Due to increasing (1) complaints about Ethereal's inaccessability and confusing layout, mysterious functions and inadequate information, a users manual has been comissioned for the site. Use the following table of contents to assist with specific problems, or simply browse through in order to obtain general information. If this guide does not simplify Ethereal's system and you still have problems, please contact us at council@ethereal-realms.org.

• Registration
• Process Walkthrough
• Puppet Registration
• Multiple Puppets
• Puppet Suspension
• Multiple Windows
• Realm Selection
• Entering a Room
• Private Rooms
• Puppet Details
• Homepage, Image, and gummy selection
• What is a gummy?
• Tagline
• Title
• Posting
• The chat box
• The chat window
• The 'Send' Button
• Private Messages
• Dice Roller
• Fast details
• Text Configuration
• Reading
• Post Comprehension
• Responding
• Personal Representation
• Acceptable Use Policy

The registering process may be seen as complicated to some individuals. there are some requirements ER may have that would not be found elsewhere, such as a valid E-Mail address. This is required to verify one's desire to become a member of the Ethereal Community. The Log-in name is the name by which you will evermore be known as a puppetmaster. The login name will be invisible to any other puppeteer, rending your identity as a puppetmaster secret to all by yourself. This allows for Roleplaying without the bias of an identity. Your full name will be required for registration, for purpose of recording those who have become members of the Ethereal Community.

Due to the fact that someone may inadvertantly stumble across your login name, a passwording option is not only suggested, but required. Coding of Ethereal realms prevents anyone from seeing your password; even the Council members are held oblivious to it. Because of the diversity of Ethereal's scripting, you are presented with the ability to enable and disable such features as java script and pictures. Because some people cannot use these features. Let us have a moment of silence.

The Acceptable Use policy is the Stone Tabulature of Ethereal Realms. While some new tablets may be chipped out as the system evolves, one thing is set permanently. All users are held accountable to the AUP, no matter where on the system they are, through private or public domains, Internal Mail, homepages and anything else you may creep into.

After the browser registration process is complete, an E-Mail will be sent to the valid e-mail address you submitted so kindly earlier, that you might finish the process by submitting your electronic signature to the AUP (agreeing basically,) and verify your intent to join.

In order to chat in Ethereal Realms, one must make a puppet to represent their puppeteer. in order to do this, a Puppet Creation link appears at the bottom of the page you are brought to after logging in. Below the realm selection options are the Mail, Homepage, puppet and puppeteer detail sections. Ethereal offers space for small web pages and chat pics to be uploaded, and mail is available to members within Ethereal's system, that you may leave note for someone who is offline. Some details about the puppeteer can be changed, but of most interest is the Puppet configuration. Here you can add handles to your repetoire and change their details. Handles are not screened based on copyright. We're not a business and aren't selling anything. if someone has previously laid claim to your handle, then you're up the creek, and will have to make a new one. Handle grabs are on a first come first serve basis. In the puppet configuration you may also remove handles you have registered.

Puppeteer configuration allows you to suspend and activate handles. meaning that if you registered a handle, like it, want to keep it, but don't want to use it at the time, you may add it to your Ghosted list, and there they will hold for 4 months if unused, before decaying and becoming re-registerable names. you may also change E-Mail and password in this section.

Due to scripting bugs, playing on Ethereal in multiple handles may cause stalling of your windows. this is simple to bypass. allow the chatbox in the second window to load, then stop the stream in that window by pressing the stop button. repeatedly if necesary. then simply use one window for reading the stream, and post the second character in the second window as needed.

To enter a realm on Ethereal Realms, select your puppet from the list, select the room to enter and click 'Enter'. To enter a private room, type the name of the private room you want to enter and click 'Enter'. Each will bring you to the room doorway. Usually herein is contained a brief description of the room. Read it if you are interested. click 'Enter' again to 'Enter' the room. Slick no?

Because Ethereal is such an advanced chat script, you are able to store taglines, titles and information for each of your individual handles. While it is concieveable they may be lost in some sort of systemwide armageddon, it's also possible that you will be hit by a lightening charged meteor. Enter a web address in the 'Homepage' Field in order to link to a 'Homepage'. enter the URL for a 'Picture' in the 'Picture' field to get a 'Picture' to appear in tandem with your posts. Ware of the rooms personalized size restrictions, however, or your pic simply will not display as anything more than a link. Recent updates have allowed you to customise your 'Homepage' 'Gummy'. the 'Gummy' is a graphic beside your picture and tag that will link to whatever you put into the 'Homepage' field. It is now available in a great number of different shapes. collect them all, trade with friends!

The tagline section is a field into which you can write such things as E-Mail address, ICQ number, AIM Nick, etc, or really whatever you want. the Title field will allow you to make a bolder tagline, incorporating your handle. it is simple to use. simply write the tagline you want, as you want it, incorporating HTML if you so desire. where you want your handle to appear, type NAME capitalized as it is, and it will function.

Example:

Puppet Name: Feldon
Title Box Imput: I am the Mighty Lord NAME, and I am LAMER EXTRORDINAIRE!
Chatroom representation: I am the Mighty Lord Feldon, and I am LAMER EXTRORDINAIRE!

Simple. Yes.

Due to developments in chat systems over the last few years, chatters are now able to submit and read submitted messages. Chat may ensue accordingly. In order to do this, one must have available to them the internet, a browser, a keyboard, a computer to run them all through, and a rudimentary grasp of some language or another. there are several available globaly. and many are well recognised. in order to use these tools in Ethereal Realms, Type your message in the Chat Box, the white input space available in all forms of Ethereal Chat located below all recieved messages. to make use of it, after typing, press the button labled send. The message will appear in the chat space, located above the chat box, called the chat window. It needs to be refreshed every now and then, but there is a button marked to do such for your needs.

In addition to the chat box and chat window, Ethereal is equipped with a Dice Roller, for D&D style play, VtM, Werewolf, et cetera, anything requiring numbers for play. (including random foolishness.) Players may also make use of the Private Message feature, which when clicked, will bring up a new window for private input to a selected player. Simply select a player from the list, type the message, and click send.

To further enhance chatting, there are a variety of colors and sizes with which your font may be represented. they are located under the chat box, and may be reached by scrolling down. Please feel free to take advantage of them.

Once again, a grasp of language skills, highly recomended, but not necesarily required. we have translators for |v|@|) |-|@><0|2 †@|_|<, but they are bitter and don't like their job. so try english, it's pretty good for getting the point.

After incorporating the reading portion of the walkthrough, you may come across the need to respond. usually it is a matter of translating whatever language is spoken into an understanding in your mind, formulating an appropriate reaction, and posting it in the same manner as you would post anything, in the realm to which the instigation of your response occured. (yes, this is the MOST confusing part of the walkthrough.)

Any questions or comments may be directed to council@ethereal-realms.org and will be answered in the order in which they are not rejected. the following, for easy reading, is a copy of the Ethereal Realms AUP. Thanks.