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Post by The Voice on Apr 25, 2016 14:22:31 GMT -6
So I think some members are still a bit hesitant to post because they're having some confusion about navigating the forum. I've put together a crude tutorial to hopefully help explain how it works. Let me start with some basic terms. Forum - This is the site. You may have heard this term or "Message Board" or "Chat Forum" or something similar. Main Page - This is where you first start when you click the link thewritersden.freeforums.net/ Section - I've broken the Main Page into Sections according to general subjects. The different sections are: - General - Non-writing topics
- The Writers Desk - Writing topics
- Contests and Challenges - Writing contests and challenges
- Poetry - Post your poetry here
- Reviews - Read or write reviews of books and writing software
- Writers Resources - Online resources for writers
Topics - These are more detailed subjects within each Section. Examples would be Forum Rules, Introductions, General Discussion, etc. (ProBoards refers to them as "Boards" but I like "Topics" better. Just my preference.) Threads - Within each Topic you'll find a subject that someone has created for discussion. Post - This is the individual reply each member makes within a Thread. Ok, so now that we have some terms, let's move on to how to use the forum...
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Post by The Voice on Apr 25, 2016 15:01:26 GMT -6
Q. How do I add my own comment to a Thread?
A. 1. First click on the "Thread" link .
2. In the upper right corner of the "Post" (also at the bottom right of the final post) you'll see a "Reply" button. If you click that, it will open up a page for you to draft your comment (See next figure) 3. In the text area, you can type whatever you wish. Note the toolbar along the top. If you hover your mouse over each button, it tells you what it's function is. In the lower left hand corner, you'll see two tabs. "Preview" and "BB Code". In order to modify your text, ProBoard uses a style of formatting called BB Code, which is similar to HTML. If you want to manually code your message, use the BB Code tab. If you're more comfortable using the visual editor (most common), click on the "Preview" tab. The comment area defaults to BB Code, so you may have to change it. For full instructions on how to use BB Code, click here. Finally, when you're ready to publish (post) your comment, click the "Create Post" button in the lower right hand corner. 4. And voila! Your comment is posted. Note that comments are posted in descending order, meaning that the oldest posts are on top, and the newest are at the bottom. If you would like to reply directly to a specific post in the thread, rather than just adding your thoughts to the general topic, you can use the "Quote" button. See below: 5. Find the specific post to which you want to reply and click the "Quote" button in the upper right corner. This will take you to your comment editor page and if you click on the "Preview" tab, you'll see this: Then just write your comment underneath the quote and click the "Create Post" button. It's that simple! I'll cover other forum navigation next...
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Post by The Voice on Apr 25, 2016 15:34:20 GMT -6
Q. How do I navigate around the forum?
A. At the top of the page, you'll see a Global Menu.
The top portion allows you to access the Home page from anywhere in the forum, Help topics, a Search tool for finding a specific thread or post, a list of forum Members, access to your Profile and your Private Message page where you can send or read your PM's. (Regular members won't have access to the Admin section.)
The bottom portion is a basic hierarchy of the Sections, Topics, Threads/Posts. By clicking on one of them, it will take you back out 1 or more levels.
You can use this Global Navigation anywhere in the forum to maneuver around. If you hover your mouse over one of the tabs, a drop down menu appears allowing you to immediately go to another section/topic without having to back all the way out to the main page. I hope this helps a bit.
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Post by The Voice on Apr 25, 2016 15:38:26 GMT -6
I've spoken with some folks that were apprehensive about posting for fear they may post in the wrong Section/Topic. I've got descriptions to help figure out the best places to post but ultimately it doesn't really matter. I can always move a thread to another Topic or Section if I feel it's more appropriate there. Don't worry too much about posting "in the wrong place". Just have fun and I'll take care of the housekeeping. (That's why I get paid the BIG bucks! ) ~V
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Post by The Voice on Apr 30, 2016 9:06:40 GMT -6
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Post by The Voice on Apr 30, 2016 9:08:06 GMT -6
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Post by The Voice on Apr 30, 2016 9:09:34 GMT -6
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Post by The Voice on Apr 30, 2016 9:10:58 GMT -6
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Post by The Voice on Apr 30, 2016 9:12:26 GMT -6
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Post by The Voice on Apr 30, 2016 9:13:52 GMT -6
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Post by The Voice on Apr 30, 2016 9:15:29 GMT -6
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Post by The Voice on Apr 30, 2016 9:16:53 GMT -6
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Post by The Voice on Apr 30, 2016 9:18:13 GMT -6
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Post by Joy Pixley on May 2, 2016 7:43:26 GMT -6
This is great, Chris, thanks! I'm still a little confused about all the different topics, but now I'll just gleefully post on the wrong one and not worry about it. :-)
Is there any way to get email notifications when someone replies to a thread or posts something?
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Post by The Voice on May 2, 2016 8:18:13 GMT -6
Is there any way to get email notifications when someone replies to a thread or posts something? I'm still working on figuring that out but if I find a way, I'll post it here. Glad the tutorial helped. Feel free to use the "Post Anything" thread to practice if you want.
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