| Membership |
1. Why do I have to register to view most of the site?
In order to cut down on "lurkers", "spammers", "trollers", and to encourage folks to participate fostering a community environment, you must register on the site in order to access the resources. Your information is private and not shared.
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2. What are the differences between Basic Membership and a Site Supporter Membership?
Basic members have access the to most of the site and limited to five posts and no image uploading to our server. Site supporters have FULL access to the entire site, unlimited posting, and image uploading privileges and MANY other benefits. You can read more about the Site Supporter Subscription by clicking on the Site Supporter menu item above.
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3. Why am I not allowed to upload images with my basic account?
See question #2. Disk space and bandwidth cost money. Our Site Supporters and Advertisers help us cover the cost of running this site.
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4. Ok, I get the cost thing but why can't advertisers pay the cost of running the site?
Contrary to what most people think, hosting a high traffic website like RCSCALEBUILDER.COM is not cheap nor free. There are hosting costs, hardware and software costs, support costs, and of course development time. Because RCSCALEBUILDER.COM does not have 100,000+ members (like some other sites claim) we cannot rely exclusively on advertisers to cover the cost of running this site. There are just not enough members to get the larger r/c vendors to support the site at that level.
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5. What methods of Payment do you accept for subscriptions?
We accept electronic payments (using Paypal's card acceptance service) by credit card, debit card, e-check, or PayPal. We normally do not accept checks or money orders, but if this is the only form of payment you have, contact us via the Contact Us page on the site menu and we will work something out.
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6. When will I know my Site Supporter Subscription is going to expire?
We process subscription renewals by the first of every month and you will receive two notices (one the month before and one the month of) in a Private Message (PM) reminding you of the date your subscription expires.
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7. What happens when my Site Supporter Subscription expires?
If your subscription fee is not paid by the due date in your renewal reminder your account will be downgraded to a Basic Member losing your Site Supporter benefits. Once the subscription is paid your account will be upgraded again to Site Supporter status.
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| Registration / Login |
1. How do I register?
Simply click on the "Register" link on the menu and you will be taken through the process of joining. Be sure and enter a valid email address since an activation email will be sent to the address you register with. This is very important. If you do not enter a valid email address your account will not be activated and you cannot access the site.
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2. I am trying to register but I don't understand what this "I am not a robot" is, or what I am supposed to do?
What you are describing is part of our Anti-spammer protection. The idea is that a person must check that box and interpret the pictures (if you have never used NOCAPCHA before), where an automated script ran by spammers cannot do this. This helps to keep spammers from registering on the forum using scripts. Unfortunately a necessary inconvenience these days.
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3. I registered on the site but have not received an activation email. What do I do?
First, if your Internet Service Provider (ISP) has spam protection, check the spam folder of your email account. Sometimes the activation email gets treated as spam email depending on the ISP. If it is not in your spam folder simply go to the CONTACT US link here on the site, provide us with your user-name and we will check your account and manually activate it as soon as possible if the information provided is valid.
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4. I received my activation email and clicked on the link to activate my account and got an error saying to contact you. What happened?
This can be caused by several issues. First, if the link in your email breaks to a second line the entire link (URL) is not being sent to the server to retrieve the activation page. The system gets confused and returns an error. Try copying the ENTIRE link URL using copy & paste into your browser and click the Go button and see what happens. Another common issue is some folks double-click on the link instead of just single clicking.
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5. Ok, my membership is activated, but why can't I login?
This could be a lot of different things but is ALWAYS is something about the way YOUR PC is configured, NOT THE SITE. Some things you might want to check are: Make sure you are typing you password in the same case as you entered it during registration. Passwords ARE case sensitive. Make sure you have cookies enabled in your browser. Try emptying the browser cache and deleting cookies (not while you're on the site). Make sure your personal firewall software is not blocking cookies.
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6. As of recently I have had to login every time I come to RCSB. Why is the Auto Login not working?
There are only three things that will cause RCSB to force you to log-in again even after click the Auto Login radio button on the login page...- You login on a different computer or device (phone or tablet)
- You use multiple browsers on one PC or device
- Software on you PC or device is deleting or blocking your browser cookies on a regular basis.
If it is not 1 or 2 then it is probably your firewall software, antivirus software, or some PC cleanup software. They are usually the culprit by periodically deleting your browser cookie files which store your login info and allow you to login automatically.
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7. What is this "Cookie Error" I am getting when I try and login?
RCSCALEBUILDER.COM uses "cookies" (like most other sites on the web) to perform a variety of functions for our members. Cookies are pieces of information generated by the web server that are stored on your computer to help enhance your browsing experience. For example: Cookies can help you login automatically so you do not have to enter your login every time you return to the site. Cookies are kept on YOUR PC not the site. This problem creeps up from time to time and it always ends up being one of two issues. Corrupted Cookie on your PC or new software/firewall or updates blocking cookies. If you are receiving this error then you might try deleting your cookies and browser cache (while on another site) and come back to RCSCALEBUILDER.COM and try logging in again. There are to many browsers out there to try and provide step by step instruction on how to do this here. If deleting cookies and clearing the browser cache does not work, then there is an issue of something blocking the cookie.
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8. I have lost my user-name and/or password! What can I do?
If you click on the "Login" menu item on the site menu (near the top of the web page) there is a link to have the system email your user-name or assign you a new temporary password to login with. Be sure after you login to visit your profile (under "My Profile" on the site menu) and change your password to something you can remember.
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| Rules and Etiquette |
1. Why are your rules so strict?
As you well know, the World Wide Web is a lot like the Wild West. There are many individuals with many different motivations surfing the web, but we only want individuals who are genuinely interested in R/C Scale Building on this site. We try and offer a pleasant and non-confrontational community to share techniques and thoughts for both modelers and vendors. While it is by no means perfect, we try to keep the site on-track as much as possible. The rules may seem strict but they are there for yours and everyone else benefit.
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2. Why do you not allow negative posts about vendors?
As stated in the last question, we are trying to provide a community atmosphere focused on building to share ideas and methods, not a place to promote or bash vendors. If you want to do that there are other sites that allow you to. While I agree that other modelers need to know about a vendor who gives bad service, the number of illegitimate posts would FAR out-weigh the legitimate ones. Unfortunately there is no way to police this so to cut out the bashing we do not allow legitimate complaints either. You can thank your fellow modelers who do this for this rule.
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3. What is trolling? Why do you not allow it?
There are some individuals on the Internet (just like in real life) that like to stir up trouble and controversy. These people are called trollers (as in trolling or fishing) and they create posts that will generate arguments, bad mouthing, strong opinions, etc. As stated in the Site Rules, this behavior is NOT allowed on this site.
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| Posting |
1. How do I post a new topic?
First, make sure you are in the appropriate forum. For example, you should not post a question about a Top Flite kit in the Dave Platt forum. After navigating to the appropriate forum, simply click on the "New Topic" button in the upper right corner to post a new topic.
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2. How do I upload a picture into my post?
Once you have started typing your post and you want to add an image to your post simply press the [ENTER] key twice (to move the cursor below your text) and click the image upload button on the editor toolbar  to bring up the image upload dialog box. Before that, there are a couple of things you need to know. First, we only accept .jpg .png and .gif format images. Secondly, all images must be under 300K in file size. You can use an image editing program such as PhotoRazor (for windows) or iResize (for Macs), or https://bulkresizephotos.com/ (Web Based) to resize and adjust the resolution of the image. How to do this is outside the scope of this FAQ and you should consult someone with the appropriate knowledge if you are not familiar with editing images. NOTE: Make sure the image width is no greater than 1024 pixels wide so not to throw the page width layout out of alignment.Next press the [Enter] key at least twice after your text or between images (or the text will wrap around the image) and click on the image upload button. Then you will be prompted to select a local file to upload by clicking on the "Browse" button in the file upload window. After selecting the file to upload click the "Ok" button to start the upload. Once it is complete you should see the image in the edit window.
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3. Why do you limit the image size to 300K? Other sites don't do this.
The reason for the image file size limit is because RCSB displays its images in threads in an in-line flowing style (as opposed to having all the images grouped at the bottom of each post as thumbnails) that includes in-line images mixed with text to help the individual posting tell the story. Think about trying to read a post and match a tiny image thumbnail up to what you are reading like on the others sites when a process is being discussed. It is a real pain. So, since our images are inline (as opposed to click-able thumbnails at the bottom of the post) we have to manage the amount of data that is sent down to your browser when you view a page. Think of it like this. If a thread page has 20 images on it and they are all 5 Megabyte in size that is ONE HUNDRED MEGAGBYTES of data that has to load just to show you one page of images. That would take approximately 1-3 MINUTES to download depending on your internet connection speed connection which is utterly unacceptable. Now you know why we limit the file size.
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4. I added an image to my post but when I submitted the post all that showed up was a red X where the image is supposed to be. What happened?
This is caused by one of two possible problems. First, make sure you used the Image Upload button and not the Link Image button. If you accidentally used the link image button it is trying to link to a image on your hard disk and no one can see it. A more common problem is the image filename has one or more "special" characters in it like single quotes, double quotes, apostrophes, & , ? , + and =. These characters are used by the protocol the web uses and it confuses the web browser when they are in the filename. Make sure your image filenames are made up of nothing but alphanumeric characters (A-Z and 0-9).
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5. Is there a maximum number of images I can add to a post?
There is no real limit but please be aware that while it may be convenient for you to add 50 images to one post, everyone else is going to have to load all those images at one time when they view your post. A good rule of thumb is 8-10 images a post.
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6. How do I use the spell check while composing my post?
All modern browsers offer spell checking as an option and will underline the words misspelled with a red dotted line. Simply right click on the word to correct it.
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7. How do I quote a post?
You will notice in the upper right corner of every post there is a "Quote" link. When you click this it will send you to the "New Post" page with the content of the post you were reading inserted in to the editor. If images are in the quoted post, please remove them by clicking on the image and pressing the [Delete] key. This feature is intended to answer specific questions in a post or if you wish to comment or answer a post that was a few posts back from the end of the thread. If you only want to address a certain part of the quoted text, you can delete everything else (including images) while you are editing your post and just leave the text or picture you want to address (if you want to refer to a particular photo out of a series of photos in a post, just delete the rest). Quoting an entire post to just say something like "Looks good" is actually detrimental and slows down loading the pages.
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8. How do I add a link (URL) to my post so others can simply click on it?
To create a clickable link simply paste the URL (or type whatever text you want to be linked) into the post. Now select (highlight) the URL or text in the post to be a link with your mouse. Click the "Add Hyperlink" button  on the editor toolbar and when the popup window loads asking for a URL paste in the URL, then click the Ok button and you have a click-able link.
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9. I created a post in a thread, but I discovered that I need to change something in it. How do I do that?
Simply click on the "Edit" link at the bottom of your post and it will be open up your post and allow you to edit it. When you are finished, click on the "Update Post" button at the bottom of the edit box. If you wish to preview your post, click on the "Preview Post" button.
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10. I have a post in a thread that I wish to remove. How do I do this?
Click on the "Delete" link at the bottom of YOUR post and then click on the "Ok" on the warning dialog box that appears. Then it will be removed.
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11. I have decided that I do not wish to continue with my build topic (thread). How do I delete it or close it?
You can simply use the "Contact Us" page and let us know the details and why you wish the thread to be deleted and we will take care of this for you if applicable. However understand your thread may not be deleted if it contains valuable information that others can benefit from even if you think this is not the case.
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12. Why do portions of my thread sometime disappear? Also, when I comment in a topic and then sometimes later it's gone?
From time to time the moderators of the site "clean up" the threads to remove comments that do not directly apply to the thread content or are just "atta boy" posts. This keeps the thread focused on the issue at hand allowing others to enjoy the thread without having to wade through all the "good Job's" and "off topic" posts.
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13. How do I subscribe / unsubscribe from a topic (thread)?
To follow or un-follow a topic (thread), click the "Follow Topic" link in the upper right corner or lower right corner of a topic's page. You will then see a pop-up telling you that you are subscribed to the topic and will be notified of replies by email. You will now notice that the "Follow Topic" link has changed to "Un-Follow Topic". If you go to the forum list, you will notice that you can subscribe to entire forums also. On the top menu, under My Portal, there is an "Email Notification Subscriptions" link. Click this and you will see all the topics you are subscribed to and you can unsubscribe here as well by checking the threads you don't want to watch and then the "Unsubscribe" button.
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14. Why does the post count on my user info decrease occasionally?
From time-to-time our Administrators and Moderators "clean up" off-topic or "atta-boy" posts in long threads to make them easier to read. Nothing worse than trying to read through a thread and have to wade through two pages of off-topic discussion or congratulations (also see number 12 above).
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15. What should I do if I think someone is causing problems or is a spammer in a thread?
In the upper right corner of every post is a "Report" link. Simply clcik that and the post details along with a short note from you will be sent directly to a staff member that will take a look. We try to stay on top of these things, but they sometimes even sneak past us. Your help is greatly appreciated.
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16. Why are my images upside down or sideways when I post them from my phone?
This has to do with how you are holding the phone when you take the image. The iPhone and Android phones rotate the image internally and this doesn't translate all programs. For iPhones, you can prevent any rotation issues in the future by taking your iPhone photos and videos with the volume buttons pointing down. For Android users, make sure the camera button is on the right. If it is on the left then the photo will be upside-down.
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17. Why are my photos upside down or sideways when I post them but they look correct on my phone.
Apple products save orientation information in every image so it can always display it correctly on the device regardless if you take the image sideways or upside-down. Unfortunately the rest of the world does not do this, that is why your images look correct on your iPad but sideways or upside-down here. You can avoid this problem in the future by taking photos in landscape mode (long ways) with the iPhone/iPad held with the Home button to the right. In portrait mode keep the Home button at the bottom.
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| Member Tasks |
1. How do I send a Private Message to another member?
There are two ways you can send a Private Message (PM). First, if you are looking at a post by the member you wish to send a PM to simply use the link at the bottom of the post that says "Private Message". The second method is you can go to your Private Message Inbox by clicking on "My Profile" on the site menu (on the top of every page), then clicking the "Private Messenger" link to bring it up. To send a new message click the "New MSG" link in the upper right corner, then enter or lookup the user-name, add a subject, and type your message. When you are ready to send it simply click the "Post Message" button at the bottom of the editor.
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2. How do I manage my forum and thread email subscriptions?
You can manage your forum and thread subscriptions by clicking on "My Profile" on the site menu (on the top of every page), then clicking the "Email Notification Subscriptions" link to bring it up. There, you can manage subscriptions to both forums and threads / topics.
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3. What is the Plans Repository and where can I find it?
The Plans Repository is a section for RCSB Site Supporters only to download various plan sets kindly donated by Members and Designers to RCSB. If you are a Site Supporter it can be found by clicking "Site Supporter" on the site menu at the top of the page or in the site navigation on the left of the page in the Site Supporters section.
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4. How do I add an avatar to my account so a picture shows up beside my name?
To add an avatar to your profile simply click on "My Profile" on the site menu, then click on the "Edit Profile" link. Next, scroll down and find "Select Avatar" in your profile page and you can either select an existing avatar (by clicking the "List Avatars" link) or upload your own (by clicking the "Upload Avatar" link). If you upload your own the avatar must be 100 x 100 pixels and the file size no greater than 60Kb.
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5. When trying to upload an avatar it appears shortened or stretched after I upload it. How can I upload one that's proportionally correct?
First, understand image editing is outside the scope of this FAQ but basically what is going on is that the image you have selected is not proportioned 1:1. As an example if the image 300x200 (3:2) pixels the site will smash it down to 100x100 (1:1) pixels. You could crop the image to 200 x 200 (which is 1:1) and the site will resize it down correctly. But for the best effect, simply resize and crop your image until it is 100 x 100 pixels in your favorite image editing software.
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| Miscellaneous |
1. How long does it take to get a response to a question from the RCSB staff?
Our volunteer staff do their best to answer your questions and/or help you with your issue as quickly as possible. We have staff members in Europe, Australia and the United States in order to have coverage across multiple time zones. But please keep in mind every one of these are volunteers that assist the site on a part time basis and they have full time day jobs as well so please be patient. Our goal is to give you the best possible customer service and we try to answer your questions as quickly as we can.
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2. I would like to write a tutorial. How do I submit it the the site?
First if you would like to contribute a tutorial to the site let me thank you! To do this simply use the "Contact Us" form to email me telling me what you would like to submit and I will give you an email address to send it to. We require all tutorials to be in MS Word or PDF (Acrobat) format.
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3. Is there a mobile version of RCSB?
There is no mobile app as it is not needed. You can access the site from any browser on any device. We are continually making changes to make the site more mobile friendly.
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4. I have a lot of images of a aircraft subject, how can I donate them to the site?
Everyone greatly appreciates the walkarounds our members donate! To do this simply use the "Contact Us" form to email us telling us what you would like to submit and we will give you an email address to send it to using the free service WeTransfer.com.
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5. I am interested in banner advertising on RCSB. Who do I contact?
Simply use the "Contact Us" form to email us and let us know your interest in advertising. We will shoot you an email back ASAP with all the advertising information.
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