General Information About Your Images:
Your picture must be uploaded to what's called a 'Hosting Service' first, such as ImageShack, Photobucket, or your own personal domain. Just Google 'Free Hosting Services'. YOUR AVATAR/SIGNATURE WILL NOT WORK IF YOU TRY TO LOAD IT DIRECTLY FROM YOUR COMPUTER. Don't 'Direct Link' - this is simply right clicking on the image and pasting its address into the avatar/signature box in your profile. It's the internet equivalent of stealing - you're stealing someone else's bandwidth. A big no-no
This is how to 'host' your image1. Have the picture you want saved into your computer - just right click on any image you like and click 'Save As' to copy it to your computer.
2. Register with a free server website (like www.photobucket.com) if you don't have an account already.
3. Upload your picture - each hosting site has their own way of doing this. Please see the help files at whatever site you choose.
4. Copy and paste the url (link to your picture) you will be given as soon as your picture is successfully uploaded.
Your picture MUST be appropriate. That's self explanatory. Please check the signature rules otherwise a moderator may edit/delete your avatar/signature with no further notice.
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How to Add an Avatar:
--An avatar is the picture that always goes along with your post. You can find it right under your username whenever you see your post. It will also appear beside any comments you make in the News section on the main site if you are registered.
1. Click "My Controls" which is on top of any Veritaserum Forum page you are on. You'll enter a page where it has your profile. On the left hand side, you will see a set of links. Click on the link that says "Edit Avatar Settings" - it's under 'Personal Profile'.
2. If you want to use one of VTM's avatars, click on the drop down menu, select the type of image you want, and click 'Go'. If you want to use one of your own, you need to copy and paste the address that you would have been given by the hosting service when you uploaded your image. You want the one that starts 'http://' Please note that there is a limit to the length of the address that you paste in, so make sure that the name of your file is fairly short BEFORE you upload it to the hosting service.
***Sidenote: There will be text that says "Upload a new image from your computer". Please ignore that, it doesn't work. You MUST upload your image to a hosting service first.
3. Click the button on the bottom that says "Update Avatar"...and you're done.
***Sidenote: The largest size that your avatar image can be is 100x100 pixels. If it's bigger than that, it will be changed into a smaller image automatically. There will be a preview which shows how your avatar will look like after it is made smaller.
Your image url MUST end with the text "gif,jpg,jpeg or png". If it doesn't, it won't work. You may rename your file on your computer by right clicking on it > Save As > select an allowed file ending (or "extension") - i.e. one of those four.
PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS ON WHATEVER HOSTING SITE YOU ARE USING. We cannot provide support for other sites.
That being said, we can offer you one bit of advice - if you're waiting for an e-mail confirmation from a hosting service and it seems to be a long time coming, check your spam filters - that type of e-mail often gets automatically filtered out so you might not see it in your inbox.
--An avatar is the picture that always goes along with your post. You can find it right under your username whenever you see your post. It will also appear beside any comments you make in the News section on the main site if you are registered.
1. Click "My Controls" which is on top of any Veritaserum Forum page you are on. You'll enter a page where it has your profile. On the left hand side, you will see a set of links. Click on the link that says "Edit Avatar Settings" - it's under 'Personal Profile'.
2. If you want to use one of VTM's avatars, click on the drop down menu, select the type of image you want, and click 'Go'. If you want to use one of your own, you need to copy and paste the address that you would have been given by the hosting service when you uploaded your image. You want the one that starts 'http://' Please note that there is a limit to the length of the address that you paste in, so make sure that the name of your file is fairly short BEFORE you upload it to the hosting service.
***Sidenote: There will be text that says "Upload a new image from your computer". Please ignore that, it doesn't work. You MUST upload your image to a hosting service first.
3. Click the button on the bottom that says "Update Avatar"...and you're done.
***Sidenote: The largest size that your avatar image can be is 100x100 pixels. If it's bigger than that, it will be changed into a smaller image automatically. There will be a preview which shows how your avatar will look like after it is made smaller.
Your image url MUST end with the text "gif,jpg,jpeg or png". If it doesn't, it won't work. You may rename your file on your computer by right clicking on it > Save As > select an allowed file ending (or "extension") - i.e. one of those four.
PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS ON WHATEVER HOSTING SITE YOU ARE USING. We cannot provide support for other sites.
That being said, we can offer you one bit of advice - if you're waiting for an e-mail confirmation from a hosting service and it seems to be a long time coming, check your spam filters - that type of e-mail often gets automatically filtered out so you might not see it in your inbox.
QUOTE
How to Create a Signature:
--Your signature is the text and images on the bottom of your posts. Your signature doesn't have to be Harry Potter related, but it MUST be PG rated. Read the rules for more information concerning what content is allowed, and basic rules of a signature.
1. Click "My Controls", which is on top of any Veritaserum Forum page you are on. You'll enter a page where it has your profile. Click on the link on the left hand side that says "Edit Signature".
2. There will be a text box. That box will look exactly like the boxes that you type in when you comment (only a little smaller). Type in anything you want (as long as it follows the signature rules). If you want to include a link, click the little world icon on the tool bar, paste in the internet address, then on the next screen, type in whatever name you want to give the link...for example, 'My Fanfic' etc. Remember you are only allowed five lines - and that five lines means when you've saved your signature - NOT as it appears in the text box when you created it. You'll have to save it first to see how it looks. If it exceeds five lines, please edit it down.
3. You may include a maximum of four 100x100 images in your signature in addition to the five lines of text. Your image or collection of images MUST NOT exceed 400 pixels across by 150 pixels down. Please see signature rules for more information. You need to upload your images to a hosting service first, just as for avatars.
4. Copy and paste the link contained within the Image tags that you will be given when you upload your image - it will look like this. [ IMG]http://my piccy.co.uk/hosted/VTM[ /IMG] (only without the spaces) If you try to paste the URL, all you'll get is the URL in your signature or a 'broken link' message.
--Your signature is the text and images on the bottom of your posts. Your signature doesn't have to be Harry Potter related, but it MUST be PG rated. Read the rules for more information concerning what content is allowed, and basic rules of a signature.
1. Click "My Controls", which is on top of any Veritaserum Forum page you are on. You'll enter a page where it has your profile. Click on the link on the left hand side that says "Edit Signature".
2. There will be a text box. That box will look exactly like the boxes that you type in when you comment (only a little smaller). Type in anything you want (as long as it follows the signature rules). If you want to include a link, click the little world icon on the tool bar, paste in the internet address, then on the next screen, type in whatever name you want to give the link...for example, 'My Fanfic' etc. Remember you are only allowed five lines - and that five lines means when you've saved your signature - NOT as it appears in the text box when you created it. You'll have to save it first to see how it looks. If it exceeds five lines, please edit it down.
3. You may include a maximum of four 100x100 images in your signature in addition to the five lines of text. Your image or collection of images MUST NOT exceed 400 pixels across by 150 pixels down. Please see signature rules for more information. You need to upload your images to a hosting service first, just as for avatars.
4. Copy and paste the link contained within the Image tags that you will be given when you upload your image - it will look like this. [ IMG]http://my piccy.co.uk/hosted/VTM[ /IMG] (only without the spaces) If you try to paste the URL, all you'll get is the URL in your signature or a 'broken link' message.
5. When you're happy, click 'Update My Signature' to see how it looks. Remember, no more than five lines of text or your signature will be edited and/or deleted with no further notice.
If you're still having problems after following these instructions, please post here with the exact details of the error message you are receiving and a staff member will drop by ASAP to try to help you out.
Happy posting!!
Please somebody help me. I want to add a picture into my signature. I have read the intro to this thread. I have uploaded the picture to Photo bucket. But when I try to put the url in I keep getting an error message. Maybe I am doing something wrong. Can you please walk me through what you do once you have uploaded your image.
~ It's very confusing for someone as technichally challenged as myself. I've been working on it for a while, but I just can't figure it out!!!! HELP!!!! 
