What are subscriptions?

Subscriptions are a way of keeping track of different threads or forums. You can choose how you are notified about updates - for example by having them listed in your Settings Control Panel and receiving email updates for each one.

How do I subscribe to a thread or forum?

To subscribe to a forum, click the "Forum Tools" link above the list of threads then select "Subscribe to Forum". You will then have the option to choose the subscription mode for this forum. If the forum that you are subscribing to has any sub-forums then your subscription will be extended to these automatically.

To subscribe to a thread, click the "Thread Tools" link at the top of the list of posts then click "Subscribe to Thread". You can then choose the subscription mode that you wish to use for that thread.

What subscription modes are available?

There are a number of different forum subscription modes available.

• No Email Notification: Lists the subscription in your Settings Control Panel only. You do not receive any notifications about new posts or threads in the forum.
• Daily Email Notification: Sends one email a day with the new and updated threads in the forum and any sub-forums. If there are no new or updated threads in the forum or its sub-forums then you will not receive an email.
• Weekly Email Notification: Sends one email per week in the same way as the Daily Email Notification.

Thread Subscriptions have the same options as forum subscriptions with the following additional option:

• Instant Email Notification: Sends an email as soon as a new post is added to the thread. This is not sent for every reply and will only be sent once until you revisit the forums.

How do I manage Subscriptions and Folders?

Thread subscriptions can be sorted into folders for easy management. You can create as many folders as you wish by going to "Edit Folders" in the "My Subscriptions" section of your Settings Control Panel. To add a new folder, enter the folder name into one of the blank boxes and save the page. To delete a folder, delete the folder name. Editing a folder is done by simply editing the folder name in the list.

You can also manage your individual subscriptions by clicking "Subscriptions" under "My Subscriptions" in your Settings Control Panel. Here you can select which subscriptions you wish to manage and delete them, move them to another folder, or change their subscription type.

Forum subscriptions are not managed through the "My Subscriptions." They are shown on the Settings Control Panel page under Settings and contain the option to unsubscribe from the forum.

What is the Public Profile Page?

Every participant has a publicly viewable profile page. This page includes information provided by the participant, either during the registration process or later on via Settings.

There are a number of ways to view a participant's profile. Whenever you see a participant's name, clicking on it will usually take you to view their profile page.

The Members List allows you to browse all registered participants, and quickly click through to public profiles.

When logged in, you can also view your own public profile by logging into the forums and clicking on "My Profile."

What's on the Public Profile Page?

The public profile lists information about the participant under the "About Me" tab. It also includes statistical information, such as the number of posts they have made and their registration date. This information is shown under the "Statistics" tab.

Other information includes a list of Friends, their profile picture (if set by the participant), and a list of participants who have recently visited the profile page.

What are Visitor Messages?

Visitor messages are publicly viewable messages posted on participant profile pages. To post a message, click on the "Visitor messages" tab, and use the form at the top of the section. You will only be able to use certain formatting in these messages, as described underneath the edit box. This message will be viewable by all visitors to this profile, including search engine robots. To communicate privately with a participant, send a Private Message instead.

Visitor messages can be edited or deleted by site moderators or the participant who owns the profile. If you see a visitor message that is not appropriate, you can alert the moderators by clicking on the "Report" link. The "View Conversation" link allows you to view all visitor messages between that participant and the owner of the profile.

The Settings Control Panel is where you control your personal settings, options and preferences. To visit the Settings Control Panel, you must have first registered on the forums. Once logged in, click on "Settings" in the header bar in the top-right corner of the page.

The Settings main page will list any new notifications, including new private messages and pending friend requests. Additional pages and forms allow you to control:

• Your email address and password
• Privacy Settings
• Custom public profile settings
• Private messages
• Subscribed threads and forums
• Friends and Contacts
• Restricted Access Groups

How do I change my user details?

You can change your account information using the "Settings" option at the top right of the screen. For basic profile details (including your email address and password), click on the "Edit Email & Password" option under "My Account" in the sidebar menu on the left hand of the screen. The Settings page allows you to set a number of required and optional details, some of which will be displayed on your public profile. With the exception of your email address, which is never displayed publicly, we do not show information that you do not wish to be publicly viewable. HERE are instructions to change your username.

What are signatures?

"Signatures" contain information that you want to include at the bottom of all your posts. Signatures can be up to two lines of text, and they can not contain images.

What are avatars?

Avatars are small images that people use to identify or distinguish themselves to other forum members. These images are displayed as part of the user info in posts and Journals, as well as in the public profile.

How do I set signatures and avatars?

You can set and change your signature and avatar in your Settings Control Panel under "My Profile" near the left.

For signatures, click on "Edit Signature".

To select an existing or upload a new avatar, click on "Edit Avatar".

What do the General Settings do?

In your Settings, there is a section under "My Account" named "General Settings."

• Login & Privacy
  • Invisible Mode: Sets whether or not other members can see if you are online.
• Messaging & Notification
  • Receive Email: Whether or not you want to receive emails from SMART Recovery Online
  • Default Thread Subscription Mode: How you want to be notified about new posts in threads to which you have subscribed
  • Private Messaging: Controls how you want Private Messaging to work for your account
  • Visitor Messaging: Controls how you want Visitor Messaging to work for your account
• Thread Display Options
  • Visible Post Elements: Whether you want to be able to see Signatures, Avatars, and Images in posts
  • Thread Display Mode: How you want to view threads by default (more info available here)
  • Number of Posts to Show Per Page
  • Default Thread Age Cut Off: The time period for threads to be displayed - threads older than this age will be hidden
• Date & Time Options
  • Time Zone: Your local geographical time zone offset from GMT/UTC
  • DST Correction Option: Allows for Daylight Savings Time for your part of the world
  • Start of the Week: For the Calendar.
• Miscellaneous Options
  • Message Editor Interface: This option allows you choose what kind of editor you will use when posting messages. Your choices include a basic text-only editor, a standard editor with clickable formatting controls, or a full WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor that will show your formatting as you type.
  • Forum Skin: Let you choose the forum style or "skin." You can also select this at the bottom of every page.
  • Enhanced Attachment Uploading: Controls whether you can use the drag and drop system for reusing existing attachments.
  • User Customizations: Lets you hide other participant's customizations

How do I customize my profile page?

You can edit the design and styling of your public profile page via the "Customize My Profile" button at the top of "My Profile". You can adjust the color scheme, fonts, borders and layout of elements on the page.

What is the difference between a friend and a contact?

A friendship is a mutual, two-way relationship between two users. It is initiated by one user and accepted by the other.

A contact is a one-way friendship. This could be where the other person does not accept the friendship, a friendship request is pending, or you do not wish to be friends at this time but want to show them as a contact only.

Where is a list of friends and contacts displayed?

Your friends and contacts are displayed on the "Contacts and Friends" page in your Settings Control Panel. Your friends are also displayed in your profile page.

You can also see you list of friends and contacts by clicking on the "Contacts Popup" under the "Community" tab in the navigation bar.

How can I request a friend, accept a friend or break a friendship?

There are two ways to request a friendship with someone.

The easiest way is to view the profile page of the person you want to become friends with and click +Add as Friend.

The other way is to add the person to your contacts first, by choosing +Add as Contact when you click on their name next to a post. Then from your "Contacts and Friends" page ask to be their friend by checking the box next to their name labelled "Friend". Next, save the page.

If you know the username of the person you want to be friends with you can send a friend request using the box provided and clicking "Add Friend".

To accept a friend, go to "Settings", then under "Networking" click "Friends and Contacts". At the bottom of the page you will see a list of pending requests. Check the box for the requests you wish to accept then check the "Accept" button and save the changes. If you do not wish to be friends then select "Reject" instead.

To break a friendship, from your "Friends and Contacts" page, uncheck the box marked "friend" for the particular person and save the changes. If you no longer wish them to be a contact either, uncheck both boxes for that person.

How do I send Private Messages?

Private messages work a little like email, but are limited to registered participants of this forum. You can include BB code, smilies and images in private messages that you send.

You may send a private message to a participant of this forum by clicking the "Send A Private Message" link in the private messaging section of your Settings Control Panel or by clicking the "Send a Private Message" link in the drop down menu that appears in a participant's posts when you click on their username.

When you send a message, you have the option to save a copy of it in your "Sent Items" folder.

How do I work with Private Message Folders?

By default, you will have two folders in your private message area. These are the "Inbox" and the "Sent" Items folders.

The "Inbox" folder contains any new messages you receive. It allows you to view new messages, along with the name of the person who sent it, and the date and time it was sent.

The "Sent Items" folder contains a copy of any messages that you have sent, if you specified that you wish to keep a copy for future reference.

You can create additional folders for your messages by clicking the "Edit Folders" link.

Each folder has a set of message controls which allow you to select messages, then either move them to one of your custom folders, or delete them. Once you have selected your messages, you can choose the following options in the "Selected Messages" box at the bottom of the list:

• Move to Folder
• Delete
• Mark as Read
• Mark as Unread
• Download as XML
• Download as CSV
• Download as TEXT

You will need to periodically delete old messages, as the administrator has set a limit to the number of private messages you can have in your folders. If you exceed this number, you will not be able to send or receive new messages until you delete some old ones.

If you would like to keep a record of your messages before you delete them, you can use any of the "Download as.." options listed above to take a copy and store them on your own computer.

Whenever you read a message, you will have the option to reply or forward it to other participants of the forum.

How do I track messages?

When you send a new private message, you may request a read-receipt. This lets you check whether or not a message has been read by its recipient. To do this, select "Message Tracking" under "My Messages" in Settings.

This page is divided into two sections: confirmed and unconfirmed messages.

Confirmed messages are those that you have sent with a receipt request that have been read and acknowledged by their recipient. The time that the message was sent and read is shown to the right.

Unconfirmed messages are those that you have sent with a read-receipt request and have not yet been read by their recipient.

You may choose to end the tracking on any message you choose by selecting it and clicking the "End Tracking" button.

When you receive a message with a read-receipt request, you may have the option to read the message while denying the read-receipt request. To do this, simply click the "Deny Receipt" link rather than the title of the message, if it appears.