10 Basics
10 basics you need to know to use ARRSE
Getting Help with Specific Problems
Looking for the cure to a specific problem rather than general guidance?
There is a high probability that your question has been answered in the ARRSE Stuff forum. You can link search this specific forum using the advanced search.
If that doesn't help and the answer's not here please do contact the site admin team or send a message (via conversations) to a moderator (although bear in mind that moderators have other commitments and can sometimes be away for extended periods)
How to post a message (after lurking)
Probably best to spend a few days just reading the different forums, so that you can get a flavour of each and see what gets asked where.
You need to register a user to contribute. This is very quick to do and free.
To create a new discussion topic, go into a relevant forum for the topic, the press the big blue "Post New Thread" button in the upper right third of the page.
To reply to an existing post look at the bottom of the message and you will see (if you are logged in) links to 'quote' and 'reply'. Alternatively, just write in the text box at the bottom of the page/
Using the Private Message System (called "Conversations" since Feb 2014)
The site allows you to hold private conversations with one or more members (you must be a member yourself). These are called 'Conversations' and you can see them by clicking on your username in the menu bar at the top of page in the forum area of the site (not the front page of the site or reviews).
Deleting a Conversation. To delete a conversation, you 'leave it' using the actions menu below
Ranks and Titles
We use some ranks and titles on the forum as shown in the image below.
The medals (and their association titles or 'trophies') are:
- Crow
No medals for you I'm afraid!
- Swinger
Just a single one, awarded after 10 forum posts:
- Clanker
Looking a little better, awarded after 50 forum posts:
- Old Salt
Starting to be able to hold your head up in company, awarded after 100 forum posts:
- War Hero
Well maybe not but still 4 is a decent rack, awarded after 500 forum posts:
- LE
One of god's chosen ones, awarded after 1000 forum posts:
Medal ribbons / flash type things
as shown under the ranks in the profile image above
Donations to ARRSE
ADC (ARRSE Donation Cross) - user has donated £100 or over
GCM (General Cash Medal) - user has donated £25 or over
MIA (Mention in ARRSE) - user has donated £1 or over
To earn one of these fine ribbons and help us with the site, you can donate here!
Secondary duties
Admin - one of the two site owners, mainly responsible for keeping the wheels turning
Moderator - a member of the site management, who keeps the peace and censors content where necessary
Reviewer (normally a clothing and equipment reviewer)
Book reviewer
Reviews editor
Good egg (member of the charity group and a good person to contact for any service charity issues)
Smartphones and Tablets
OK, now the complicated bit.
Since 2014 ARRSE is responsive, meaning that it will change 'shape' to fit small screens; tablets and smartphones. It works very well and there is no need for a dedicated mobile application or the selection of a mobile-friendly version of the website. But we do still offer dedicated mobile apps for Android and iOS smartphones and tablets.
- If you are an occasional mobile site user we suggest you use your normal mobile web browser and use the site as normal
- for frequent mobile users using slower mobile connections or with strict data limits try the following dedicated apps which can be installed directly from your app store (Apple, Samsung, Amazon, Google):
Android app
iPhone / iPod / iPad app
and finally... Tapatalk
ARRSE is also available via the Tapatalk app which is available free from your app store for iOS, Android, modern Blackberrys and Windows phones. Tapatalk is a universal client for forum based websites that support it, so it can also be used for Navy Net and Rear Party.
Anatomy of a Search Result
On the What's New page or any similar search results, there are some useful differences in the links that form each result, as shown in the screenshot and described below:
1. Go to the first unread post in the thread
2. Simple link to the thread (first page, first post)
3. Go to the most recent post in the thread
Also:
- Hover over the thread title for a preview of the text
- Mark all as read using a text link in the top right of the results list
Other tips and differences from previous software (VBulletin)
- When typing a message intended for a particular user, or referring to somone, try adding their name to the message like this: @username . This will turn in to a link to the user's profile and will notify him or her that you have posted about them.
- Use the icon shown below (in the breadcrumb navigation below the main menu bar in the forums), to get a pop-up quick navigation menu. It can save you a lot of scrolling!
- Click the small arrow on any quote to go to the quoted post
- See who has quoted or replied to your posts in your alerts listing
- See the most popular discussions here (link in forum submenu)
- Try 'Spy' for a live feed of what is happening on the site
- Try Your News Feed to see what others are doing (these are people you chose to 'watch')
- Learn how to use this wiki, the ARRSEPedia, and share your knowledge and wit by creating and editing article (create an account under your ARRSE username in the top right of this page)
Moderators and Warnings, Bans and RoPs
Moderators are fine upstanding members of the ARRSE community who volunteer to help police the site (quite a thankless task at times so they are definitely to be applauded for this!), in order to increase the value and enjoyment of the site for the majority of users . Most individual areas of the site have dedicated moderators with an interest or experience in the topic area, and the busier areas are monitored by a group of moderators. The moderators for each part of the site are listed as shown below, and can be contacted through the conversation (PM) system.
Points make Prizes
As of 2014 the moderators use a system of warning points to enforce the site rules and policy. These are subject to change, but are at the time of writing:
9 warning points results in RoPs (good 'ol Restriction of Privileges), from 1 day to 1 month. A user on RoPs can read and post in forums, but not much else.
12 warning points will result in a temporary ban until the warning points have expired
20 warning points will result in a permanent ban.
Warning points will normally be accompanied with a message explaining why they were 'awarded'.
Some offences and guideline warning points are (actual points and expiry time are decided by the moderator case-by-case):
Excessive swearing / inappropriate language - initially 1 point
Advertising / Spam - full range from warning to outright ban
Porn / Malware Links - initially 1 point
Miscellaneous - n/a
Homophobic / Racist content - 6 points
Operation security or personal privacy issues - 7 points
ARRSE Rules
As well as the normal rules of internet communities that you read and agreed to when you joined the site, ARRSE has some particular rules and guidelines (in detail here):
The golden rules of the site
- No direct identification of anyone not in the public eye. ie. no posting names or personal details or pretty much anyone, and no work-arounds such as "Lt Col B****gs" or use of post such as "C Coy CQMS...". If you can identify someone, particularly serving, from the description then it's breaking the site rules (and quite possibly you're going to hang for defamation if you say the wrong thing!). There are of course plenty of exceptions and common sense should be applied, but that's the gist of it.
- No breaches of OPSEC. Think before you post. Should you really be talking about (or posting a photo of!) the piece of electronics kit you carried around Afghanistan? Also "big-timing it" and "I know something you don't" are not going to win you any friends on the site.
As a site with an adult military audience we tolerate more colourful language than many forums, and you can be pretty outspoken in your views, however different standards are expected, and enforced, in different parts of the site, on a scale of:
Strict rules in the Serious Bit...
to
...liberal rules in the Badger's ARRSE (from the phrase: 'Rough as a Badger's arse')
with other parts of the site somewhere in between.
All of this is laid out in more detail in THIS THREAD - aims, policies and procedures
Admin Stuff
Update your email address or password
Privacy settings and more
Account deletion
- To remove your user account please contact us.
Username change
- To change your username please contact us.