Easy Guide to SquidU's Lensmaster Lounge
SquidU contains many kinds of resources to help you learn Squidoo. The Lensmaster Lounge is the heart of the Squidoo community, the forum where members can share favorite Squidoo tips, ask questions, and get to know fellow Lensmasters!
SHORTCUTS! Jump to:• Setting Your Avatar & Signature
• How to make Links, Bold, Italics
• Titles Under People's Names
• Where Can I Post About...?
Disclaimer: The author of this lens is an ordinary Squidoo user just like you. I am NOT Squidoo staff! If you have questions about Squidoo, SquidU, or need technical help, please post in the Lensmaster Lounge's Help Forum.
Quick Poll: Are You a Lounge Lizard?
Getting Started: Setting Up Your Profile
First things first: set up your profile.- Go to the Lounge. Click the Login tab, if it says at upper left that you're not logged into the forum.
- Once you're logged in, you should see four tabs (pictured). Click the Profile tab.
- To add a small graphic that appears next to your posts: Choose "Personality" from the lefthand menu, then "Upload Avatar". Then browse your computer for a graphic to upload. Your avatar (icon) may be up to 60x60 pixels and no larger than 10K.
- While in the "Personality" menu, you may want to add a signature, text that appears beneath all your posts. Many folks include links to their best lenses. See below for how to do links.
- Browse the other options in your Profile to see if there's anything else you want to set up. You can come back later, of course!
- To add a small graphic that appears next to your posts: Choose "Personality" from the lefthand menu, then "Upload Avatar". Then browse your computer for a graphic to upload. Your avatar (icon) may be up to 60x60 pixels and no larger than 10K.
- Click the "Index" tab near the top of the page to get back to the Forums. READ THE RULES at the top. There's only a few, but breaking them could get you banned!
- Now, you'll probably want to Introduce Yourself if you haven't already, or go to the Critique Me... sub-forum to get feedback on a lens you've made. (The "Post New Topic" button is at the far right above a sub-forum).
Using BBCodes On Discussion Forums
How to Add Links, Images, Smilies, Bold Text, and More!
BBCode, short for Bulletin Board Code, is a set of codes in brackets [] that let you add links, images, and formatting to your posts on discussion forums. Many online forums use BBCode instead of HTML, because certain mistakes in HTML can screw up the rest of a page.Here's the most useful BBCodes:
To Make Links
[url]http://www.squidoo.com/mylens[/url] makes http://www.squidoo.com/mylens
[url=http://www.squidoo.com/mylens]Click this link[/url] makes Click this link
To Make Bold or Italic Text
[b]This text will be bold[/b] [i]This text will be italic[/i]
To Make Smilies
They're silly, but they help make up for the fact that you can't tell tone of voice from text. For example, ;) makes
.Below the reply box at the bottom of each thread, there's a "Smilies" link to the complete list of smilies.
There's a few other codes available. At the bottom of each thread, below the reply box, there's a "BBCode" link that will give you...
the complete list of BBCodes.
Note: BBCode work in Discussion forums ONLY! Your own lenses use HTML.
Titles Under Squidoo Members' Names
Squidizens, Giant Squids, Moderators and More!
You may notice that some people have titles under their names like "Landlubber" or "Got Yer Sea Legs". These are just for fun! Titles change depending on how many posts you've made. You start with "My.First.Post.Ever.com" and then, "Newbie!"There are also Moderators/Mods, in charge of keeping order in the forum; Squid Staff, official employees of Squidoo; Giant Squids, lensmasters with 50+ quality lenses; and Citizen Squids, a rotating thinktank of experienced lensmasters chosen by the Squidoo Team. See The Giant Squids (and how to become one) and the Citizen Squids (Squidizens) HQ for more info on these two groups. For a who's who of the Squidoo Team, see About Squidoo.
There are also Squid Angels, whose blessings to your lens will give it a small lensrank boost. Be careful! For quality purposes, they can't bless a lens that's sloppy and doesn't meet their standards. Read Megan's thread about Squid Angels for more information, or Squid Angel rksmythe's helpful What I Look For in a Lens.
(Tip: There's no forum icon for "Fresh Squids," but I want to let newbies know about Fresh Squid Headquarters, which helps promote newbies' lenses, holds a monthly contest for the best newbie lenses, and has a great tips/help blog at the bottom of the page!)
Where to Post What in the Lensmasters Lounge
Newbie Guide to Squidoo Sub-Forums
Post your messages in the right sub-forum, and please don't spam by posting the same message in multiple forums!Here's a partial list of the Lensmaster Lounge sub-forums, showing those most useful for newbies. Be sure to check the "Sticky Threads" at the top of most sub-forums for VERY important information.
- New? Introduce Yourself is where you can say hello.
- Critique Me... is where you post a link to a lens you've made that you want feedback about (not just to advertise; that goes in the Lenses We Like sub-forum).
- Help, Please! is where to ask questions about how Squidoo works, or any problems you've run into while making lenses. As with the Critique forum, remember those answering questions are members just like you, but more experienced, who want to be helpful!
- Tricks of the Trade is where to learn from other Squidoo members. See the Crash Course sticky thread in this forum for links to a TON of how-to lenses to help you learn to Squidoo!
- The Squid Angels forum is where you can share links to your very best, finished lenses, and if they meet the Angels' high standards, they'll get a blessing, which boosts your lensrank slightly. Read the "Angel's Personal Note" thread at the top of this forum to see what they're looking for!
- Scroll down to the Lenses We Like forum to share links to some of your best lenses. Before you post here, I recommend reading A Word About Self Promotion, the sticky thread in the "New? Introduce Yourself!" forum.
"Got questions?
Drop by SquidU
and ask in the
Help Forum!"
Useful Lenses About Squidoo
Below are a few lenses that you may find helpful. Also, DON'T MISS the Crash Course in Squidooing thread in the Tricks of the Trade forum for many free, useful "How to Squidoo" lenses put together by various Lensmasters.-
Basic HTML for Squidoo
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You can use basic HTML in a few of the lens modules. Mostly used to create hyperlinks (they are the "live links" to other sites). Though there are also other uses for HTML. If you find yourself in need of quick tutorial on how to do it, her...
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SquidDon't!
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It's simple: given our pedigree, our point of view and our dyed-in-the-wool, we-will-never-change-our-mind conviction on this issue, spam is not okay at Squidoo. This page outlines our thinking on the issue. It supplements our terms of service. Don'...
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GreekGeek's Squidoo Tips: How to Get Your Lens Found
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So, you want to learn how to build successful Squidoo lenses (or any kind of webpage), attract web traffic, and get your Squidoo lens found by Google! This three-part tutorial covers: Learn the Secrets of My Squidoo Success!Part I: Ten Steps to Build...
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Squidoo Payday Questions & Answers
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It never fails, every month on payday the same questions are being asked in the SquidU forum. Most of them by new lensmasters, but surprisingly, there's also quite a bit of confusion among some who have been around for a while. Figuring out how the...
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CSS Codes: Making Webpages Look Great
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This easy CSS Reference Guide shows you how to format paragraphs, margins, and more on your Squidoo lens (or any webpage). Normally, Squidoo does this for you, but sometimes you need more control. CSS codes give you that control. SHORTCUTS! Jump to...
Typical Squidoo Traffic
Newbies! You can click "skip voting" to see the results and still vote later.
Squidoo Vets! Help newbies out by answering this poll. If you have had a published lens on Squidoo for at least 3 months...
The Squidblog
The Squidblog is where members of the Squidoo Administration Team post news, comments, and announcements of interest to Squidoo members and the net at large.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byMoneymaking on Squidoo
Newbies! You can click "skip voting" to see the results and still vote later.
Experienced Lensmasters! Help give newbies some idea what to expect. If you have received Squidoo payments for at least 3 months...
Here's my favorite link:
by Greekgeek
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