Frequently Asked Questions
Hello 
Welcome to Carmody-Online, the site for all things Isobelle Carmody-related. Author worship is expected and encouraged. 
- Encyclopedia of Obernewtyn, Encyclopedia of Legendsong
- Fanfiction
- Legendsong Name Generator, Obernewtyn Name Generator
- Theories
- Image Gallery
- LiveJournals
The Forums
Infiltrating the Ranks [aka "Getting Started"]
Commonly used abbreviations on the boards
Your Account
The Private Messaging [PM] System
The Site
At the moment, C-O is going through some spring cleaning, but the basic layout remains the same.
The layout of Carmody-Online is often divided by its members into two distinct sections: 'the boards', which is the section for the Carmody-Online Forum, and 'the site', which is the rest of the site and all its related content. This section of the primer will deal mainly with 'the site', but here is a quick rundown of the forums just for posterity:
The Carmody-Online Forum — aka 'the boards' — is divided into 14 forums, each serving a particular purpose. Here you can find content ranging from ideas to theories to discussions and info posted by the members of Carmody-Online. The forums are divided into groups depending upon the type of content found within them, but this will be explained later on in the section titled 'The Forums'. To enter the forum, click on the link in the navigation menu on the left-hand side of your screen. Inside the forums, discussions are conducted via 'threads'. Each discussion/link is a different thread. The beginning posts are on page one, the latest posts on the latest page.
As you post, you'll find that certain things go in certain places — different content belongs in different forums. At C-O you'll find that although we are a fansite, our content isn't limited to Isobelle Carmody and her books. By navigating through different forums, you'll find different topics for discussion and participation.
If you look to your left and possibly down a bit, you'll see the navigation menu that allows all members to move through the site. Most of the links are self-explanatory, but a few could do with a supplementary description:
- Encyclopedia of Obernewtyn, Encyclopedia of Legendsong
These link to our online encyclopedias that we are compiling mostly through member contributions in 'The Gathering' Forum. With these sections of the site, we hope to develop a comprehensive collection of information Isobelle Carmody's books that provides the community and fans alike with an accurate, in-depth resource.
We tend to eventually branch out into the rest Isobelle Carmody's books, but for the meantime, we are focusing on gathering information from the Obernewytn Chronicles and the Legendsong Trilogy.
- Fanfiction
All members can post their own writing in this section under these categories
- Obernewtyn – original work based within the Obernewtyn universe
- Legendsong – original work based within the Legendsong universe
- Others – original work based on Carmody's books outside of the Obernewtyn Chronicles and the Legendsong Trilogy
- Original – original stories and concepts
- Poetry – original poetry
- Legendsong Name Generator, Obernewtyn Name Generator
These name generators are the beginnings of our fun section. We plan to also add a range of quizzes in the future. If you'd like to submit a quiz, please contact Jacqui or one of the Modmins so we can arrange it.
- Theories
Currently this section of the site contains zilch
However we did have bigbig plans that were very well thought out in our Tithe forum, but to date they have not gone anywhere, so don't let anybody tell you that people on forums don't have lives. They do, and the proof is in the sloooooow progress that this site is making. But yes, have a squiz at that thread [mostly the second page of it] and if you're interested, speak up!
- Image Gallery
This section of the site contains a cover gallery showcases coverart for the various publications of Isobelle Carmody's books. It also include a Fanart section which is often overlooked [something will have to be done about that] because it's kind of hidden [but you know about it now because you read this so if you have fanart send it to a Modmin so they can add it to the gallery!!!]
Yes, that's right, at the moment there's a slight hitch with these galleries: only the Modmins can upload content into them. We're thinking about having this looked at in the future but at the moment, if you would like to have any images added to these galleries, please contact a Modmin who will give you details on image criteria [file format, image size, file size etc] and where to send the image. Cheers baby
- Live Journals
Many C-Oers have LiveJournals [and blogs in other places I assume, although they haven't been brought to our attention so we can't add them to this section of the site] and Carmody-Online itself has its own LJ community. If you have a LiveJournal that you would like listed here, visit this section of the site for details on how to be listed.
Carmody-Online is, to put it quite simply, the site for all things Carmody.
Carmody-Online [affectionately called "C-O" by its members and frequent lurkers] had its humble beginnings as a happy accident in the month of March 2000 when the founder, one Jacqui, inadvertently left a test messageboard open for member registrations. Upon visiting the messageboard two days later, Jacqui discovered a small member population… [alright so it was made up of friends but that's beside the point: people were interested in talking about the jolly goodness that is the work of Isobelle Carmody¹]
C-O then evolved from a 'happy accident' into a 'method of procrastination', as Jacqui then published the site and invited members from other Isobelle Carmody sites to help test out the new site.
About one year later, the site hit its first big milestone of 100 members [more commonly known as 'C-Oers'], and the rest, as they say, is history.
Towards the middle of 2003, C-O went through a mighty upheaval when the then current server 'snuffed it' for a while, taking the site and all it contained with it. This was a period of chaos and withdrawal. Members bewailed the loss of C-O for a time and then ran off and created a Temporary Board.² While this Temporary Board sufficed in bringing the members of C-O to a common ground and providing a place in which members could once again discuss 'all things Carmody', it could not replace the real thing, and for a time, the situation seemed bleak.
Then, in September of the same year, the dark clouds parted; Carmody-Online, now having moved to a new server, was once again functional and the people rejoiced in the streets, singing songs of jubilation and thanks and so on and so forth. The C-Oers moved back in, surrendering the Temporary Board to the Mists of Time.³
Since that time of upheaval, C-O has flourished once again like a fat lamb in green pastures.
Towards the end of 2004, Jacqui spread forth the wings of Carmody-Online and implemented a general overhaul of the site with a mind to improve C-O by creating features of the site that allowed C-Oers to change and alter the site with their own content – these included on Open News Submission System and an Online Fanfiction Section. She enlisted the voluntary aid of a few members to help with these redevelopments, and thus, the Modmins were born. The forums were redesigned and more sections were added to the site, bringing you the Carmody-Online of today.
We are now running with the PostNuke content management system, along with several other tweaks and add-ons that Jacqui has written specifically for us in PHP and javascript. If you would like to help out with the site in any capacity [writing, graphics, coding, etc.], contact Jacqui or the Modmins, or leave a message in the CouncilCourt forum.
We're always more than happy to welcome new community members!
Welcome to Carmody-Online!
- Avid readers like to indulge by looking upon such a revelation as a moment akin to the discovery of penicillin.
- We don't know where it is anymore.
- Temporary Board, you were good to us, and We Shall Not Forget. Yea verily.
Modmin of The Modmins
- Jacqui [view profile] [send PM] — The Founder. The be all and end all, alpha and omega of Carmody-Online. Y'all.
The Modmins — currently the most active
- Trillium [view profile] [send PM] — not known for bringing doom, and leaves 'helpful' to those with more natural aptitude for the job. Rather, she is known for Ducks, mild insanity and will not hesitate to dole out punishment for the unspeakable horror that is netspeak.
- pocket.venus [view profile] [send PM] — self-styled Modmin of Doom. The short arm of the law [5' 2"]. Known for a keen but hopefully restrained love of bold green text and for stalking those who perpetuate careless bad spelling and grammar in the Gathering Forums.
- eri [view profile][send PM] — the yang to the yin of pocket.venus, eri helps any way she can and is quite the opposite of "the Modmin of Doom". Known for being most kind and helpful to newbies and her fascination with all things Japanese and pink.
- Old_Soul [view profile] [send PM] — resident nosy snob, Old Soul is the 'you repeat it, I lock it' girl. The social cattle-wrangler and computer illiterate, she is known for more general participation than punishment or kindness.
- Glynna [view profile] [send PM] — straight-forward and fiercly in love with format, Glynna is the resident guardian devil of our Original RPG. A little tactless at times, she redeems herself with a love of Firefly and fantasy and knows 'no power in the 'verse can stop her'.
- Sabriel [view profile] [send PM] — CO's resident maple leaf, protects the board from bad grammar & multiple threads while everyone else is asleep. Known for an obsession with all things soccer and for attempting to keep newbies from being eaten.
- Aisling [view profile] [send PM] — [aka Ais or Mandy] the residential Johnny Depp fanatic of CO who will use her mod powers to vanquish any who get in a 10m radius of him. But, on the other hand, she is always willing to help the newbies and maintain CO's reputation as the best Isobelle Carmody site.
- Jayel [view profile] [send PM] — infamous around these parts for her slightly out there sense of humor, obsession with anything dark and epic and taking music far too seriously. Jayel wants CO to be a happy place where members can frolic together in harmony. Unfortunately things like post padding, fouling the english language and breaking other rules make her sad so she encourages all to join her crusade against them.
The Modmins — the not so active, but loved nonetheless
- deathbynumbers [view profile] [send PM] — better known as dbn, the resident science nerd who has officially dropped English at school. She spends most of her time ferociously guarding The Gathering forums from off-topic posts.
- Arwen [view profile] [send PM]
- RobinInnle [view profile] [send PM]
- Zalia [view profile] [send PM]
We are not looking for people to fill Modmin positions at this time, so please don't ask.
The Forums
The forums of Carmody-Online are divided between five different areas. They are
- Guildmerge — the general section of the boards
- Isobelle's Landing — the introductions forum for Carmody-Online
- Earth Temple — forum for general discussion
- The Library — forum for all non Isobelle Carmody related books, movies, music, etc.
- Greylands — Carmody-Online's debate forums
- Carmody-Online — speaks for itself
- The Obernewtyn Chronicles — forum dedicated to the discussion of the Obernewtyn Chronicles
- The Legendsong — forum dedicated to the discussion of the Legendsong Trilogy
- Scatterlings — forum dedicated to the discussion of Isobelle Carmody's work aside from the Obernewtyn Chronicles and the Legendsong Trilogy.
- Moonsphere
- Dreemdust — forum where members can post original works of any kind for discussion and critique
- Powers of the Mind — forum dedicated to writing contests and fictional challenges
- The Dreamtrails — our dedicated RPG forum. If you have any questions about this forum, contact Trillium.
- The Gathering — forums for the purposes of collecting information to add to and improve the site. If you have any questions about these forums, contact pocket.venus.
- Character Listing — forum for gathering information about book characters from the Obernewtyn Chronicles and the Legendsong Trilogy
- Terminology Listing — forum for gathering information on terms, places, events etc. from the Obernewtyn Chronicles and the Legendsong Trilogy
- Tithe — forum for members to make comments and suggestions towards the improvement of the boards and the site
- Teknocaves — the support section of the site
- Councilcourt — the support forum of the site. The only forum where non-registered members can post if they are having problems with registration.
Rules for posting differ from forum to forum. Specific rules can be found in sticky posts in individual forums where appropriate. However, there are some rules which apply across all forums.
- Netspeak is evil. In the words of Trillium, "we worship an author." !f u want 2 rite lyk dis wen u p0st, we will, in the words of Jayel, "TAKE YOU OUT." Well, actually, you'll be asked to edit your post, but as a rule, don't ever, ever use netspeak is your posts [although Trillium may try and "take you out." She sees netspeak as the Original Sin of the internet]. We'd like to read through the boards with as little difficulty as possible.
- Spamming [post-padding] is not permitted. We have posting standards at Carmody-Online which are quite simple to meet: post intelligently. We have a dim view of spam/post-padding at Carmody-Online — pointless posts that do not contribute to the progress of the topic will be deleted without notice. Woe betide those who think they can increase their post count through spam/post-padding.
- Double posting is not permitted. If you make a post but then realize there is something you forgot to say, use the edit button which is located in the bottom right hand corner of all posts you make. Double posting is viewed as another method of spamming and will be treated in the same way.
- Post appropriately. Posts that are discriminatory, sexually explicit, inflammatory, etc in nature are inappropriate and unacceptable. Authors of such posts will be banned. Please keep swearing to an absolute minimum — we are visited by people of a wide variety of ages. Avoid swearing entirely if you can, but in the rare case where no other word will suffice, please substitute asterisks (*). At least half the letters in the word is a good guideline.
Please read the posting guidelines for each forum before making posts.
Infiltrating the ranks [aka 'Getting Started']
Well, you can always go and introduce yourself at Isobelle's Landing, our official forum for introductions. Alternatively, you can just dive straight into posting. Just remember, it takes time to make your place on these boards — don't expect to be respected overnight. Take your time, visit regularly, post well, and people will learn to love having you around.
Commonly used abbreviations on the boards
- C-O: short for Carmody-Online
- C-Oers: the native inhabitants of C-O
- I-C: Isobelle Carmody
- PM: private message, the private messaging system
- TKP: The Keeping Place, the third instalment in the Obernewtyn Chronicles
- TLOTRQ or LOTRQ: The Land of The Red Queen or Land of the Red Queen
Thanks to ned for suggesting this. If there are any other abbreviations that need to be on this list, please PM them to pocket.venus.
Coins are earned in the Gathering Forums only. Members who submit relevant and appropriate information receive coins in return for their knowledge. Those who don't have their coins docked. How much one earns from posting is left to the discretion of the Modmins, so please don't ask, because we won't tell.
It is also possible to donate your coins to other users should it tickle your fancy: just click on the "Donate" link that appears in a user's profile or under their coin total in the user's details that accompany each post made.
The Forum Shop is divided into four sections
Your Account
- Account details
Confusingly enough, upon joining the Carmody-Online forums, you will have access to two profiles. For the sake of not confusing people and due to the possibility that this won't be explained very well, think of one profile as your Main Profile for all your personal information, and of the other profile as your Forum Profile which allows you to input your avatar and your signature. You can access your Main Profile by clicking the "My Account" link in the navigation menu on the left-hand side of the screen. Your Forum Profile can be accessed by clicking the "Profile" link that is located in the menubar that you see only when you are browsing the forums.
- Avatars
An avatar is a small picture that appears beneath a user's name in each of their posts. The maximum file size for all avatars is 39KB, and must be no larger than 100x100 pixels. Animated avatars are permitted.
If you are a registered member of the Carmody-Online forums and you have an avatar you wish to use, click the "Profile" link in the forum menubar. At the bottom of the page that loads is the avatar control panel which will give the option of uploading an avatar from your computer to the site, uploading an avatar from another site on the internet, or linking to an image on web. For this last option, there are websites that offer image hosting such as
photobucket — for details or help, just ask a Modmin.
If your avatar is too big, it will be removed and a Modmin will notify you of the change by PM.
- Signatures
A signature is a line or small paragraph of text that appears at the bottom of a member's post. There is a limit of 255 characters that must be adhered to — the site will not accept signatures larger than this. Pictures can also appear in a signature, but are limited in size to 480x100 pixels. please try to keep the file size at 20kb or below, as signatures also affect how quickly the boards load. If your signature is too big, it will be removed and a Modmin will notify you of the change by PM.
On this board, signatures are purchased through our Profile Shop at the cost of 1 coin.
- Titles
A title is a line of text that appears in a user's post details that is located underneath the user's name. Like a signature, the Title privilege must be bought from the Profile Store at a cost of 10 coins. Buying the Title Privilege does not allow a user to input a custom title; it merely reinstates the old ranking system that correlates to your post count. Creating a custom title costs a further 10 coins. The Profile Store also offers Title Effects that allow you to spruce up your title — however, be aware that the only effect that really works is the "Buy Colour" effect, which changes the text colour of your title. The remaining two effects don't really seem to work.
The private messaging [PM] system
The Private Messaging system is for the use of registered members only and is the best way of communicating directly and privately with other Carmody-Online Forum members. At the bottom of every post in the forums there is this icon:
Click on this icon in the forums to send a PM to the author of the post.
Getting Help
If you have any queries or run into problems anywhere on the site, please feel free to contact any one of the Modmins. We will do our best to help you out in any way we can.
If you think that there is something important missing from this primer, please drop a PM [private message] to one of the staff members listed in the contacts.
Cheers m'dears [we hope your brain hasn't exploded],
The Modmins