Forum Help

Creating Topics

1. Navigate to the forum in which you want to post a new topic.
2. Check the topics in the forum to make sure that the one you want to add does not already exist. If it does, reply to the topic, instead of posting a duplicate one. Note that some of our forums are "read-only;" they do not permit members to post topics there. For more information, see Posting Restrictions.
3. If the topic does not already exist, click the New Topic button.
4. In the Title text box, enter a title that clearly communicates the nature of the topic.
5. In the Message text box, enter the first message for the topic.
   Tips:
   • You can format your text by using the buttons and drop-down lists above the Message text box.
   • You can insert smileys by clicking the Smileys link to the left of the Message text box.
   • You can check your spelling by clicking the Check Spelling link under the Message text box.
6. If you want to include a poll with the topic, click the "Add a poll to this topic" link and follow the instructions for adding a poll.
7. If you want the system to subscribe to the topic, be sure that the "Notify me via email when someone posts in this thread" check box is selected.
8. If you included smileys in your message, be sure that the "Enable smileys in this post" check box is selected.
9. Click the Preview Post button. A copy of your topic message is displayed in the Preview area above the Post a New Topic form.
10. Once satisfied with your message, click the Submit Post button at the bottom of the form.

Replying to Topics

1. Navigate to the topic to which you want to post a reply.
2. Under the topic message, click the Post Reply button.
3. In the Message text box, enter your reply message.
4. Click the Preview Post button.
5. Once satisfied with your reply, click the Submit Post button at the bottom of the form.

• While composing your message, you can click the plus sign in the Thread Review section underneath the Post a New Reply form to view the topic messages in the thread.
• To respond directly to specific text that someone has posted, quote it.
• If the only features you need are smileys and the choice whether or not to subscribe to the topic, you can click the Fast Reply button, type your message in the text box, and click Submit Post, rather than perform all the steps listed above. If you use this feature, be sure to review your post after you submit it and edit it, if necessary.
• If you don't see the buttons necessary to post a topic or reply message, it probably means that you forgot to log in.
• If you are logged in and no Reply buttons are visibile, the administrator probably closed the message thread (i.e., removed the Reply buttons so that no more messages can be posted).
• Only the administrator can close a message thread.

Editing Your Posts

1. Navigate to the topic you want to edit.
2. Under the topic message, click the Edit button.
3. Edit the text in the Message box.
4. Click the Preview Post button.
5. Once satisfied with your message, click the Update Post button at the bottom of the form.

Posting Restrictions

• The administrator marked the forum and the topic(s) in it as read-only. This is reserved for topics such as announcements, forum policies, etc., where one-way communication is appropriate.
• The administrator closed the message thread so that no further replies can be posted to it.

Formatting Messages

1. Select a variety of font sizes and colors from the Font Formatting drop-down lists.
2. Apply bold, italicized, or underlined text by clicking the < b >, < i >, or < u > button.
3. Apply special formatting for quoting someone else's text by clicking the quote button.
4. Apply special formatting for code examples by clicking the code button. (The resulting text is small, uniform, and surrounded by a border on all sides.)
5. Create clickable links for website and email addresses by clicking the < a > or @ button.

• Enter the text, select it, then click the corresponding formatting button(s) and/or select values from the Font Formatting drop-down lists.
• Click a formatting button or select a value from a Font Formatting drop-down list, then enter your text between the opening and closing BBCode tags (e.g., between the [ b ] and [ /b ] tags for bold text).
• To the left of the formatting toolbar, change the Normal radio button to Guided, click the formatting button or select a value from a Font Formatting drop-down list, type the text you want to format in the popup guiding window that appears, and click OK.

Inserting Smilies

1. In the Message text box, place your cursor in the spot where you want the smiley to appear. A popup window is displayed containing a variety of smiley icons.
2. Click on the icon that you want to insert. The window closes and some text characters are displayed in the Message text box.
3. When you are finished composing your message, click the Preview button.
4. In the Preview area, the plain text characters are coverted to smilies.
5. Click the Send or Submit button.

Spellchecking Messages

1. Compose or reply to a topic or private message.
2. Under the Message text box, click the Check Spelling link. A text box containing your message is displayed. If any words are misspelled, a dotted red underline appears under them.
3. Click on the first misspelled word; from the pull-down menu that appears, click the Edit Word link. The misspelled word is displayed inside a text box.
4. Re-enter the word, using the correct spelling. Note that the spellchecker in the forum does not recommend replacement text, like many other spellcheckers do.
5. Click the Save Edit link.
6. Repeat until all the misspelled words are corrected.
7. Above the Spell Check text box, click the Save Changes link.

Quoting Other Posts

• Directly from a Member's Post
• Inside a Message Window

1. Navigate to the topic message that you want to quote.
2. Under the topic message, click the Quote button. The Post a New Reply form is displayed. The topic message is surrounded by [ quote ] [ /quote ] tags.
3. Between the [ quote ] and [ /quote ] tags, delete all the member's text except the part to which you are responding.
4. Place your cursor after the [ /quote ] tag, press Enter twice, and enter and submit your reply.
5. In your reply message, a shaded box appears around the quoted text. The member's screen name and the date and time of the quoted message are posted above the quote.

1. Open the Post a New Topic, Post a New Reply, or New Message window while sending or replying to private messages.
2. Do either of the following:
   • Enter or paste the text you are quoting, select the text, and click the quote button in the formatting toolbar.
   • Click the quote button in the formatting toolbar, place your cursor between the [quote] and [/quote] tags, and enter or paste the text you are quoting.
3. Complete and submit the topic or private message. In your message, a shaded box appears around the quoted text.

Adding a Poll

1. In the Post a New Topic form, click the "Add a poll to this topic" link. Additional text boxes are displayed for your poll question and series of answers.
2. In the Poll Question text box, enter the question that you want members to answer. The question should be relevant to the subject that you enter in the Message text box.
3. In the Poll Answer text boxes, add the series of responses. They will be displayed as radio buttons; people who participate in the poll can choose one of them. If you need more text boxes, click the Add Another Row link.
4. Click the Preview Post button to preview your topic.
   • You will not see the poll in the preview area, however, the "Add a poll to this topic" link changes to an Edit Poll link. If you click that link, the poll text boxes are displayed, and you can preview and edit your poll question and answers.
   • If you change your mind about adding a poll, you can delete all the characters in the Poll Question text box and your new topic message will be submitted without a poll. (It is not necessary to delete the characters from the Poll Answer text boxes.)
5. Click the Submit Post button.