Whenever you log into the game, it notifies you if you have unread +bb or @mail messages. So what do you do with that? And what if you want to create your own messages? Gather round, children, I'll teach you how.
Reading the +BB
The +bb is the game's global bulletin board system. There are currently 9 public boards (some restricted by faction) which are used by staff to post announcements, and can also be used by players to organize play sessions or make announcements of their own. I am only going to go over the most commonly used commands here; further information can be found ingame using the '+help bb' command, and I highly encourage you to at least skim the several useful commands you can find there that won't be covered here.
For starters, we have the +bbread command. It has three parts, so let's take a look at it and break it down.
+bbread #/#
As you can see, the first part is the +bbread -- this specifies what action you want to perform on the bulletin boards, this case being reading. The next two parts are places to specify numbers, separated by a slash. The numbers indicate which board you want to access, and which post on that board you want to read, respectively. If you want to read message 3 on the second bulletin board (our Policies and Info board), you'd input '+bbread 2/3'. Easy, right?
The +bbread command can be broken down even further, into two more commands. Leave off the slash and the message number indicator like so,
+bbread #
.. and you can open up the board you specify by the number and see a listing of all messages currently posted there and their assigned numbers, the authors, the message titles, and when they were posted, and if any of the messages are unread (marked by a U to the side). So, if you want to see a list of all messages currently on board one (our Announcements board), simply input '+bbread 1'. Voila.
So what if you leave off the numbers entirely?
+bbread
The above command will list all bulletin boards you currently have access to and what their topics are, when the last post to each board was, and how many messages are on each board, as well as if you have any unread messages on a specific board (again, marked by a U to the side).
Now you know all you need to know about reading the +bb system!
Posting to the +BB
Posting isn't that much harder. First, you'll need to specify (by number) which bulletin board you want to post to, and designate the title of your message with the following command:
+bbpost #/title of your post
Like +bbread, +bbpost simply notifies the system which action you want to perform on the +bb. Once that is entered, the game will tell you that you have started a post to such and such +bboard, and will prompt you to add the actual text of your post. It even tells you the commands to do so right there, but we'll go over them here as well, those commands being:
+bbwrite (your text) or +bb (your text)
Both of the above commands hold the same function, it's your preference which one you use.
After you've added your text, you can use the +bbproof command to see a copy of your post and how it looks so far. Always proofread! When you're done there, simply type +bbpost by itself to actually post your message to the +bboard.
Here's an example list of commands entered for a post:
+bbpost 1/HAY guys!
+bbwrite I called Aizen last night and he said we were totally go for blowing up Karakura! Rock on! I'll bring the booze if someone else will bring the chips!
+bbproof
+bbpost
So what happens if you want to scrap a post you're writing or remove it after you posted it? All is not lost.
If you have a post in progress that you want to scrap, simply input this command at any point:
+bbtoss
That's all there is to it! But what if you already posted the message by mistake, or need to take it down for another reason? You have to specify the delinquent message by its board number and post number with the following command:
+bbremove #/#
So, just to illustrate, if your post is the fourth on board one and you want to take it down, just input '+bbremove 1/4'. Ta-da. :) Let's move onto the machinations of @mail, shall we?
The @mail System
The 'help @mail' command will lead you through the ins and outs of using @mail, but for the sake of quick reference, I'll go over the most-used commands here. Let's start with the basics.
To open your mailbox, input:
You will get a list of all messages in your mailbox by author and subject, each message denoted by a number, and an 'N' if the mail is new and unread. Opening a message to read it is super easy, all you have to do is tack on a number to the previous command. So:
@mail 1
.. tells the game that you want to read message 1 in your mailbox, and message 1 will come up. All there is to it.
What about sending mail? You'll be using the same @mail command, but this time you need to specify the recipient(s), and a subject, like so:
@mail Ichigo=Just so you know--
So we're sending a mail to Ichigo, with the mail's subject being 'Just so you know--', now we need to add text. All you need for this is a little dash (-) in front of your mail body.
-... I found your arm in the street. Can you stop leaving your limbs lying around?
And if you want to proofread the message before you send it, type in:
@mail/proof
If the message looks okay to send, then you use the final command:
@mail/send
You're done!
Lastly, if you need to send a message to multiple recipients, separate their name by a space, nothing else. So if you want to send a mail to Ichigo, Orihime, Chad, and Uryuu about the awesome block party you're having this weekend, do it like so:
@mail Ichigo Chad Orihime Uryuu=Saturday Night Block Party!
Now you're a +bb and @mail master. Just be sure to post a lookout for the cops, kids. And if your appetite for knowledge isn't quite fulfilled just yet, use the 'help mail-sending' command ingame to learn more.
