Using FoodieMagic.com

[admin]

Welcome to FoodieMagic.com forums & we look forward to your participation in various forums here.

Please take some time to go through these question-answers that would help you to use this site better.If you have a question that is not answered here, you can ask it in This Site forum.

• How can I use the languages - English & Marathi?
  
  The top navigation bar contains a drop-down that allows you to choose either English or Marathi (मराठी) as your typing language. When you choose Marathi (मराठी), you can type in phonetic Marathi in the following fields -
  
  Search Box on the top
  Post Subject Box
  Post Body/Contents
  Reply Subject
  Reply Body
  Quick Reply
  
  Please note that interface of this site will be in English irrespective of the language you choose. Likewise, all the announcements, rules, instructions will be posted in English only.
  
  Other text inputs fields such as Profile information, signature etc. will only allow inputs in English. You can copy-paste text in Marathi in those input fields if you want.
  
  
• Which languages can be used on this site?
  
  Please use only English & Marathi (मराठी) using Roman & Devnagari script respectively on this site.
  
  Moreover, please post in appropriate language in appropriate forums. i.e. Marathi posts should go under one of the Marathi forums and English should go under one of the English forums. Please follow this while posting your comments as well. This would help us to keep the forums more organized and will not force the moderators to move posts frequently.
  
  
• Why use these two languages?
  
  Well, this site is bi-lingual in terms of user contents. Thus, the members can create their posts in either Marathi or English. The site interface remains only in English though.
  
  There are many users who can read English quite well, but prefer to type their posts/contents in Marathi, and on the other hand there are several users who can read Marathi but prefer to type their posts/contents in English. We hope that both these types of users would find the other section interesting enough to browse. Of course there is large variety of users who can read/type in both these languages comfortably and we request them to contribute generously to both the sections, viz. Marathi & English.
  
  This is how we conceptualized this site and we plan to run it as an experiment this way.
  
  
• Why interface & announcements are not in Marathi?
  
  Two things here -
  (1) Interface - The forum software (phpBB) does not yet have a Marathi translation available.
  
  (2) Announcements/Instructions - It is faster to create & maintain important announcements/instructions in a single language.
  
  Moreover, we believe majority of Marathi reading internet users can understand English quite well but not all those who understand English can understand Marathi, so we have decided to keep it this way.
  
  
• How to use this forum software?
  
  There is a list of comprehensive FAQ available about various aspects of phpBB forums. Please go through it for details. This link is also available in the top navigation bar.
  
  Please note that not all the features mentioned in these FAQs are supported on this site.
  
  
• Could you please tell me more about FoodieMagic.com?
  
  FoodieMagic.com was launched on 31 March 2014, which also happened to be a long weekend due to Gudhipadva (गुढीपाडवा). FoodieMagic.com is hosted and run by Manish Hatwalne with the help of few friends & moderators who keep this site running smoothly.
  
  FoodieMagic.com is friendly community for all foodies. We hope to make it a vibrant online community for all food lovers where they can share and find valuable information & discussions related to food.
  
  All members are requested to maintain friendly & cordial communications in this community to help it prosper. Please save all those heated political debates and controversial discussions for more suitable sites, and just enjoy food related discussions here in all the forums. Though we may allow some fun & diversions, any inappropriate discussion, post, comment will be handled suitably by the administrators and moderators at their sole discretion.
  
  We believe that all those who enjoy good food have good temperament, so we hope that this site will reflect that goodwill through its members.
  
  
• Who are the moderators of FoodieMagic.com?
  
  This list of moderators shows administrators, global moderators and other moderators of the site. This list is also displayed as 'The team' link at the bottom of the forums on right hand side.
  
  Please note that these moderators are volunteers here and use their spare time to help FoodieMagic.com community to keep those forums running smoothly. They would be happy to help you whenever needed, but they may have their own constraints in terms of time availability.
  
  
• How do you deal with contents copied from other sites?
  
  You can definitely post your own recipes, contents from your own blog or any other site on FoodieMagic.com. Likewise, you can also use your own contents from FoodieMagic on any other site or blog.
  
  However, if a specific post/reply is found to be using plagiarized contents, we will immediately delete that post and the member who posted those contents will be given a warning. If he/she repeatedly violates the site rules (about plagiarism or any other rule) he may get banned or removed from this site.
  
  If you find any plagiarized posts here, please report that post with necessary details and evidences.

[admin]

• Is registration free on FoodieMagic.com?
  
  Yes - absolutely! You can join FoodieMagic.com for free and feel free to participate in any of the available forums. We intend to keep it free as long as possible, though we may choose to charge a small amount for 'Events' forum in the future.
  
  Meanwhile, you may click on some advertisements that we display here to support us!
  
  
• How do I register?
  
  You're most welcome! Please read terms & conditions before registering. There are two options available for registration -
  
  (1) Site Registration - You can use 'Register' link on the top navigation bar to register yourself on this site.
  
  (2) Registration Using Social Login - You can also use your Google, Facebook or Twitter account to register and log-in to this site. In this case, click on the appropriate icon on the top navigation bar and proceed further. Separate site registration is not required in this case.
  
  In either case, you must verify your email address before your registration is complete and before you can start using these forums.
  
  As of now, you do not require administrator/moderator approval for accepting registration/membership.
  
  
• How does 'Social Login' work?
  
  We use third party plug-in (OneAll) to allow social log-in on this site. It authenticates you with the corresponding site (Google, Facebook, Twitter etc.) and passes authentication token that we can use on this site via plug-in. We cannot know your password for that corresponding site (Google, Facebook, Twitter etc.).
  
  It is just a convenient way of registration & log-in for many of us so that we don't need to remember & enter user-name & password.
  
  You can read more about social log-in here - Wikipedia on Social Login
  
  
• What do you mean by 'A Cook In The Making', 'Chef', 'Master Chef' etc.?
  
  These are the ranks that we have created to recognize contribution of our members. They are explained below.
  
  Member Ranks
  
  
  1. A Cook In The Making - This is the default rank you get when you join this site. Posts Count: 0 to 24.
  2. Cook - Once you finish 25 posts, you are given this rank. Posts Count: 25 to 49.
  3. Junior Chef - The chef ranks start when you complete 50 posts. Posts Count: 50 to 99.
  4. Chef - - You become chef once you reach a century of your posts. Posts Count: 100 to 499.
  5. Senior Chef - A respectable community member with 500 or more posts. Posts Count: 500 to 999.
  6. Expert Chef - A highly valuable community member with 1000 or more posts. Posts Count: 1000 and above.
  
  There are also special ranks that are bestowed upon few members to acknowledge special contribution & role of those members. These ranks are not linked to number of posts but help us recognize and find those members.
  
  Special Ranks
  
  
  1. Master Chef - These are the moderators of various forums and help us to keep this site running smoothly. We can't thank these people enough for their voluntary work to help the FoodieMagic.com community members.
  2. Executive Chef - The administrators who handle all behind the scene set-up, technology and site management.
  
  
• What might result in a warning or ban/removal?
  
  Posting plagiarized contents, posting irrelevant, inappropriate contents, posting events not related to food/diet, any SPAM post, using abusive/offensive or otherwise hostile language and similar inappropriate behaviour may result in warning and ban/removal.
  
  But don't worry! We are a reasonable and friendly community and we won't ban anyone without giving a warning first unless the contents are really inappropriate and/or offensive.
  
  As long as you're friendly and adhere to the general "foodies" theme of this community, we would like you to hang around here as often as you can!
  
  
• What happens when a member is removed/banned for any reason?
  
  In such cases, all the posts (topics, replies, comments etc.) created by that member will be retained and they are NOT deleted.

[admin]

• The Editor does not accept HTML text?
  
  Yes - you are right! The forum software does not allow plain HTML tags to be used in the editor. For any formatting, you can use the buttons that you see on the top of the editor. They will allow you formatting using what is known as BBCode (the tags in square brackets). Additionally, there are few custom BBCode tags we have added that you can use for formatting. If you have any specific formatting requirement, please let us know and we'll consider incorporating it here.
  
  
• What are those additional BBCode tags that we can use here?
  
  Here are the currently available BBCode tags beyond the editor buttons -
  
  

  Code: Select all

  [center][/center] - For text that is centre aligned.
[left][/left] - For text that is left aligned.
[right][/right] - For text that is right aligned.


  
  
  
• Can I delete or edit the post that I have created?
  
  You can delete your own post up to 5 minutes after you have submitted it.
  You can edit your own post up to 15 minutes after you have submitted it.
  
  The moderators can always edit or delete the posts if required. However, we encourage you to use preview & save draft features to check the post before you submit it.
  
  
• Due to some reason, I must edit/delete my post?
  
  Please contact one of the moderators and he/she would help you with this depending on his/her availability. Again, please refrain from making such request and use preview & save draft features to create the post that you want!
  
  
• What do I do if I have posted a topic in the wrong forum?
  
  If you notice it immediately, you can delete it yourself within 5 minutes and create that topic in the correct forum.
  
  Otherwise, a moderator may move that topic on his/her own if he/she notices it. If not, please contact moderator and request him/her to move that topic to the right forum.
  
  
• How do I add images/photos in my posts or replies?
  
  There is a detailed announcement: Adding photo/image to the post available for this. Please go through it.
  
  
• What are the restrictions on image size & dimensions for uploading?
  
  The image must be lesser than 1200x1000 pixels in dimension and smaller than 256KB in size for uploading. Moreover, you can add maximum of 5 uploaded images per post.
  
  There is no restriction on size, dimensions or number of images in a post if they are added from a remote server.
  
  
• How do I use YouTube video in my post?
  
  Simply use the YouTube button that you see above your editor window and add YouTube video URL as shown below (replace example URL with the URL of the video that you want to include) -
  
  

  Code: Select all

  [YouTube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fnvltzn14fA[/YouTube]
[YouTube]Put your YouTube URL here[/YouTube]


  
  This will display the desired video in your post as you can see it below.
  
  
  
  
• Can I add PDF or some other attachment in my post?
  
  No! You cannot!
  
  We have only allowed images/photos in all formats (png, jpg, gif etc.) to be uploaded on our server as an attachment with the post.
  
  If you want to use any other attachment such as PDF or anything else, please host it elsewhere and add its URL in the link in your post.

[admin]

• How do I use these different forums?
  
  The names of the forums & their description should be self-explanatory to decide the appropriate forums for your post.
  
  For any queries, feedback related to this site or to request any support please post in 'This Site' forum only. Please do not post site related queries in any other forum.
  
  Please add English & Marathi (मराठी) posts in their appropriate forums. Even replies to the topics must be in the same language as the forum.
  
  
• Why I cannot post a new topic or reply in 'Important Announcements' forum?
  
  'Important Announcements' forum is a read-only forum and only administrators can post important announcements in that forum. If you need to discuss one of the topics from announcements, please discuss it in 'This Site' forum, with appropriate references.
  
  
• I want to request a recipe, can I post it in one of the Recipes' forums
  
  Please post one such query in either 'Kitchen Sink' or 'गप्पा-गोष्टी' forum depending on the language you prefer to use.
  
  The Recipes' forums should be used only to share recipes and members' comments on those recipes. Any other post will be moved to a more appropriate forum.
  
  
• I want to ask about specific ingredients, where should I post?
  
  You can post a query in either 'Kitchen Sink' or 'गप्पा-गोष्टी' forum depending on the language you prefer to use.
  
  You can use both these forums to ask about availability of specific ingredients, best food stores, grocery markets storing exotic vegetables and similar queries.
  
  
• I have a different query, not sure where can I post it?
  
  If it is related to FoodieMagic.com, please post it in 'This Site', otherwise for other queries not belonging to rest of the forums; they should generally go in 'Kitchen Sink' or 'गप्पा-गोष्टी'.