1. What is a site leader?
2. Why have site leaders?
3. What are the minimum requirements for a site leader?
4. How do I become a site leader?
5. I am not able to log on through the Admin Area. What's the problem?
6. Why don't some shows have show summaries or articles?
7. What exactly are "new stories"?
8. What are "articles"?
9. Can I use HTML tags in articles and news stories?
10. Do we have to write original material? Should I worry about copyright infringement?
11. The news story title did not appear correctly on the front page after submission. What did I do wrong? How do I fix it?
12. Are summaries, articles and news stories reviewed before they are posted to the Web site?
13. How do I create a Web poll?
14. I added a Web poll, but it did not appear in the "Polls" section of the particular show. What did I do wrong?
15. I have a question that is not answered in the FAQ. Where can I ask my question?

1. Question: What is a site leader?

Answer: A site leader is someone who volunteers to follow a particular reality TV show and who commits to contributing regularly to posting news stories, articles, show summaries, polls, and pictures using the RealityTVPlanet Admin Area.

2. Question: Why have site leaders?

Answer: Any member with an active ID and password can login to our Administration Area and post news stories, submit articles, create Web polls and so on. However, we have found it necessary to have certain leaders who are committed to following certain shows and who are responsible for posting content.

3. Question: What are the requirements for a site leader?

Answer: At this time, there are not any hard and fast requirements for being a site leader for a particular show. However, please try to post news items, summaries and so on as soon as possible after the show airs--ideally within 24 hours. If a site leader discovers that he/she cannot find the time to contribute, we ask that he/she step down so that another member can be recruited as a site leader for this show.

4. Question: How do I become a site leader?

Answer: To volunteer to become a site leader, please fill out our Volunteer to be a Site or a Game Leader form. We try to have up to three site leaders per show, and up to five site leaders for Big Brother. But, again, you do not have to be a site leader to logon to our Administration Area and submit a news story, an article, to write a show summary, to create a poll and so on. Any registered member can use the Administration Area.

5. Question: I am not able to log on through the Admin Area. What's the problem?

Answer: Use the same ID and password that you use for this message board, but remember, the user IDs and passwords are case sensitive. So, if you have any capital letters in your ID or in your password, you have to use them.

6. Question: Why aren't there show summaries for some shows?

Answer: If we do not have site leaders committed to writing show summaries for a certain TV show, we will not add a "show summaries" button to that section. We do not want our visitors clicking on a button only to find an empty page. However, if a site leader will commit to writing show summaries, we will setup show summaries for that particular show.

7. Question: What exactly are "new stories"?

Answer: News stories can be any information that you find interesting about the show. They can be short summaries of what happened on a recent show. They can be summaries of articles that you find on the Web. They can be gossip or spoilers. However, news stories should be short--between 20 and 200 words. Since there are seven news stories displayed on a single Web page, paragraph breaks (or Carriage Returns) have been disabled in news stories. So, news stories will be a single paragraph.

Many people use the "News Story" section to summaries articles of interest that they find on the Web. You may summarize an article and include a link to the original article. The link will be displayed at the bottom of the news story text. When you cut and paste a URL into the URL box, please overwrite the http:// in the box. You must also enter a "URL Title" for the link to be displayed.

8. Question: What are "articles"?

Answer: The difference between a news story and an article is that articles are displayed on a full page, and you may also upload pictures that will appear in the article. Articles can be news stories, editorials, opinion pieces, updates and so on. Articles are intended for items which is greater than 200 words. Articles should be between 200 and 500 words.

When you create an article, the article will take up a whole Web page, and paragraph breaks (or Carriage Returns) will work. The title of the article will be displayed on the "Articles on Show" front page as a link to the full article.

You may also upload up to four pictures (or images) that will be nested in your article--this is optional. The first picture will be displayed at the top of the page (beneath the title and before the text of the article). The remaining pictures (if any) will be displayed at the bottom of the page. If you select a number of "Pictures to Upload," then you will be prompted to upload your images after you "Submit" your article. Simply browse your hard disk for the images, and hit submit to upload them to the Web server. You may upload JPG, GIF or PNG images.

9. Question: Can I use HTML tags in articles and news stories?

Answer: You can use HTML tags within the article and news story text--this is purely optional. For example, the tag < b > turns on bold face (without the spaces before and after the "b"), and < / b > turns off bold (without the extra spaces).

Here is an HTML help page to help with bolding, italics and such: UIUC.edu HTML Primer. Better yet, here is HTML help for kids.

10. Question: Do we have to write original material? Should I worry about copyright infringement?

Answer: Nothing is ever 100 percent original. For example, when the SmokingGun.com breaks a story, lots of people will write articles on the story using the SmokingGun content, even reporters for the Associated Press. Most of them will give credit to the Smoking Gun for breaking the story.

If you find interesting information to share, please share the information in your own words. Try not to cut and paste from other sources too much. And try to quote your sources.

You should not cut and paste a whole article from another source. Rather, if you want to share a whole article from another source, you should use the "news story" section to summarize the article and post a link to the full story.

11. Question: A news story title did not appear correctly on the front page or in the appropriate section after submission. What did I do wrong? How do I fix it?

Answer: You probably forgot to select a reality TV show in the drop down box. Or perhaps you forgot to give the news story a title. In order to submit a news story, you have to select a show name from the drop down box and give the news story a title.

If you submitted a news story without selecting a reality TV show or without entering a title, just e-mail David, the Administrator, and ask him to fix it.

12. Question: Are summaries, articles and news stories reviewed before they are posted to the Web site?

Answer: No, all content that is submitted in the Administration Area is posted immediately, without review. However, do not be afraid to make mistakes. If you make a mistake, you can just e-mail David, the Administrator, and ask him to fix it.

We have an honor system. We trust you to watch your language and to post only material that is appropriate.

13. Question: How do I create a Web poll?

Answer: Creating a Web Poll is easy. Just click on "Add a Web Poll" in the Administration Area. Then, enter a question, preceded by the show name. For example, if you were adding a poll question for Big Brother 4, your poll question should be posed as follows: "Big Brother 4: Your poll question here." You may have up to eight answers (or options). If you have less than eight, just leave the remaining options blank.

Once you have added your poll, the poll question and answers will disappear. This is normal. Your poll has been added. Your Web poll will automatically be included in the "Polls" section of the particular show.

14. Question: I added a Web poll, but it did not appear in the "Polls" section of the particular show. What did I do wrong?

Answer: You likely did not precede your question with the name of the show. Or perhaps you misspelled the name of the show. Please use the guide at the bottom page in the "notes" section to be sure that you spell the show name correctly.

15. Question: I have a question that is not answered in the FAQ. Where can I ask my question?

Answer: If you have a question that is not answered here, you have several options. 1. You can e-mail David, the Administrator, directly, with your question. 2. You can post a question in the General Discussion (off topic) section of the main message board. 3. We also have a Site & Game Leader Area (Private) on the message board to help coordinate things among the site leaders.