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Forum Tips & Tricks: The Basics

Your Account Page Every user has an Account page that provides information about that member of the community. When logged in to the Forum, the Account tab will be present. Depending on the Style Sheet (see below) in use, this is usually along the top of the screen, alongside the Discussions, Categories and Search tabs. You can use your Account page to change the personal information you originally supplied on application to become a member of the community; change your password; choose an image to display on your Account page and an avatar to represent you in the Discussions; set Forum preferences for your account, such as choosing what information about you is available to public display. It is suggested that all members take a moment to set this information as soon as possible after being confirmed as a member.

Password Retrieval If you forget your password, you can reset it by clicking on the “Forgot your password?” link on the sign-in page. You will be prompted to enter your username. Password reset instructions will then be sent to the email address associated with that username. Using this form DOES NOT change your password. If you are the owner of that email address, you will receive an automated message from the application that will contain a link back to the server where you can change your password.

Please note that some email programmes try to auto-link hyperlinks that they find in email messages. Sometimes these programmes disrupt the links, and this can cause our password retrieval system to break. So, please be sure to copy and paste the entire link from your password retrieval email message into your web browser.

Starting a Discussion When a user is logged in, the "Start a new discussion" button is available at the top of a user's Control Panel on every page. Select a Category, enter a Discussion title and enter your comments in the text box. Before committing a Discussion and/or Comment, you can perform a spell check and, if the "BBCode" dialog box is selected a formatting menu is available (Select the words/characters you would like to format and select the kind of fomatting you want from the formatting bar).

Editing a Discussion Once a Discussion and/or Comment is published, it is possible to edit it at any time. The "edit" button appears to the right of your Username in each Comment that you make. (Note also the "block user", "block comment" buttons, which allow you to block all formatting (e.g. colour; images; code) in a comment or attributable to a user, and the "quote" button, for referencing published comments).

Whispers A whisper is a private message that appears inline with a discussion. Only you and the recipient of the whispered comments can see the whisper. It won’t affect the paging or comment counting of discussions. It’s a way for you to say something secretly to another member in the middle of a discussion. You can also create entirely private discussions by entering a whisper recipient when starting a discussion. Then only you and the recipient can see the entire discussion.

Whispers can only be seen by two people: the one whispering and the one being whispered to. You cannot whisper to multiple people at one time.

Control Panel Every registered member, when logged in, will see a set of buttons in the Control Panel, the vertical column on the left edge of the screen.

Bookmarking a Discussion Any Discussion can be Bookmarked for easy reference at a later date. Select the Discussion and a "Bookmark this discussion" button will appear under the "Options" menu in your Control Panel. If you select "Bookmarked Discussions" from the "Discussion Filters" menu in the Control Panel, all of the Discussions you've bookmarked will be listed.

Text Only Mode:[/color] In your user's Control Panel on the left edge of the screen, you'll find the Text Only Mode button. When in Text Only Mode, no images or colourful code will be displayed in any Comments. This is handy when user's are concerned about content not suitable for viewing in public, or in the workplace, or when you just don't want to see any images and colour in Comments.

Style Sheets In time, there will be a set of Style Sheets, or designs that change the look of the Forum, for selection. When logged in, you can choose the Style Sheet that suits you best under your Accounts tab (Control Panel/Change Style Sheet).

Invite Friends On the Account page there is an option for inviting friends to join the Forum.

Comments

  • You What?
  • Is there a way of turning a thread around, putting the newest post at the top?
  • good call!!!
  • i'm not sure to be honest. and think it might confuse. Ok if you a reregularly view, but if you only dip in occassionally you would have to then go to the bottom to foloow a thread up. Personally i like the improvement that you now get that it automatically takes you to the same post you haven't read.

    we'll leave it for now, then once its established and used to, we'll put some points like this to the masses to decide.
  • how do you get to the Home Page when you're in the forum? I've bookmarked the forum in my favourites.
  • Yeah, sorry Curb_it, that's not set-up yet... But if you look in the control panel, you'll see a link to the blog, and the latest articles, you can go that way. I'll have it sorted soonish...
  • Yeah i like it that way lookout, its better for sure, as there is no need to scroll or nuffink.
  • Sorry LoOkOuT - I think I'm being a bit dim but how do I quote someone and get it in the nice yellow box? I thought you said just to check the BBCode box but that doesn't seem to do it for me?!
  • couple of simple rules.

    the format comments bit should be done before you click 'add your comments'.

    if you are posting a link, make sure it is clicked in the 'text' box,

    if you are quoting, make sure you are clicked in the BBCode box.
  • So if I check BBCode, then click 'quote' on the comment that I want to repeat it should automatically format it correctly in with the yellow background?

    That's what I've tried to do and it doesn't seem to work for me?! See:
    [cite]Posted By: AFKA Bartram[/cite]couple of simple rules.

    the format comments bit should be done before you click 'add your comments'.

    if you are posting a link, make sure it is clicked in the 'text' box,

    if you are quoting, make sure you are clicked in the BBCode box.
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  • Well, that's made me look stupid hasn't it? Just took a few seconds to do it! Serves me right for being impatient!
  • LOL

    i think sometimes it may go wrong if when editing a quote, you accidently delete part of the scripting bits of the quotes.
  • How do you get a little picture next to your name?
  • Forget it, Im Being a Joey!
  • null

    couple of simple rules.

    the format comments bit should be done before you click 'add your comments'.

    if you are posting a link, make sure it is clicked in the 'text' box,

    if you are quoting, make sure you are clicked in the BBCode box.


    Like this?
  • 'if you are posting a link, make sure it is clicked in the 'text' box'


    Sorry, but what does this mean?
  • @jm: that's a bit misleading of AFKA. He means, if you are posting a straight link, e.g. http://www.cafc.co.uk, then if you have the "Format comment as" selected as Text (below this input box, but above the Add your comments buttom), then the link will come out as a clickable link and not as plain text. He is saying this because if you have the "Format comment as" selected as BBCode or Html (two ways of using tags to write simple codes for text formatting) and want to write a link in, you have to actually use simple codes.

    However, if you are using BBCode (the format you need to make quoted text from another's commnet appear in yellow), the simplest way to format text, such as bold, italic etc, or to add images, or links without actually knowing code, then select BBCode in the "Format comments as" below and when you want to add a link, instead of just pasting (or typing) it in, select the link icon from the toolbar that appears above this box and follow the directions. It will do all of the coding for you. Run your mouse over the toolbar above and it will tell you what each of the buttons does.

    I know my instructions and explanations are as clear as mud, but have a play and if it doens't work let me know and I'll write it out more systematically ;-)
  • Why do I get a massive blank area at the top of the page for the index and for all threads?
    After that there are adverts which vary, at the moment, bizarrely, there are some poem adverts!
  • Any ideas why I get a massive blank-area at the top of the page (for messages and the forum index)?

    And where has my previous post on this disappeared too?!
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  • SS, I started a new thread for you, a Whisper to discuss this... Have a look.
  • just to add, when i looked from another pc today mate, i experienced the same thing SS mentioned.

    not something i've seen before i'd add.
  • Seen it now thanks and replied.
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