These tips should help you work more effectively with the forum.

Setting User Profile and Preferences

Click on the User Panel tab to view and change your profile. This controls what other people see about you when you make a post. There are three commands in the box on the left:

• Edit Profile lets you change your password and enter the basic information about yourself that you would like other users to see. Things such as Gender, Birthdate, and Location are optional.
• Contact Information lets you specify information that will show up in buttons below your post. You can let other users contact you via email or instant message if you want. If you fill in Website Title and Website URL, the system adds a “WWW”  button below your post that people can click on to visit your personal or business website. I know this is dangerous… If you abuse the website link by including a malicious site you will be banned from the forum for life.
• Options let you set preferences for an icon or picture you would like to show up next to your posts. If you supply your own image, it gets scaled down to a 65x65 pixel square, so a tightly cropped head shot works best. This is also the area where you set your local time zone and date/time formats.

Navigating The Forum

The system remembers you and gives an indication of posts added since your last visit. These are represented by very subtle blinking dots to the left of the board name on the home page. If the blinking lights are driving you crazy, click the button at the lower right of the page that says “Mark all as read.” The latest post on each board is listed in the “Last Post” column and you can click on its title to go directly to that post.

Near the bottom of the page is a summary block that shows you the latest post entered, along with a hyperlink (not very visible... look for it!) that lets you see the ten latest posts. This is a great way to keep up with the most recent traffic.

You can collapse or expand a category grouping by clicking the small + or – sign in the box to the left of its title. There is also a button at the bottom of the page that lets you collapse or expand all categories.

When you are reading a post, there is a navigation chain in small dark blue text just under the row of tabs. It shows you where you are in the hierarchy and lets you click on any level to return immediately to that grouping.

Posting and Replying

To make a new post on a board, navigate to the board and click the button labeled “Start new topic.” Please use a good descriptive title so people will know what the subject is without having to open the post. Using something like “Help!” or “Grrrr” as your topic isn’t very useful in guiding visitors to find relevant information.

The system automatically adds a hyperlink to anything that looks like a website address. You don't have to put in any HTML tags or code.

There are two ways to reply to an existing post. You can click the “Reply” button above the post or you can click the “Quote” button on the upper right corner of the post. If you use the Quote button, please delete out everything but the snippet you are responding to. Having the entire post repeated in your reply doesn’t add much… Your audience can always just read the original on the board, and it adds unnecessary length.