Frequently Asked Questions

Login and Registration Issues

There is no need to register if you only want to vew postings. If you wish to reply to a posting or make a new one then you will need to register.
If you are unable to register please email us at info@hitchcocksmotorcycles.com.
First, check your username and password. If you did not receive an email, you may have provided an incorrect email address or the email may have been picked up by a spam filer. If you are sure the email address you provided is correct, please email us at info@hitchcocksmotorcycles.com. PLEASE NOTE: For security reasons the registration and login processes for our Accessory Shop and this Forum are separate and you will need to register (and login) on each independently.
There are several reasons why this could occur. First, ensure your username and password are correct. If they are, then please email us at info@hitchcocksmotorcycles.com.
It is possible your account has been deactivated or deleted for some reason. First ensure your username and password are correct, if they are then please email us at info@hitchcocksmotorcycles.com.
Don’t panic! While your password cannot be retrieved, it can easily be reset. Visit the login page and click I forgot my password. Follow the instructions and you should be able to log in again shortly.
However, if you are not able to reset your password, please email us at info@hitchcocksmotorcycles.com.
If you do not check the Remember me box when you login, the board will only keep you logged in for a preset time. This prevents misuse of your account by anyone else. To stay logged in, check the Remember me box during login (it is not recommended you do this if you access the board from a shared computer, e.g. library, internet cafe, university computer lab, etc).

User Preferences and settings

If you are a registered user, all your settings are stored in the board database. To alter them, visit your User Control Panel; a link can usually be found by clicking on your username at the top of board pages. This system will allow you to change all your settings and preferences.
Within your User Control Panel, under “Board preferences”, you will find the option Hide your online status. Enable this option and you will only appear to the administrators, moderators and yourself. You will be counted as a hidden user.
It is possible the time displayed is from a timezone different from the one you are in. If this is the case, visit your User Control Panel and change your timezone to match your particular area, e.g. London, Paris, New York, Sydney, etc. Please note that changing the timezone, like most settings, can only be done by registered users. If you are not registered, this is a good time to do so.
If you are sure you have set the timezone correctly and the time is still incorrect, then the time stored on the server clock is incorrect. Please notify an administrator to correct the problem.
There are two images which may appear along with a username when viewing posts. One of them may be an image associated with your rank, generally in the form of stars, blocks or dots, indicating how many posts you have made or your status on the board. Another, usually larger, image is known as an avatar and is generally unique or personal to each user.
Within your User Control Panel, under “Profile” you can add an avatar by using one of the four following methods: Gravatar, Gallery, Remote or Upload.
Ranks, which appear below your username, indicate the number of posts you have made or identify certain users, e.g. moderators and administrators. In general, you cannot directly change the wording of any board ranks as they are set by the board administrator. Please do not abuse the board by posting unnecessarily just to increase your rank. Most boards will not tolerate this and the moderator or administrator will simply lower your post count.

Posting Issues

To post a new topic in a forum, click "New Topic". To post a reply to a topic, click "Post Reply". You may need to register before you can post a message. A list of your permissions in each forum is available at the bottom of the forum and topic screens. Example: You can post new topics, You can post attachments, etc.
You can only edit or delete your own posts. You can edit a post by clicking the edit button for the relevant post, for only a limited time (5 minutes) after the post was made. If someone has already replied to the post, you will find a small piece of text output below the post when you return to the topic which lists the number of times you edited it along with the date and time. Please note you cannot delete a post once someone has replied.
To add a signature to a post you must first create one via your User Control Panel. Once created, you can check the Attach a signature box on the posting form to add your signature. You can also add a signature by default to all your posts by checking the appropriate radio button in the User Control Panel. If you do so, you can still prevent a signature being added to individual posts by un-checking the add signature box within the posting form.
Under normal circumstances there should be no problem in adding attachments. If you have a problem then please contact us at info@hitchcocksmotorcycles.com.
There are a set of rules associated with the Forum and if you have broken a rule, you may be issued a warning. Contact us at info@hitchcocksmotorcycles.com if you are unsure about why you were issued a warning.
You should see a button for reporting posts next to the post you wish to report. Clicking this will walk you through the steps necessary to report the post. Alternatively email us at info@hitchcocksmotorcycles.com giving the details of the post you wish to report
This allows you to save drafts to be completed and submitted at a later date. To reload a saved draft, visit the User Control Panel.

Formatting and Topic Types

BBCode is a special implementation of HTML, offering great formatting control on particular objects in a post. The use of BBCode is granted by the administrator, but it can also be disabled on a per post basis from the posting form. BBCode itself is similar in style to HTML, but tags are enclosed in square brackets [ and ] rather than < and >. For more information on BBCode see the guide which can be accessed from the posting page.
No. It is not possible to post HTML on this board and have it rendered as HTML. Most formatting which can be carried out using HTML can be applied using BBCode instead.
Smilies, or Emoticons, are small images which can be used to express a feeling using a short code, e.g. :) denotes happy, while :( denotes sad. The full list of emoticons can be seen in the posting form. Try not to overuse smilies, however, as they can quickly render a post unreadable and a moderator may edit them out or remove the post altogether. The board administrator may also have set a limit to the number of smilies you may use within a post.
Yes, images can be shown in your posts. You can upload the image to the board or, link to an image stored on a publicly accessible web server, e.g. http://www.example.com/my-picture.gif. You cannot link to pictures stored on your own PC (unless it is a publicly accessible server) nor images stored behind authentication mechanisms, e.g. hotmail or yahoo mailboxes, password protected sites, etc. To display the image use the BBCode [img] tag.
Global announcements contain important information and you should read them whenever possible. They will appear at the top of every forum and within your User Control Panel.
Announcements often contain important information for the forum you are currently reading and you should read them whenever possible. Announcements appear at the top of every page in the forum to which they are posted.
Sticky topics within the forum appear below announcements and only on the first page. They are often quite important so you should read them whenever possible.
Locked topics are topics where users can no longer reply. Topics may be locked for many reasons and were set this way by the forum administrator.
Topic icons are author chosen images associated with posts to indicate their content. The ability to use topic icons depends on the permissions set by the board administrator.

User Levels and Groups

An Administrators has the highest level of control over the entire board. They can control all facets of board operation, including setting permissions, banning users, etc.

Private Messaging

Private messaging is not currently allowed on this forum.

Friends and Foes

You can use these lists to organise other members of the board. Members added to your friends list will be listed within your User Control Panel for quick access to see their online status and to send them private messages. Subject to template support, posts from these users may also be highlighted. If you add a user to your foes list, any posts they make will be hidden by default.
You can add users to your list in two ways. Within each user’s profile, there is a link to add them to either your Friend or Foe list. Alternatively, from your User Control Panel, you can directly add users by entering their member name. You may also remove users from your list using the same page.

Searching the Forums

Enter a search term in the search box located on the index, forum or topic pages. Advanced search can be accessed by clicking the “Advance Search” link which is available on all pages on the forum. How to access the search may depend on the style used.
Your search was probably too vague and included many common terms which are not indexed by phpBB. Be more specific and use the options available within Advanced search.
Your search returned too many results for the webserver to handle. Use “Advanced search” and be more specific in the terms used and forums that are to be searched.
Visit to the “Members” page and click the “Find a member” link.
Your own posts can be retrieved either by clicking the “Show your posts” link within the User Control Panel or by clicking the “Search user’s posts” link via your own profile page or by clicking the “Quick links” menu at the top of the board. To search for your topics, use the Advanced search page and fill in the various options appropriately.

Subscriptions and Bookmarks

With bookmarking you can be notified when a bookmarked topic is updated. Subscribing, however, will notify you when there is an update to a topic or forum on the board. Notification options for bookmarks and subscriptions can be configured in the User Control Panel, under “Board preferences”.
You can bookmark or subscribe to a specific topic by clicking the appropriate link in the “Topic tools” menu, conveniently located near the top and bottom of a topic discussion.
Replying to a topic with the “Notify me when a reply is posted” option checked will also subscribe you to the topic.
To subscribe to a specific forum, click the “Subscribe forum” link, at the bottom of page, upon entering the forum.
To remove your subscriptions, go to your User Control Panel and follow the links to your subscriptions.

Attachments

Each board administrator can allow or disallow certain attachment types. If you are unsure what is allowed to be uploaded, contact the board administrator for assistance.
To find your list of attachments that you have uploaded, go to your User Control Panel and follow the links to the attachments section.

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