re: IMPORTANT INFORMATION ***Please take a few minutes to read this thread!***

[Prue]

If the member has less than 100 posts

A new member can sometimes try helping and might post a freebie or deal that has been posted numerous times. If they repost, post in the wrong section or do anything that is incorrect on SC because they are new please thank them normally for the post and do not mention it's a repost or it was posted in wrong section.

Even if that member has many reposts don't tell them it's a repost as long as their total posts is under 100. When the moderators clean up the forums the reposts will simply be merged with the original post or moved out.


If the member has 100 - 200 posts

Still somewhat a newbie. You can mention it's a repost but it has to be along the lines of "This has been posted before but thanks for reminding me"


If the member has more than 200 posts

Please feel free to mention it's a repost in a nice way and maybe mention the Google search feature.


If a member (200+ posts) continues to repost

Please report them to the moderators.


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We would like to assure all of our new members that they are welcome to post any deal or freebie that they find and think others might like. We do our best to monitor all the posts made on SC, and so we are usually aware if a thread is a repost or needs to be moved to another section and we will do so as necessary. While its always important to search and try to find out if the offer you are going to post has been previously listed, we understand that when your just learning the ropes, you may accidentally repost from time to time. However, existing members (those of you with over 300 posts) we expect that by now you are learning the in's and out's of the site such as how to search and where to post, so this green light is for new members only! And of course if your a spammer....consider your post gone!

[Prue]

Please do a search before posting a new offer to see if it has already been posted. We all miss things that have been posted from time to time and repost but the more reposts there are the more work it is for the mods to keep this area tidy.

Also, please use the search feature at the top of the page rather than simply the 'search this forum' function as this will check the entire site as opposed to just the one section.

Search tips:

• Try a couple of searches using different terms if you don't find anything the first time.

• Search using only one or two key words. Too many words will just turn up more posts than you can look through or maybe nothing at all as sometimes it is just too much info for the search engine.

• Often it is easier to find by searching for the freebie offered or contest prize or catch-phrase rather than the name of the company or contest name.

• It is best to search the entire forum, rather than just one subsection.

• Keep current with threads! Almost half of the reposts are posted earlier in the same thread (only one or two days before for the most part)

If you do a search for something and you find the offer has been posted before, but maybe needs updating, just make a reply in that thread and it will bring it back to the top of the forum. Please do this instead of reposting the offer...thanks!


If a post has been moved to the expired section or to a different section it is because a mod did a search and found the same contest or freebie in previous posts or because it is better suited to one of the other sections.

[Prue]

• Always search first

Whenever possible please include the following information in the title of the post:

• What the freebie is
• Name of company offering the freebie
• If a limited time offer - post details or end date

Adding this information to the title of the post makes the search feature much more efficient.

Also when you have found the offer on another site, it is simple courtesy to acknowledge that you have taken a post from elsewhere. A simple *borrowed at the beginning of your post is sufficient.

[Prue]

Please test the link prior to posting to ensure that it is still valid and to make sure it is valid in Canada.

• If you come across a great freebie but it is US only, please post it in this thread.

• If you come across a great freebie but it is UK, please post it in this thread.

• If you accidentally post a US/UK freebie on its own, no worries a moderator can merge it with the proper thread for you.

[Prue]

When ordering a freebie NEVER CLICK ON THE LINK - copy and paste it into a new browser window. If the link is too long to copy and past then right click on the link and choose "copy link location".

Often times if a vendor traces that you have come from a freebie site, they will not send out your freebie.

You will receive more freebies this way!

[Prue]

• Do NOT start new threads about websites with referral links and post your referral link. If you want to let people know about a website that has referral links post the normal link without your referral code and then ask members to use the link in your signature.
• Do not post more than 2 referral links in your signature
• Make sure that referral links in your signature are the regular font size, not bolded or italicized.
• Do not post banners or any images that links to a referral program in your signature.

Do NOT expect everyone to use your referral code because you started a thread. There should be a chain where A refers B then B refers C etc.

• Do not argue or fight about whose referral link to use
• Do not post a referral link to any website that provides points by shopping at stores similar to the ones in SC's cashback.

NOTE: If you post a thread using your referral link it will be edited by a moderator to remove your referral code!

[Prue]

Have a question about something on SC? Odds are it has already been asked and answered in the Site Related Section of the forum which can be found here.

• If you have a question about something to do with the site, please post it here and someone will reply to you shortly.

[Prue]

In case anyone is still unaware, Boo Radley our site administrator offers free gifts to members who make a valid contribution to our site.

To find out more about the gifts and what you must do to qualify, please see the Free Gift section of the forum found here.

[Prue]

Although SC does have specific sections for different types of deals/offers please refrain from telling other members where their post "should" be. If you see a thread that you feel is in the wrong section and would like to let the site staff know, please use the report button in the thread as opposed to posting that something is in the 'wrong' section. Thanks

• Canadian Shopping Deals and Flyers- All deals/sales go in here, the more the merrier!

• Freebies and Samples- All freebies and samples are well loved. Please be sure to check that they are entirely free (no cost or shipping charges). If they have even a small charge attached to them, please post in deals.

• Calendar- for smaller localized events, please post them on the calendar rather than other sections. thank you!

• Internet Freebies- Any freebies that are downloads, recipes, or not something you can put your hands on *must* go in this section. thank you.

• Canadian Coupons- All cents off coupons go in here, even if they mail you free coupons If it is a save.ca coupon, please bump up the main save.ca thread (If you put a new post on it, it bumps it up to the top! This was something I did not know when I first came here). With coupons it seems to be very essential to check that they are valid in Canada before posting them to others… Sadly, many coupons are not.. This could result in dozens of people printing off a coupon that does not work.

edit: If it is a very old link, you may also want to check that there is still a coupon there.

• Contests- This is my favorite section LOL! (Can you guys tell??). All contests go in here, with the date in the title line, and indicate whether it is daily, one time entry etc in the post somwhere. Especially if you see one for winning a nice Condo in BC… I need that….

• Paid surveys- If you have had a good experience with a survey company, or mystery shopping company, please come here to share it with others! There also seem to be many people here experienced with Canadian survey companies, so it might be a good place to start if you have any questions.
• Expired - This section is for offers that are no longer valid, reposts, non-Canadian offers, spam etc.

[Prue]

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1.
User Name
Custom User Title - Can change using this link.
Maple Leafs - The number of maple leafs change based on how many posts you have. Read more here.

2.
User Avatar
- You can add or upload an avatar by going to User CP - Edit Avatar


3.

Arcade Info
- displays any arcade games you have the high score in, and the number of tournaments won.
- you can access the arcade here.
- you can read more info on the arcade in this thread.

4.

Join Date
Location - can be left blank. If you want to edit this option, go to User CP - Edit Profile
Posts: How many posts you have made on the forum
Candies: You get candy by creating a thread (4 candies), creating a poll (4 candies) and posting within a thread (1 candy).
- Candies are used for the third free gift. Read more here.
- Candies can also be used to buy gifts for other members. Read more here.
Trade Rating: Feedback received from coupon trades. Read more here.
Cash Back: Cash back earned from shopping Smart Canucks Cash back. Read more here.
Mood: A way to show what kind of mood you are in - if no mood selected this will be blank (btw mine sad because my cat is a little sick! )
- the list of moods is found underneath your private message box.

5.

Reputation: Reputation received from other members, the more bars/sun's you have the higher your reputation rating. Read more here.
- to view reputation you have received from other members click on User CP and scroll down until you see 'latest reputation received'.
- A green rep means positive, a grey one means rep from someone with less than 50 posts so no rep altering power, a red means negative (quite rare)


6.

Gifts: Little presents you can buy for other members with your candy. Read more here.


7.

Online/Offline Indicator: ()If this light is green it means the member is online. If the light is blue they are offline.

Reputation button: () This is the button you use to add to someones reputation. When you click on it a little menu will pop down and you can select either positive or negative. You also have the option to leave a message.

Report post: () This button is used to report a post to the moderators/admins on the site. You would use this if a post is expired, if it is spam, or basically any problem with the post.

8.
Signature: Custom user signature which appears in pm's and posts.
- You may put referral links in your signature but please read site policy on referral links in sigatures before adding. Read policy here.
- If you would like a signature made you can read more here.

9.

Edit: You may use this button to edit a post you have made.
Quote: Use this button if you would like to quote a post made by someone else. When you do this the post you are quoting will appear in your post as well.
Multi-quote: Use this button to quote multiple posts. Click the button for each post you want to quote.
Quick Reply to Post: Use this button to post a quick reply in a thread.

[Prue]

Often times you will see someone say 'pm me' or to pm a particular member. Pm stands for private message.

This is your basic private message info screen - shows how many private messages you have and how many unread messages.

Note: you also click on the mood to change your mood - not really related to pm'ing!



To read your pm's just click on the blue Private Messages link in this box (or go through user cp).

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To send someone a pm, you can either go into private messages using the private message link in the box show above, then select compose from the menu on the left. Or...


You can also click on the persons' name. So for instance if you click on my user name in a post, you will get a drop down menu where one of the options is to "send a private message to Prue" - just click that and the personal message box will open. Type your message and click send.

[Prue]

The User CP (control panel) is where you can edit your account options.

To access your control panel click the User CP on the site header, then select the user control panel link (the one the arrow points to)

By clicking the User CP and then the User Control Panel link you will see links to:

Private Messages:
- send or receive private messages, read stored messages.

Subscribed Threads:
- subscribe or unsubscribe to threads. When you subscribe to a thread you will be notified of posts in that thread.

Settings & Options:
Edit Signature: You can add or change your signature using this link

Edit Email & Password: Change the email on file, or your password used to access your Smart Canucks account.

Edit Profile: Change details about yourself such as location, custom user title etc.

Edit Avatar: Add, remove or change your avatar (picture under your name)

Edit Profile Picture: Add, remove or change the picture people see when they view your public profile.

Miscellaneous:

Event Reminders: Reminders you have set for calendar items

Buddy/Ignore lists:
- the buddy list is a list of people that you contact often via pm on the site. If someone is on your buddy list and you click "quick links" on the banner you will get a drop down menu - click buddy list and a box will open with all your buddies in it. Click the box to message them.
- Ignore list is used if there is someone you do not wish to read communications from. If someone is on your ignore list you will not see their posts in threads and cannot receive private messages from them.

Attachments: A list of your attachments.


In addition to these links you will also see on the main page of the User CP

Latest moderator actions on your threads/posts - this just shows you any changes that moderators have made to posts you have made (such as moving to expired if the offer is no longer good, or adding a company name to a post title)

Latest Reputation received - Reputation given to you by other members

You will also see any new private messages (title only) and a list of subscribed threads.

[Prue]

Candy is a reward system. Members who joined the site prior to June 2007 are able to redeem candies for gift cards (read more here). Candies are also what free gift number 3 is based upon, but for this you do not actually have to redeem your candies and it is open to all members of the site, no matter when you joined (read more here).

Candies can also be used to enter the SC lottery (read more here) and to purchase gifts for other members (read more here)

You get candy by creating a thread (4 candies), creating a poll (4 candies) and posting within a thread (1 candy).

Your post number changes with every post you make. So for instance where mine says posts: 14, 650 that means that I have posted that many times on the forum (both creating a thread and replying in threads).

Hope that helps

[Prue]

Please remember if you are posting an offer on Smart Canucks that you have found on another site to give credit where credit is due. A simple posting of *borrowed to at least give some credit to the original poster is all we ask.

[Prue]

reserved