag is in.
  
• Go to this URL: http://reverie.rpg-board.net/tags/Hlee
  Changing the last portion of the URL to be the hashtag you're searching for.  NOTE: the tags are NOT case-sensitive, so "tlon" and "Tlon" are the same!  This gives you the same results as finding the hashtag in a thread and clicking on it.
  
• Follow hashtags in your profile and click on them whenever you want to check for threads:  http://reverie.rpg-board.net/profile?mode=editprofile&page_profil=tags
  To add the tag, you must include the hash symbol; if you just put in your keywork (e.g., "Hlee"), it will tell you that you've entered an invalid tag.
  
• Go to the advanced search page: http://reverie.rpg-board.net/search, enter the hashtag you want to search for in the "Search for Keywords" field, check the "Tags" checkbox, and click the BOTTOM "Search" button (NOT the "Search Google" button); this will take you to a search results page showing a list of threads that the tag is in.
  
• Go to this URL: http://reverie.rpg-board.net/search?search_keywords=hlee&is_tag=true
  Changing the keywords to be the hashtag you're looking for.  NOTE: the tags are NOT case-sensitive, so "tlon" and "Tlon" are the same!  This gives you the same results as searching from the advanced search page.