Hotline Client Newbie Guide
Initial NOTES:
First, I don't know who to give credit to for the original writeup of this
guide. I modified it somewhat and cleaned it up. Second, this guide applies
to Hotline 1.2.3 or before...there may or may not be options in later versions
that are different from the references here. Third, this guide presents information
related mainly to PUBLIC Hotline servers - ones that are listed on trackers.
If you need to know more about PRIVATE hotline servers, ask someone on a server
that you visit about it. Fourth, some things here are simply implied, which
means to you, the newbie, that you should RTFM! (Read the Friggin'
Manual!) if you haven't to learn more.
A Newbie Guide to Hotline
First, Welcome to Hotline, the fastest growing, best way to share
information, transfer files, and chat with friends! There are a few simple
things you all will want to know, to make your Hotline (commonly abbreviated
as just "HL") experience more enjoyable.
Queueing:
This means downloading (or uploading) one file at a time. HL allows you to
double click many files from a list and download them all in "parallel",
and sometimes this is set as the default when you first run HL. This has the
unfortunate affect of making your client "hog" the server's resources,
and makes everyone else's file transfers slow down. It is considered very
rude to not queue your downloads. The first thing you should do is to go to
the options menu and put a check mark in the "queue file transfers"
box. When this is checked, you can still select many files to download, but
they will be done one at a time - as each transfer finishes, the next selection
will be automatically started, like a jukebox plays songs that have been entered.
Note: Not queueing your downloads will probably
get you kicked (disconnected by an Admin) from a site where you're downloading.
You can come back (sometimes, if you’re not banned), but will have to
resume your downloads. Failing to queue them after returning will certainly
get you kicked again, possibly permanently.
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Trackers:
These are special locations that keep a list of servers on Hotline. If the
server owner chooses to list his server on a tracker, it will show up in the
tracker listing. Connecting to a tracker is different than connecting to a
server - you can do it while connected to a server. Click TRACKER on the toolbar
and a list will pop up with all the servers registering on that tracker. Double-clicking
a site on that list will log you off the server you are currently connected
to (if any) and connect you to the new site. There are many trackers, some
of which are not reliable. When you are logged onto a server, you may want
to read the news and see if there is a current tracker list posted in the
news. You can enter a new tracker address in the options menu, but be sure
to write down your working trackers somewhere, or you may find yourself lost
with no working trackers.
Note: This may sound silly, but asking
everyone at a site if they "know any good trackers" is very irritating
to the other users, and is NOT recommended. Check the news, and maybe look
in the files for a tracker list. Or visit tracker-tracker.com
for an up-to-date listing of available trackers.
Accounts:
Up until now you have probably been logging into sites as a guest. There are
other accounts besides guest on most servers. These are usually granted to
users as returns for favors, usually because the user has made a requested
upload or two. These accounts may have access to additional files or additional
privileges. Many sites allow guest login only on certain days, and without
an account you cannot log in on "non guest days". You will notice
with these sites you get an error "specified folder 'guest' does not
exist", or "Incorrect login" when trying to connect to them
- the reason is they do not have a guest account enabled today. If someone
gives you an account, you will need to use a different method to log into
that server. In the tracker, click once on the site so it is highlighted.
Hold down the option key and double-click. A dialog box should appear, with
the server's address filled in. Enter your username and password (also known
as login/pass or variations of that phrase) then hit the SAVE button at lower
left, navigate to the Servers folder inside your Hotline Client folder, and
save a bookmark. Important Note on saving
bookmarks: If you are connecting to a server that uses a port number on its
IP number (eg, 123.456.876.23:6600) and you try to save the bookmark as it
is displayed in the save dialog (with just the IP number) you MUST change
the colon (:) to a hyphen (-) or something else before saving it. Macs cannot
use the colon in filenames, thus the error. Once it's saved you can hit the
popup at anytime to the right of the server field in the connect dialog and
all info will be filled for you and just hit Connect. If someone sends you
a message (most likely this person will have ared name in the list, defining
him as an admin on the server) and asks you something like "What do you
want for a login/pass?", they are offering you an account and requesting
you to make up a name and password. You will probably want to use your usual
nickname as the username, and make up something original as a password. NEVER
give your existing login and password to anyone that asks unless they are
red, and even then, all they should ask for is your username to check your
account details.
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Names in RED:
These are people who have powerful accounts (admin accounts), and are able
to kick you - disconnect you - from that server. Irritating them is NOT recommended.
Inversely, they can be helpful if you have a question about the server...just
ask nicely and don't bug them too much. They may also be able to give you
an account on that server. Being red may also mean they are the owner of that
site. These people are usually referred to as Admins. Don't ask for an Admin
account - it is like asking someone for the key to their house - you will
only get it if you need or deserve it.
Names in GREY:
Hotline server keeps track of how often you interact with the server, and
if you are not active for five minutes straight, your name will go from black
to grey, to indicate to the other users that you may be away from your computer,
or working in another application. Most users that are grey have started a
download and are busy doing something else. Admins change from red to pink
when they go idle.
Logging Into Two Servers:
You can log into two (or more) servers at once by making a copy of the client
program application and running it. It is not uncommon to see a user that
is logged into three or more servers at once in this way.
News:
Most servers allow guest access to news, and a few don't allow anyone access
to news (the reasons are rather complex, don't ask) Generally speaking, the
news is like a tackboard at the front door of the building. You put things
up there that are of interest to most people, but try to keep posts close
to other topics you might see in the news. It is not advised to post private
messages to another user, and posting any form of advertisement or "make
money fast" message will probably get you kicked (possibly permanently)
from that server.
Uploads:
Before uploading (sending) a file to the server, it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
that you go to that file in the finder, and edit the comment in the Get Info
window for that file. Put a short description of the file there, something
that would tell someone what the file was if they had never seen it before.
It's also a good idea to make sure that file does not already exist somewhere
on the server (uploading duplicates irritates the admins). It is only fair
to upload a file or two if you are getting ready to do some heavy downloading.
Many sites require you to make an upload (sometimes you will receive an account
for uploading) before you will be able to do a download.
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Icons and Nicknames:
You'll notice that each user has their own nickname (aka "alias")
and icon (the little picture to the left of the user, in the Users window).
You can change your nick to anything you like, though do try to be original.
If your nick is still "unnamed", change it! by going to the Otptions
button and making a name in there. Some servers use bots that will auto-kick
"unnamed" users, and some admins will just ban you for it. You can
also select an icon, though your choices are somewhat limited within the HL
Client options. There are third-party icon sets, but I will let you explore
those possibilities on your own. Just one word I feel I have to say......
"Bacon". ;-) Someday you may find out the secret of that on Hotline
;-)
Windows:
The Tracker, Files, and Users windows are all searchable in a limited fashion.
Simply click on the window and type a few characters. Wait a sec (or hit return)
and the highlight will move to the first place it found those characters.
Abbreviations:
You'll see a lot of fast talk, and it's handy to know what others are talking
about. Some of the most common ones are:
BRB - Be Right Back
AFK - Away From Keyboard
LOL - Laughed Out Loud (it's a general term that encompasses all things like
snickers and chuckles)
ROFL - Rolling On Floor Laughing
LMAO - Laughing My Ass Off
BBL - Be Back Later
TTYL - Talk To You Later
PM - Private Message
K - O.K.
NM - Nevermind
MSG - Message
UN/PW or Login/Pass - Username and Password
ACCT - Account
UL/DL - Upload and Download (upload is putting files up to the server, download
is getting them)
You can do a search on "emoticons" from any search engine and probly
come up with a hundred more of these...the above are the most commonly used.
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One Last Note - About "Banner Access" Servers
on Trackers:
DO NOT support these servers. If you go to one and it makes you go off to
some website or register an email address to some site to obtain a login and
password, don't do it. Find another server. There are thousands. It's very
unethical for them to charge (make money off your banner clicks to obtain
a password) for something they got for free.
Obviously a lot more could be added to this, it's just a general guide to get you started. Be nice, play fair, and SHARE. All this downloading and files available to you MIGHT cause you to become greedy and just downlaod all the time. UPLOAD and SHARE...that's how these servers got what they have. Give INFORMATION at servers - help people who have a problem posted in the news if you have an answer for them. Participation in that aspect of Hotline will impress a lot more than just uploading a few files, although those are always appreciated. This website is a direct result of people doing just that on HL servers. 90% ot the material here is from news posts by myself and fellow members on servers.
Have Fun! :-)
SM
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