User Block

Next to that is the user block. If you're not logged in, this provides the method to do so. The link to register on the site is also here. We'll explore the benefits of joining VGG in another chapter.

When you are logged in, you'll find links to your geekdo mailbox, your subscriptions, and your user profile, along with the log out link.

Domain Selector

Next to the user block is the navigation block, your key to navigating the 'geek.

The top of the navigation block is the domain selector. This allows you to reach the different members of the BoardGameGeek family, currently Board Games (or BoardGameGeek), RPGs (RPGGeek), and Video Games (you are here). Clicking on any domain will take you to that site. If you have an account on any of these sites, your same account is present on all of them. Each site works similarly, but has it's own differences to allow it to best handle it's topic. We'll only be discussing VGG here, but the other sites have their own user guides and share many of the same helpful members of the community.

Your current domain is highlighted to match the navigation bar below. The little arrow to the right of the active domain provides drop down links back to the main site page and the recent additions page, which allows you to see all the most recent contributions to VGG.

The Search Bar

The search bar allows you to easily find any game or company in the database. If you don't find what you're looking for, it may not yet exist here on VGG, but you can easily help fix that by contributing your knowledge. The drop down menu allows you to search only a specific category, while the advanced search link will enable you to craft a complex search of your own design.

The Menu Bar

The menu bar consists of the following drop down menus:

My Geek : This menu won't show up unless you are logged in. It provides access to what makes geekdo yours - your profile, account, collection, contributions, etc.

Browse : The browse menu allows you to do just that - browse the various database categories of VGG. It's a big place, and it's easy to get lost in there. If looking for something specific, you're better off using search, but if you just want to discover something new, explore at your heart's content.

Forums : The database is the heart of VGG, the forums are it's lifeblood. Clicking on the Forums menu, or any of it's submenus will take you to the the VGG forums. If you've used any form of bulletin board system or online forum before, it should seem fairly familiar.

GeekLists : GeekLists are thematic collections created by users like yourself . Some are informational, some are just for fun.

Bazaar: The bazaar is the place to go to acquire new stuff or get rid of unwanted stuff. You can buy and sell on the marketplace, take place in auctions, and arrange trades with other users, as well as purchase geekdo related merchandise.

Misc: Think of this as the "advanced" menu for geekdo. There's nothing too difficult here, but everything deserves it's own explanation which you'll find further below.

Help: Where to go to learn more about VGG. If you have a question about the site, hopefully you'll find an answer here. If not, feel free to ask a question in our How To forums link to how to vgg here. As long as it's VGG related, our users and admins will be happy to help you out.

The Quickbar

The last portion of the navbar is the Quickbar.

The quickbar is only visible to logged in users, and serves as your own personal navigation tool to the parts of the site you want one or two click access to.
You have 10 quickbar pages, each selectable via the numerals at the top. Each page will hold 10 links to the VGG site. After you've added an item, forum, or other page to your quickbar, simply clicking on it will take you directly to it.

Adding an item to your quickbar is easy. Simply go to the page you want to add, be it a forum, subforum, or thread, any database item, or a wiki page, and click on one of the "+" icons in the quickbar. A prompt will ask you to put in the name you want to see on the quickbar, and that's all there is too it.

You can use the Edit link to modify or manually add to your quickbar. Select the quickbar page you want to edit (1-10), and hit the Edit link.

From here, you can clear a quickbar item, edit the label, and edit the url for the quickbar item.

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