TIPS FOR USING THE FORUMS


Navigating and Reading

There are two main ways to navigate through the forum application.

On top and bottom of all pages is a "breadcrumb" line. These links show where in the community you are reading and give you the option to click up or down the structure of the community. Within each breadcrumb line are also icons to open up options within each level of the site. Each icon will open up direct links to tools like search or other forums and categories within the Forum application.

A second navigation tool is the "Go" button built into the top left side of each page.

Use the "Go" button to navigate directly to My Space or Forums.



How to Post Topics and Replies


To post a new topic, click the "New" tab on the top left of any forum page. You will be asked to choose a new Discussion, Poll, Private Message or Photo Album (if enabled). Click one of these options to begin.


A discussion is a topic with replies
A poll invites people to vote on a question and add replies.
A private message is a discussion where only those invited may see it and participate.
A photo album is a gallery of uploaded images with a place to add comments as required.


To post a reply, look for a "Reply" tab at the top or bottom of any discussion or poll. Click this tab to open a posting window with tools for enhancing your post with bold text, images or attachments.

Beside each "Reply" tab is a yellow arrow for "Quick Reply." The "Quick Reply" is for fast text-only responses to a discussion.



Enhancing or Editing a Post


You can edit a post after it goes live by clicking the small eraser edit icon in the lower right corner of the message. An administrator may restrict the time frame for editing a message.

You can enhance a post when first creating it or when editing it.

Choose a "mood" icon for the discussion by clicking the selector beside the "Subject" or "Reply To:" field.

You may insert a "graemlin" emoticon (smiley) into your posts by clicking the emoticon icon on the left side of the posting tools.

The posting page tools include some or all of these options:

Graemlins - an inline emoticon image (Smiley, Sad, Angry ect.)
URL - a web page link
Bold - bold text Italics - italic text
Quote - indented text List bullet - ordered text
Email - a clickable email address Image - a properly formed link to an web image
Attachment - where enabled, an uploaded file attachment.



Favorites

To add a discussion to your favorites list, click the "Tools" tab button and select "Add to favorites." You can keep a list of up to 30 discussions in your My Space page. Icons there will show whether your favorites have been updated since your last visit.



Notifications

Click the "Notify" tab on a community page to request email notifications of new content. Delivery options may include:

Daily Email Digest - a summary of all notifications sent once a day.
Weekly Email Digest - a summary of all notifications sent once a week.
Immediate Notification - email automatically sent when there is an update.
Modify or Cancel a Notification

Click on the My Space tab and then click Notifications. Click the "edit" link to change delivery options or cancel the request entirely. You can also edit your preferences directly from the email you receive.

Suspend my Notifications Temporarily

You can temporarily suspend your notifications at any time. For example, this might be useful if you were going on vacation. Select the "suspend subscriptions" box at the bottom of the "Notifications" page to put them all on hold. They will stay suspended until you uncheck that box.

Subscribe to another Member

Click the person's name within the interface, then select "notify me of new posts by x". You will be notified via email every time that member posts to the community.