Those of you who have been here for the release of previous games, know how very very crazy it can be around here in the first few weeks! This is an appeal from us, your moderators and admins, to help us keep things under control.

When we get too many duplicate posts it clogs the board, and makes it very hard for people to find the information they are looking for. It also clogs the server, and slows things down for everyone.

What we are asking, is that before you post a new topic asking a question, or commenting on the game, you carefully look to make sure someone else hasn't already asked/talked about it.

We do want your questions and comments! We even encourage them. All we're asking is to help us keep down the amount of duplicate (oh yeah, and Off Topic) posts.

Here are some ways you can help us:

• First, just quickly scan the forum to see if the question/comment you have is already present.
• If you don't see it, then use the "Search" function (located towards the right side of the header bar above),
• If you still don't find what you're looking for, go to the game guide (I'm sure there will be one).
• Finally, if you still can't find what you're looking for, THEN go ahead and start a New Topic.

By following these few steps, you will make it easier for not just the mods, but also for yourself and your fellow forum members.

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This is a quickie example of how to use the Search function:

• Click the Search button
• Click Advanced
• Under Forum To Search, click Virtual Villagers 4: The Tree of Life
• In the blank field on the top right of the Search box, type a single "key" word of at least 3 letters. To find this topic your key word could be posting.
• Leave the default search of in Subject and body.
• Skip the part about date ranges for now.
• Scroll to the bottom of the search window and click Submit.
• The search engine should return a list of topics that contains the keyword you are looking for.