What is a bulletin board?

A forum is an online discussion site. It's sometimes also called a "message board". It may contain several categories, consisting of forums, threads, and individual posts.

How is all this structured?

The discussion forum as a whole contains various categories (broad subject areas) which themselves contain forums (more specific subject areas) which contain threads (conversations on a topic) which are made up of individual posts (writings by participants). Forums can be further broken down into even more specific subject areas called sub-forums.

The forum home page has a list of categories and forums, with basic statistics for each such as the number of threads and posts, and which participant posted the most recent message.

How do I find my way around?

When you click on a forum's name, you are taken to the list of threads it contains. A thread is a conversation between participants. Each thread starts out as a single post and grows as more individual posts are added by different users.

To start a new thread in a forum, simply click on the + Post New Thread button. You will need to have completed registration to post. Please see the Registration FAQ for more information on how to register.

Threads can be ordered in many different ways. The default is to have the thread with the most recent activity at the top. But you can easily change this ordering, for example placing the thread with the most posts at the top. Simply click on the appropriate column heading at the top of the list of threads (Thread, Thread Starter, Replies, Views, or Last Post). You can reverse the sorting order by clicking either on the same column heading or in some styles, the arrow next to the column heading. (Note that "sticky" threads will always be at the top no matter how you change the viewing options).

Multi-page views

When there are more threads to display than will fit on a single page, you may see the "Page" box, which contains page numbers. This indicates that the list of threads has been split over two or more pages.

This method of splitting lists of items over many pages is used throughout the board.

What are sticky threads?

Sticky threads are created by administrators and moderators. They remain "stuck" at the top of the listing even if they haven't had any posts recently. Their purpose is to keep important information visible and accessible at all times.

How do I read a thread?

To read a thread, click on its title. Each post in a thread is created by a participant. You'll see some brief information about the participant who created the thread above the main post message. In some cases it will be to the side of the post.

To post a reply to an existing thread, click on the + Reply to Thread button. If this button does not appear, it could mean that the thread has been closed to new replies, or that you only have permission to view the thread, but not to reply.

There is also a "Quick Reply" box below the last post on the page, where you can quickly enter a reply without having to go to the "Post Reply" page.

Is there a faster way to get to forums?

If you know which forum you want to go to, you can use the "Quick Navigation" control, which appears at the bottom of pages within the forums.

How do I find out more about participants?

To view information about a particular participant, click on the user name. This will take you to their public profile page.

What is the Navigation Bar?

The navigation bar at the top of every page has links to help you move around. A "breadcrumb" area at the top left shows where you are now. A form on the top right allows you to quickly login.

With one click you can reach areas such as: Forum Home, New Posts, Private Messages, FAQ (which you are reading now), Search options, and a Quick Links Menu with other useful features.

What is the "What's Going On?" box on the forum home page?

On the forum home page you'll see a section at the bottom that tells you what's going on at the moment. It tells you things like the number of registered users online, most users ever online, and even things like upcoming events.

Can I change the way the forum looks?

You can change the styling of the forum by using the style changer in the bottom left of the page. This lets you choose different skins which change the color scheme and appearance of the forum.

How do I register?

You register by clicking on the "Register" button at the top right of the page. You will be asked to provide your date of birth, choose a username and password, then enter a valid email address. There are two boxes which must be checked. One is found below "username" and the second is found under our User Agreement. When the form is complete, click "submit new thread". An email will be sent to the address you entered asking you to click on an activation link. Then, the final step of registering is to create an introduction post in the Welcome Forum. Once you have made your post, your account will need 15 minutes to upgrade and then you will be registered.

There are three ways to quickly find the latest posts.

Click on "New Posts" in the navigation bar. This will bring up the last 35 of the newest posts since you last logged in.

Or, you could click on "Today's Posts" under the "Quick Links" tabs in the a navigation bar to bring up all of the posts made today.

New threads and posts will appear in bold and return to normal text once you have read them. (If you have not read a thread or post after a certain period of time, they will appear as "read.")

Finally, new posts will appear in the slide out to the right of the forums. Open this by clicking on the right facing arrow tab to the far right. The new posts are listed with the first few lines of the post along with its parent thread. You can hide the post listing by clicking on the up facing arrow in the top right corner of the slide out.

What are thread tools?

At the top of each thread, there is a link called "Thread Tools". By clicking on this link, a menu will appear with a number of options:

• Show Printable Version: This will show you a page with the thread post content in a reduced graphics format that is more "printer friendly".


• Email this Page: If you think the thread may be interesting to someone else, you can forward a link to it to their email address.


• Subscribe (or Unsubscribe) from this Thread: By subscribing to a thread, you will receive periodic email updates on recent activity within it. Click here for more information on subscriptions.


• Adding a Poll: If you started the thread, you can add a poll to it with this option. Click here for more information on polls.

What does the "Keep me logged in" button do?

When you register (and also when you login using the form at the top of the screen), you will be given the option to "Keep me logged in". This will store your identity securely in a cookie on your computer. This will keep you logged in if you are going to be on the forum for long periods of time. If you are using a shared computer, such as in a library, school or internet cafe, or if you have reason to not trust any other users that might use this computer, we recommend you do not enable this.

How do I clear cookies?

You can clear all your cookies set by the forum by clicking the "logout" link at the top of the page. In some cases, if you return to the main index page via the link provided and you are still logged in, you may have to remove your cookies manually.

What is the Members List?

The members list shows the registered participants of the forum. You can view the member list ordered alphabetically by username, by the date they joined, or by the number of posts they have made.

To view the members list, "Member List" under the "Quick Links" tab in the forum navigation bar.

To quickly find a particular member, use the "Search Members" link to the right and type a username (or partial username) into the box. For further search options - including searching based on join date, post count, or home page - click on "Advanced Search" on the search menu.

Are all members listed?

Some members may not be on the list. The administrators have options over who is shown on the list. They may, for example, omit members who have not made many posts or who belong to certain user groups.

What are Your Notifications?

When you have logged into the Forum, a link to "Your Notifications" may be displayed in the "Welcome" box near the top of the forum. "Your Notifications" will show if you have any one of the following:

• Unread Private Messages
• Unread Profile Visitor Messages
• Profile Visitor Messages Awaiting Approval
• Incoming Friend Requests

By clicking on the "Your Notifications" link, you will be able to quickly see how many of each type you have received. Clicking on any of the links in the menu will take you to the relevant page within the Settings Control Panel.

If there are no notifications, then this link will be replaced by a link to "Private Messages".

What is the Quick Links menu?

The forum navigation bar at the top of each page has several helpful links. One of them is a dropdown menu called Quick Links. (It appears only to registered members who are logged in). Clicking it once with the mouse will make it drop down and show the following options:

• Today's Posts (shows posts created in the past 24 hours)
• Subscribed Threads (shows posts from your subscribed threads)
• Open Contacts Popup
• Member List
• Volunteer List

Can I email participants?

No. Email addresses are required upon registration only so that site administrators may contact you if or when they need to. You can, however, contact another participant through the private message system.

Can I email a link to a friend?

The "Email This Page" thread tool allows you to send a friend a link to a thread you think they may find interesting. Using this tool brings you to a form. Specify the recipient's name, email address, and the message you would like sent along with the link.

What is private messaging?

Registered participants can send messages to other participants of this forum using the private messaging system. For more information about private messaging, click here.

What are visitor messages?

Registered participants may leave messages for other participants on their profile page. These messages can generally be viewed by all visitors and are open to searching using the advanced search option. For more information on visitor messages, click here.

Can I block posts, and private messages from specific users?

If you do not want to see posts, or receive private messages from certain participants, then you can add these participants to your "Ignore List". There are several ways to do this:

Go to "Edit Ignore Users" in Settings under "My Account." Then, type their name into the empty text box and click "Okay".

Participants on your Ignore List will not be able to view your Journal posts.

What if I see something offensive?

You will find "Report" links (a triangle with an exclamation point inside) in many places throughout the forum, including on the bottom left of every post. You can also report Private Messages. These links allow you to alert the administrators and moderators to anything which you find to be offensive, objectionable, or illegal.

Please do not hesitate to report any harassment or illegal behavior to the administrators and moderators. For a list of some of the content that is not permitted on the discussion forums, click here.