Help and Rules for the Surname Message Board

Welcome to Behind the Name's Surname Message Board! This board is for the discussion of surnames: their meaning, origin, history, usage, etc.

To start a new thread, click the icon at the top of the page. Fill out your name, the subject of your message, and the text of your message. Click the checkbox if you would like to automatically create links from capitalized names in your message text to names in this site's database.

To post a reply, press the Reply button below a message and fill out the form.

HTML allowed on this board:

• type: <B>bold</B> to get bold
• type: <I>italics</I> to get italics
• type: <HR> to get a horizontal line
• type: <SPAN style="...">some text</SPAN> to modify the look of your text
  • example: <SPAN style="color:green; font-size:larger">large and green</SPAN> gives large and green
  • shortcut 1: <COLOR red>red for example</COLOR> gives red for example
  • shortcut 2: <SIZE smaller>small for example</SIZE> gives small for example
• hyperlinks: text like http://inter.net.url or email@addre.ss will be automatically turned into a hyperlink when posted (only registered users)
• images: text like http://www.net.url/image.png will be automatically replaced with the relevant image when posted (only users registered for at least 48 hours and only if the URL ends in .jpg, .png, .gif or .svg)
• spoilers: type <SPOILER>secret text</SPOILER> to get a section of text that is only revealed when clicked, secret text
• for those familiar with HTML, <CENTER> <UL> <OL> <LI> and <PRE> tags are also available

If you haven't used HTML before, please try it out on the test message board before using it elsewhere!

1. Hateful, malicious or harassing messages and spam are not allowed.
New users that start inflammatory topics will be regarded as trolls.

2. Post messages under only one user account. If you do not use an account, post under only one name in order to avoid confusion.
IP addresses are recorded, and site administrators are readily able to identify messages that are posted from the same source.

3. Try to keep debate civil.
Everyone has a right to their opinion. Be kind to one another, and welcoming to newcomers.

4. If you are younger than 12 years old, you must have permission from a parent or adult guardian to post messages.

5. Limit yourself to creating no more than 5 new threads per day per board (however you can respond to as many threads as you want).

6. Try to make your messages legible. Minimize netspeak and abbreviations.

7. If you feel someone is breaking the rules, contact this site's administrators. Don't give trolls the attention they crave.

Q: Do I need an account to use this message board?
A: Most users can post messages without signing in. You will need to sign in if you post from certain domains. Signing up is easy and has benefits, including tracking unread messages and expanded settings.

Q: Can I edit or delete a message I posted?
A: As long as you were signed in when you wrote the message, you can press the Edit button beneath it to make changes. Messages can only be deleted by an administrator.

Q: Why are message dates in different colours?
A: Message dates change colour depending on their age. Messages less than 1 hour old have bright red dates, with the colour fading to grey as they age.

Q: How can I search archived messages?
A: Apart from the Name Facts and Surname boards, the archives cannot be searched. There are simply too many of these older messages to search efficiently. There are two exceptions to this: 1) archived messages can be searched by their tags, and 2) your own archived messages can be searched via your profile (assuming you were signed in).

Q: What are tags for?
A: Threads can be assigned tags, which are keywords broadly describing the thread's topic(s). For more information about tagging threads, see the tagging guidelines.

Q: How do I play name games?
A: Check the games guide for the rules.

Q: What do the abbreviations found in messages stand for?
A: Below are some of the most common abbreviations.

• AN: Author's note
• BF: Boyfriend
• BtN: Behind the Name, the title of this website
• CAF: Create a family
• Combo: A name combination. A first name + one or more middle names
• D: Daughter
• DD: Dear daughter
• DH: Dear husband
• DS: Dear son
• DW: Dear wife
• ETA: Edited to add
• FN: First name
• GF: Girlfriend / Grandfather
• GM: Grandmother
• GP: Guilty pleasure
• H: Husband
• HHP: Heaven, hell, purgatory
• KUY: Keep up yourself
• LN: Last name
• (M): More (when written on the subject line this indicates there is more text in the message inside)
• MN: Middle name
• NMS: Not my style
• NN: Nickname
• NT: No text (the message is entirely within the subject line, no message inside)
• NTNB: Name the next baby
• PNL: Personal name list
• PP: Punctuation Pet ("adopted" superfluous punctuation marks)
• Sibset: Set of siblings
• SO: Significant other
• W: Wife
• WDYT: What do you think?

For other frequently asked questions about names and this site, please see the general FAQ.

The following users kindly help administer this board: Jim Young, mirfak, Randee15 and Tara C