New to LV or confused? Read this!

A Guide to Lake Valor
We understand that Lake Valor can be a LOT to take in at once, so we're here to help with that.

This guide will go over several functions and aspects of the site, so read up and get familiarised with Lake Valor.

Still confused after reading? Get live support.

Table of Contents:
1. Posting on the forums
2. Receiving and customising Alerts
3. Setting and Preferences
4. Private Conversations
5. Interactive Features
6. Customising Forum Appearance
7. Forum Rules & Enforcement
8. PokéPoints & Our Market
9. Miscellaneous Tips and Tidbits​

 

Posting on the forums
Found an interesting topic you'd love to discuss with the rest of the community? Then go ahead and post!

How to make a Post:

At the very bottom of a discussion thread you'll see a box where you can type your response and get chatting.

Make sure to follow the forum rules and read the opening post of the thread you're replying to before posting yourself. The purpose of a forum is to talk with other people, it defeats the point if you don't make an effort to read and reply to others.

How to make a Thread:

At the top right of an individual section (such as the Intro Lobby) you'll see a button labeled Post New Thread. From there you can choose a thread prefix (if applicable, such as 'Gen 1' for Gen 1 related threads and so on).

Remember to post your thread in the forum where it fits best — if you want to talk about the Sun & Moon starters, you'd post in the 3DS Pokémon Games section, for example.

Formatting your posts / Inserting Images, Links, and Videos:

If you want to format your posts (such as bolding, centering, adding color, resizing, etc) or add an image/link/video, simply click on the appropriate icon at the top of the reply box. Make sure you select the text you want to make changes to before attempting to apply formatting. YouTube Videos can be posted simply by copy/pasting the link.

You can also hover over each formatting icon for an explanation if you're unsure of what it does.

Replying to others:

If you need to respond to a specific post in a thread, there are two great ways to go about this: Mentioning or Quoting.

Mentioning: To mention another user in your post, just type the following text:

@INSERTUSERNAME

Just replace INSERTUSERNAME with the user's actual username. The user will receive a notification that you mentioned them. You can mention multiple usernames if you're responding to multiple people.

Quoting: To quote what someone said, just click the Reply button at the bottom of their post. You'll be automatically be directed to the reply box, where you can respond.

MultiQuoting: MultiQuoting is used to respond to multiple posts by quoting all of them in the same post. To do this, click '+ Quote' at the bottom of each users posts you want to quote. Then scroll down to the bottom of the thread and press 'Insert Quotes' to add them all to your reply box.

 

Receiving and customizing Alerts
If someone mentions, quotes, likes, comments on your profile/status message, or sends you a private conversation, you'll receive an alert in your notifications stash located at the top right corner of any page on the forum.

Next to your username you'll see icons of an envelope and bell - these will allow you to look at your private messages and forum notifications/alerts.

To change your Alert Preferences, simply hover over the bell in your member menu at the top right and click 'Alert Preferences.' From here, you can change what alerts you'll be notified for.

When you're done, be sure to click 'Save Changes' at the bottom!

tip! If you're particularly interested in a specific discussion, you have the ability to add it to your alerts list to be notified each time someone makes a new reply. To do so, go into the thread and click 'Watch Thread' at the top right of the opening post.​

 

Settings and Preferences
The Settings & Preferences section is the place where you'll be able to edit your forum information, such as your user options, profile, avatar, and signature among others. To find it, first hover over your username at the top of the page to bring up a menu where specific things can be edited. What you click on depends on what you're looking to change.

Settings

This is your personal forum information, such as your status message, avatar, custom title, gender, birthday, privacy settings, and other interests and things about yourself you can fill out. This is also where you can create and edit your About Me page to let the rest of the community know more about you.

Avatar

Your Avatar is the image that displays next to each of your posts and on your profile. This will be the image to represent you. You may change it in this menu. If it is too large, it will automatically be scaled down to fit.

Signature

Your signature is the space that appears below each of your posts. You can put images, text, and links here. Feel free to customize it as you see fit, so long as they fit within the forum rules.

The remaining menus are located in your main Account pane and are self-explanatory.

 

Private Messages
Like most forums, you can send a Private Message (often referred to as a DM or PM) to another user. As the name implies, this message is confidential and can only be viewed by you and the recipient(s) you're sending it to.

Viewing Private Messages:

When you receive a new private message, it will appear as an alert in the envelope icon within your user menu, located in the top right corner of every page. From this menu, you can view all of your recent private message conversations or start a brand new one.

Sending Private Messages:

To send a private message, click the envelope to make the PM drop down menu appear, and click 'Start a Message.' You'll be taken to a page where you can write the user you'd like it sent to, give the message a title, and, of course, write out the message itself.

Alternatively, if you don't want to fill out the username field yourself, you can send a private message to someone by going to their profile and clicking the envelope on their page.

tip! Don't forget that you can you can also report private messages if they're breaching any rules. Just because it is private, does not mean the staff does not have the ability to see it when needed. If you feel someone is breaking the rules or insulting you in any way, don't hesitate to report it so the staff can take a look.​

 

Interactive Features
There are many ways that you can interact with your fellow members. Here are just a few of the things you can do for that.

Status Updates

Similar to social media sites, Lake Valor gives you your own personal 'wall' that you can post status updates on. You can update your status by using the "Recent Status Updates" box on the forum index, or go to your profile and update it that way. Look for the box that says "Update your status..." and type it in.

Your status update will appear on the forum index, as well as on your profile's wall. The index will only show the 5 most recent updates, but your wall will preserve them forever. You can also post a message on someone else's wall, be it a greeting, a message, or even a funny joke.

Discord Server

We have a Discord server, which you can go to at any time to chat with your fellow members! Discord has the advantage of being able to talk to people in real time, so if live chats are your sort of thing, feel free to stop by the server. You can join the Discord by clicking on the Discord link at the side of the page.

If you're a donator, you will have that rank/colour on the Discord server as well.

Pokémon Catcher

One unique draw to Lake Valor is the ability to catch your own Pokémon. Occasionally, at the bottom right of any thread or forum section, a Pokémon will pop up and be available for capture. If you capture one, you can set it as a 'Buddy', and as you post, it will level up and get stronger.

More detailed information about the Catcher and its various features can be found by clicking here.

 

Customising Forum Appearance
Lake Valor comes with a variety of 'themes', which are essentially skins that change the appearance (but not function) of the forum. There are a few available to choose from, based on what you find most aesthetically pleasing.

To select what theme you're using, scroll down to the bottom left of the page; you will see a dropdown where you can choose what theme you're currently viewing. You can change the theme at any time, so feel free to pick whichever theme you like best.

 

Forum Rules & Enforcement
Like any community, we have own set of rules that everyone has to abide by. The Global Forum Rules can be found in the Info Hub, or via the "Global Forum Rules" link at the bottom of every page. Certain forum sections may also have rules specific to them, which will also be found as stickied threads.

Note that the Global Forum Rules apply everywhere, on both Lake Valor's forum and Discord server alike. If you break the rules on one, you risk being barred from both. Don't worry, though - we want Lake Valor to be a safe, clean, and fun place, so as long as you're considerate and mean well, you shouldn't have much trouble.

If a member ends up breaking a rule, one of three possible offenses will be given: verbal warning, warning point, or ban.

A verbal warning is usually given when a member breaks a rule on accident, and is usually given for first offenses or something similarly minor. A staff member will message you with more information if you receive one.

A warning point is given when the offense committed is more serious, or when a member has been given multiple verbal warnings and the penalty needs to escalate one step. If this happens, a Moderator or Administrator will PM you, explaining everything as above, but will also place a warning point on your account.

Warning points appear on your record, and will have a set expiration date, which depends on the severity of the offense (lighter ones will expire sooner, but more serious ones stay longer). Points from repeat offenses may also have a higher duration.

You can check how many warning points you have on your profile. Warning points are known only to you and the staff.

A ban is when the offense is serious enough (or when multiple warning points have been given) that a member must be banned from Lake Valor. When a member is banned, he or she cannot access Lake Valor's forum or Discord server at all.

Bans can be either temporary or permanent, depending on the severity of the offense.

If you spot something you think breaks the rules

Let one of the staff know about it. On the forums, there is a "Report" button at the bottom of every post; if you think that post breaks a rule, simply report it and the staff will take care of it.

If it happens to be on the Discord server, you can let one of the staff know directly. Either way, once you let the staff know, they will handle it.

 

PokéPoints & our Market
Here on Lake Valor, we have our own economy with a currency known as PokéPoints or PP for short.

Earning PokéPoints:

There are plenty of ways to earn PokéPoints:

• Posting - Just post on the forum and you gain PP for every post you make
• Events/Contests - You can participate in events that are held on Lake Valor and get PokéPoints for participating. Winners get even more PokéPoints.
• The Market - You can set up a shop for various things: Selling signatures, other artwork, or even Pokémon.
• Redeeming Promotional Codes

More information about the Market and how to redeem promotional codes is further down in this post.

Spending PokéPoints:

There are two primary ways to spend your PokéPoints: the LV Shop and the Market.

LV Shop:

Visit the LV Shop here. In the LV Shop, you can buy various things:

• PokéBalls: This is where you can buy the PokéBalls, Great Balls, and Ultra Balls to catch the Pokémon that roam about on the forum.
• Treasures: Each month new Pokémon related treasures are added to the shop. A full list of treasures can be found here.
• User Changes: Here you can buy: User Title Formatting and Username Change.

Note: You can trade Treasures for PokéPoints and other things here, if you don't want them anymore.

Displaying Treasures

You can set Treasures by going to the Your Inventory tab in the LV Shop. You will see a list of the Treasures you have collected. On the right side of the screen, you will see the Settings button.



If you want to display a Treasure, tick on the Active box, and untick the Hidden Box. Like shown in the picture down below.



Save and your adoptable should show up in the postbit underneath your Avatar in posts.

The Market:

There is a section on LV called the Market (click here to go straight there). Here, users can set up their very own shops, where they can sell things such as art or Pokémon. This is a great way to earn some PokéPoints if you have something to offer or a useful place to buy things with the PokéPoints you've collected, such as neat graphics to put in your signature.

Note: If you buy a product from someone, be sure to pay them the appropriate amount of PokéPoints! To pay them, go to the post bit on the left of the page and click on PokéPoint sign. A new window will pop up and asks if you want to donate to that user. Fill in the amount of PokéPoints that you owe the user and click on save. You must also be sure to leave Feedback.

For more information on the Market, click here.

Redeeming Promotion Codes

On several occasions, you can find a Promotional Code in announcements or in our social media posts that you can redeem here on Lake Valor. How does this work?

First, you need to have a code that you can redeem. Say, LAKEVALORPROMO (Is not a real code).

Then you need to go to your post bit and click on your PokéPoint sign.


A new window pops up with a few tabs. Click on the tab that says "Redeem".


Type your code in the text box, as show in the picture. Then click on the save button.


If you have done the steps correctly, you should receive your PP.

 

Misc Tips & Tidbits
Here are some other useful bits and bobs about Lake Valor. These are other various things and features that are found here, that don't really fit into a previous category but are still useful.

Medals
You can earn medals by passing various milestones while you're on Lake Valor, such as having a specific amount of posts, buying enough items in the LV Shop, or even participating in a contest.
Some medals are awarded automatically to you when you pass those points; others must be requested to obtain them. You can find a full list of medals here.
If there are any trophies you have earned and want to request them, make a post in this thread saying what medals you've earned.

Linking to a Specific Post
If you want to link to a specific post in a thread (rather than the entire thread), there's an easy way to do that. At the bottom-right of each post, there is a number (#) showing what number post it is in the thread, e.g. #11. That number has the link to that post, so you can copy that link to refer back to that post easily. This is very handy if you need to direct someone to a specific post in a thread. For example, the link for this specific post would be "https://lakevalor.net/threads/new-to-lv-or-confused-read-this.17770/#post-375726".