Frequently Asked Questions

So I figure there must be heaps of space taken up on this board telling people how to add tickers, post pictures, etc. There has been talk about a newbie guide for some time but I thought I might just go ahead and do it. there (if they think it might be useful).

Please feel free to add your hints or questions!

How do I get one of those cool ticker things?

If you see one you like in someone’s signature – there are quite a few sites which do them – just click on the ticker and it will take you to that site. Once you’ve created your own ticker, select and copy the PseudoHTML, UBBCode™ or BBCode code which starts and ends with square brackets and ‘url’. Come back here and click on ‘Profile’ near the top right of your screen, and paste the text where it says ‘Signature’. Make sure you have selected ‘Yes’ next to the option ‘Always attach my signature to posts’ near the bottom of your profile preferences.

You can test that your ticker(s) show up correctly by clicking 'Signature Preview' to the lower right of the signature box.

How about more than one ticker? It doesn't seem to work for me?

There's a maximum character limit of 200 for your signature. Your average lilypie ticker, for example, including a little photo, is 124 characters - so twice that is too many. You should be able to make more than one fit by removing the code that starts with [ URL=... so the code starts with [ IMG ] (Remove the [ / URL ] bit at the end too). There is a box by the signature box which tells you how many characters you have left before you reach the 200 maximum.

How do I post pictures?

First you will need to upload the pictures somewhere else on the internet. Try for example Photobucket, Flickr, or your Facebook account if you have one. Some of the photo sharing sites (including Photobucket) will provide IMG code for you to copy and paste. Otherwise you can post any pic from anywhere on the internet by right clicking on the picture, selecting ‘Properties’, copying the address details that come up, then use the little button with a pic of a tree on it to the top right of the ‘post reply’ box to paste those address details. (Or simply enclose the address between [ IMG ] and [ / IMG ], without the spaces.)

You can test that you've entered the right code by clicking on 'Preview Post' before you post your reply.

Please note you can only view the photo gallery once you have reached 100 posts - which takes surprisingly little time!

How do I put a pretty picture under my name?

That’s called an avatar, and again it can be found under your profile. If you don’t want to use one of the stock ones you can link to another pic elsewhere on the net, as above, just make sure you have re-sized the pic you want to 64x64 pixels first so it doesn’t come out all warped.

For other questions relating to post formatting etc, see the Forum Codes here.

Is there any etiquette I need to be aware of?

Make sure you read the Forum Guidelines. Some quirks:

• Some people consider it polite, when you edit a post, to include a brief note to say why you edited it in case someone comes back to a thread between your original post and your edit.
• It helps if you have animations enabled in your browser so you can see all the emoticons properly.
• If you are posting something people might find a bit icky, warn them about ‘TMI’.
• If you are posting lots of pics in the Photo Gallery warn people that your post is ‘pic heavy’ in case they have slow connections.
• Oh yeah, and don't post pics of other people's children without their permission (unless they already post pics of the same kids on here).

I can’t understand a word you’re all saying? Is there a list of abbreviations somewhere?

With apologies to this thread:

At time of posting this guide here’s the current list, with a few more thrown in.

Specific to conception, pregnancy and other medical and women’s business
AF = Aunt Flo (menstruation/period)
AIO = All In One (nappy)
BBT = Basal Body Temperature
BCP = Birth Control Pills
BD = Baby Dance (sex)
BF = breast feeding
BFN = Big Fat Negative
BFP = Big Fat Positive
BFFP = Big Fat False Positive
BT = Blood Test
CDxx = Cycle Day
CM = Cervical Mucus
DPO = Days Post-Ovulation
EBM =Expressed breast milk
EDD = Estimated Due Date
EPT = Early Pregnancy Test
EWCM = Eggwhite Cervical Mucus (also CM)
EVAP = Evaporation Line
FF = Fertility Friend
FF = Formula Feeding
FM = Fertility Monitor
FMU = First Morning Urination (also 2MU = 2nd Morning Urination)
FRER = First Response Early Result
hCG, HCG = Human Chorionic Gonadotropin
HPT = Home Pregnancy Test
HSC = Hysteroscopy
HSG = Hysterosalpingogram
IUI = Intra-uterine Insemination
IVF = In Vitro Fertilization
LH = Luteinizing Hormone
LMP = Last Menstrual Period (cycle start date)
Lap = Laparoscopy (Key hole surgery)
LP = Luteal Phase
LPD = Luteal Phase Defect
LSP = Low Sperm Count
MC, m/c, misc. = Miscarriage
MCN = Modern Cloth Nappy
MSU = Mid Stream Urine test
O, OV = Ovulation
OB = Obstetrician
OB/GYN = Obstetrician/Gynecologist
OPK = Ovulation Predictor Kit
OSFA = One Size Fits All
PCOS = Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
PG = Pregnant
POAS = Pee on a Stick
PMT = Pre Menstral Tension
PSN = Porn Star Nipples
RE = Reproductive Endocrinologist
RPL = Recurrent Pregnancy Loss
SA = Semen Analysis
STI/STD = Sexually Transmitted Infection/Disease
TTC = Trying to Conceive
TWW / 2ww = Two week wait
US, u/s = Ultrasound
UTD = Up The Duff (pg)
UTI = Urinary Tract Infection

General chat abbreviations
AFM = As For Me
DD = Dear/Darling Daughter
DF = Dear/Darling Fiance/Fiancee
DH = Dear/Darling Husband (also Dumb Husband! )
DP = Dear/Darling Partner
DS = Dear/Darling Son
DW = Dear/Darling Wife
ETA = Edited to Add
FAQ = Frequently Asked Questions
FYI = For your Information
HTH = Hope That Helps
IMO = In My Opinion
IMHO = In My Honest/Humble Opinion
IRL = In Real Life
IYKWIM/IYGWIM = If You Know/Get What I Mean
LMAO = Laugh my ass off
LOL = Laugh Out Loud
MIA = Missing In Action
OP = Original Post/Original Poster
OT = Off Topic
OTT = Over The Top
PMSL = Pissing Myself Laughing
ROTFL = Rolling On The Floor Laughing
SH = Stupid Husbands (Cause we all have those days!)
SO = Significant Other
TJ = Threadjack
TMI = Too much information


Any other FAQ we can all work on answering, or hints people would like to share?

Edited by Maya