Lately, I"ve noticed that there have been quite a few people who have been flustered by some of the features here on GGN. This will be an opportunity to teach the good folks here some of the tricks of the trade. I have had trouble with many of these things in the past, but through trial and error and the useful help of others I have come to learn these things. Good luck! (Anybody who has any other helpful tips to add, please do so in the comments section. They'll be much appreciated.)

Basic Commenting:

1) The Reply Button - when you are responding to someone else, it is always useful to press the "reply" button. If you don't, it monopolizes space and will be very confusing to others who don't know to whom you are in fact responding to.

2) The Preview Button - Sometimes (especially true when posting pictures and when blockquoting) you'll want to preview your comment prior to posting it. Pressing the preview button first will helpo insure that you don't post something by accident.

3) Rec's and Flags - If you like a comment (or for that matter a post), you should "rec" (recommend) the comment or post. A comment that gets 3 rec's becomes green (just look at sanchise's posts) though other blogs might have different standards.

If a comment particularly bothers you (i.e. the guy is being a troll or a major jerk) you should "flag" it and that will be sent to our wonderful moderators (well, rtj is only sometimes wonderful.....)

4) Posting Links - If you want to post links, don't do so in the subject line. Links don't work if they're in the subject line.

5) Blockquote - When quoting something from elsewhere, you should put a blockquote over it. This is done by highlighting the text you wish to use and then then clicking the icon on top that looks quotation marks.

Note: If you are using a quote that has paragraph breaks (meaning single or double spaced in between paragraphs) , then the blockquote will not have the fully desired affect. To correct this, first backspace the quotes before blockquoting (then preview as above to make sure it looks like you want.

Similar things apply when you want to "strikethrough" something you didn't write wrote. Simply highlight the phrase and click the icon that is a "S". Same goes for links (OK. Shameless self promotion right there) and the like.

6) Sarcasm Font - If you want to use sarcasm when commenting, you can show people that you are intending to be funny by using sarcasm font (For the record, there are those - not me - who very much dislike sarcasm font. These people are clearly party poopers). To use sarcasm font, you should put the @ sign immediately before and after the phrase you wish to show to be sarcastic.

It will show up in weird block font with a grey box background.

Note: Sarcasm font takes up a lot of space so you may want to give yourself a lot of room to make it work

7) Spelling - This tip has been the absolute savior for fantastic spellers such as rexthejet. If you use internet explorer, there's no spell check in the comments section / creating fanpost section. However, if you use google chrome (and I think Firefox as well) then you will have spellcheck. People that can spell and have good grammar usually have their points taken more seriously by other commenters.

8) Pictures / GIFS - This one is important and is multi-stepped.

(a) Find a picture or animated GIF that you want to post online. Right click on it and press "copy image url"

(b) in the comment part of your comment (as opposed to the subject) click on the icon that looks like a tree.

(c) Paste the url into the box and press OK

(d) preview your post to make sure the picture came out as intended

Note: When posting a picture or GIF you should always make sure to put something, even just a tiny period, into the subject line. Some people may not like having the picture blasted in their face. If you put a subject in, then they can merely minimize the picture by clicking the subject If you do not post a subject, that picture can't be minimized. This is poor form.