Bonanza Brand - Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bonanza Brand FAQ was compiled by various members. If you have any questions about this or think of something that should be added just email Sneddy.

Questions

How are things run here?
The Bonanza Brand board may be run differently to what many members are used to. Instead of one person (i.e. the owner) making all of the decisions and rules, there is a team of 5 people (the Brandsters) who discuss all matters arising on the board. In other words, this board is run by a team and not one or two individuals telling the rest of us what to do.

The manangement team goes by majority rules and usually you will be dealing one member of the Brandsters, who will be acting on behalf of the management.

Example:
If a member is purposely causing dissension and the majority of members feel that their presence is a burden, the problem will be discussed amongst the Brandsters. Once a decision is made, the member in question will deal with one person acting on behalf of the others.

Members here are treated with respect. If you have a problem please let a member of the Brandsters know and they will deal with the problem as best as they can. We also understand that from time to time you may not agree with a feature we install or a solution to a particular problem but as long as you don't break the be respectful rule, then you can voice your opinion without any fears of it being deleted.

What are the various administration groups?
There are two levels of administration at the Bonanza Brand board:

The Ponderosa Patrol: Forum/Room hosts who deal with matters in their particular forum/room.

The Brandsters: The main Administration team.

Who do I go to if I am having a problem?
Here at Bonanza Brand we have a slightly different management system then what you may be used to at other boards. So here's how things work around here if you are having a problem.

If you are having a problem in a certain forum/room - ask the forum/room host (Ponderosa Patrol) to help you. If they can't then they will refer the problem to the Brandsters.

For rooms without a host - contact the Brandsters by PM or email.

All general board problems - contact the Brandsters

Problems with the gallery or fanfic library - contact Sneddy

If you PM someone else, other the Brandster who is in charge of the area you have the problem, then it may be ignored or forwarded to the Brandster who is in charge of that area.

How do I become a forum/room host and what is expected of me?
In order to become a Forum/Room host you must have at least 100 posts. When you have reached this level, check the forums/rooms to find out which ones need a host. Most forums/room will be co-hosted (i.e. hosted by two members) with the exception of some specialised sub-categories and read-only forums e.g The Bookshelf in the Virginia City Literary Society.

When you find a forum/room that you would like to host, PM a member of the Brandsters. This person will put forth your name for consideration to the rest of the moderators. If you are approved then you will be made host of that forum/room and promoted to The Ponderosa Patrol group. You will only be able to host a maximum of two forums.

As a host, you will be required to think of new features that might draw interest to your forum as well as draw interest to the board as a whole; start discussion threads in your hosted forum; keep a watch on your forum to make sure no rules are broken and to visit here on a regular basis i.e. at least once every four days.

As a forum/room host you will be a primary source of contact for members and may from time to time be required to answer general queries so it is recommended that you participate in some of the other forums and be familiar with what is happening on the rest of the board.

A forum/room host must give ample warning as to when you will be away, especially if you need someone to look after the room while they are gone.

I want to start a new feature. What do I do?
The minimum requirement to do a feature is 50 posts. You must then approach the hosts of the forum/room that you want to do the feature in. The hosts will then decide if they want to go ahead with the feature or not. If a forum/room has no hosts contact one of the Brandsters.

The reason why we do it this way is that we don't want the board be cluttered with a lot of people doing the same thing.

How do I gain access to the R-rated forums?
To gain access to the R-rated forums you must be over 18 years of age. You then email one of the Brandsters to request access. The Brandster will then place you in either the Ranch R or Ropers R group (depending on your post count) - which will allow you to access this area. When you request access you need to make a brief statement saying that you are 18 years or older.

What happens when a member has a birthday?
From the Ranch Rules:
Birthdays: When a member has a birthday, the following will happen: the member will get a birthday thread (posted by a Brandster in The Washoe Diggings forum) if they have posted during these two months.

If the member has posted within two months/60 days, then a moderator from the Brandsters group will usually post a birthday thread for that member.

The reason why we don't put up a thread for members who haven't posted during the two months/60 days prior to their birthday is that it is most unlikely that they will not see the thread and so it would be a bit of a waste.

Who posts the congratulatory threads for the Ace-High Club?
When a member reaches 1000 posts, a Brandster will post a congratulatory thread. A Brandster will post for each member a congratulatory thread every time they post another 1000 times, i.e. 1000, 2000, 3000, etc.

Where is the Fanfic Library?
The link to the Bonanza Brand Fanfic Library can be found on the menu bar under Multimedia/Fanfiction & FanArt or by clicking here. Registration is only necessary if you wish to upload stories or to leave a review under your name. If you wish to leave an anonymous review, there is no need to register. The front page of the Fanfic Library contains information about the Library.

Where is the Episode Guide?
The link to the Bonanza Episode Guide can be found on the menu bar on the main website or by clicking here. Here you will find three separated indexes listing the episode underneath Season, Alphabetical or Numerical order. Each episode has its own page including a summary, notes, quotes, pictures and general episode information. The Season pages contain crew credits for each episode. This is still a work in progress and new information is being added regularly.

What about Privacy?
1: No private communications (PMs and emails) between you and other members are read by any member of the Brandsters (admin).
2: It is the forum host's job to make sure that what is posted publicly on the board compiles with the board rules. If the host feels that a certain member is breaking those rules, they will let the Brandsters know. The Brandsters will then discuss what action should be taken. Even under these circumstances, it will be only what you post publicly that will be monitored. All of your private communications will remain private.
3: Any information that is publicly available (profile information or what is posted by you) will be available to all members of Bonanza Brand. So if you don't wish to let people know certain things about you, then please do not make it public.
4: The Brandsters do have access to information that you may have used to register but this is not divulged to anybody outside of this group.

On some boards I've seen a difference between the number of registered members and the actual number that regularly participate. What's the policy here?
We believe that the number of registered members should reflect the number who actually participate on the board on a regular basis. That is why we have the eight month rule where we delete members who haven't visited the board in over eight months.

We do this because we do not wish to inflate our member statistics by keeping members who haven't been active or who have been banned as registered members. In other words, we aren't interested in statistics, we're more interested in finding ways to keep Bonanza Brand an interesting and enjoyable place to visit.

On some boards I've seen some links to full episodes found elsewhere on the net. Why don't you do it here?
We are an officially-licensed site, and as such, we need to respect Bonanza Ventures' copyright. Websites that direct people to illegal copies of motion pictures can be, and have been, held responsible for copyright violation. We do not wish to go to court. Though we hate to ever delete a post, we value our freedom and money, so threads that post such links will be deleted.

The title Bonanza is a registered trademark of Bonanza Ventures, the official rights holder to all shows created by Mr. David Dortort. Bonanza Ventures is not responsible for the opinions shared and discussed on this website, as well as the content posted amongst various links on this site.

The characters, likenesses and the ranch itself which are displayed on Bonanza along with any and all images, screenshots and pictures are the copyrighted material and trademarked property of Bonanza Ventures and the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). They are offered here for the sole purpose of private and/or non-commercial use. Any disregard to the above mentioned copyrights as well as unauthorized display or distribution is expressly prohibited and is considered a violation of the legal rights of Bonanza Ventures and NBC.