These forums may seem a little daunting at first, but once you get used to them they’re very user-friendly. If you’re familiar with message boards, the operation of these boards is pretty intuitive. If you’re not familiar with message boards, or you have a specific question, please consult the set of frequently asked questions below. If you cannot find the answer to your question here, feel free to e-mail Amy Tully.
5)
How do I reply to a
message?
6)
How do I quote another
user’s message?
7)
How do I send a private
message to another user?
8)
How do I check my
private messages?
9)
How do I change the
information in my profile?
10) How do I add a signature
line to my posts?
11)
How do I search for posts
on a certain topic?
12)
What are the rules and
guidelines for these message boards?
To
register as a member of this site, click on the “register” button in the menu
bar at the top of the page. Follow the steps
to accept the user agreement and to choose a username and password. Please note that the boxes marked with a *
must be filled out; you must provide a user name, password, and valid e-mail
address. Unless you specify otherwise,
your e-mail address will only be available to the board administrator and
moderators, and will not be shared with other users or the public. All other information in the boxes is
optional; please only provide information you are comfortable sharing.
Once you’ve registered with the site, you can log in by clicking the “log in” button in the menu bar at the top of the page. Enter your user name and password, and then click “log in.” To log out, click the “log out” button in the menu bar at the top of the page.
Everyone may view messages in the “information” section of the site, but only registered and logged-in users may view messages in the “discussion” section of the site. Make sure you’re registered and logged in if you’d like to view messages in the “discussion” portion of the site. Click on the name of the forum you’d like to view. Once the forum has loaded, you may click on the subject line of the messages you would like to view. You’ll see all the messages that have been posted under that subject line (this group of messages is called a “thread”). The original message will appear first, and replies to it will appear in chronological order below it. Sometimes threads will contain multiple pages of replies; click the number of the page you’d like to view or “next page” or “previous page” to view the next or previous page full of replies.
You must be registered and signed in to post
messages.
If you’d like to post a new topic or “thread”, first select the appropriate forum (read the
descriptions of the forums to determine which forum is appropriate for your
message). Then, click “new topic.” Enter a subject line for your message that
accurately describes the content of your message. The more descriptive your subject line, the easier it is for
other users to determine what your message is about. Enter your message in the large box, and then click either
“preview” or “submit.” “Preview” allows
you to see what your message looks like before you post it; you can then go
back and edit it or submit it. “Submit”
posts your message directly to the forum without the intermediate preview step.
If you’d
like to post a message in reply to another user’s message, see the directions
for the next question.
5)
How do I reply to a message?
To
post a message in reply to another user’s message, you must be registered and
logged in. Make sure you have the
“thread” you’d like to reply to open.
Then, click the “post reply” button.
Enter your message, then click either “preview” or “submit.” “Preview”
allows you to see what your message looks like before you post it; you can then
go back and edit it or submit it.
“Submit” posts your message directly to the forum without the
intermediate preview step.
6)
How do I quote another user’s message?
Find
the message you would like to quote, and click the “quote” button next to that
message. A page will open up that looks
similar to the page you get when you click “reply,” but it will have the text
of the message you selected formatted as a quotation. If you want to include only part of a message, you can go in and
delete the part of the message you don’t want to quote.
7)
How do I send a private message to another user?
Private
messages are similar to e-mail; they go only to the user to whom they are sent,
instead of being posted on the message board. There are two ways to send a
private message to another user. The
first is to find a message by that user and click the “pm” button at the bottom
of their message. This will open up a
form that allows you to send them a message.
The other way to send a private message is to click on the private
messages button in the menu bar at the top of the page (this button usually
says “you have no new private messages” or “you have x new private
messages”). From there, you can select
“new post.” This will open up a form
where you can enter the username of the person you’d like to PM along with a
subject and message.
8)
How do I check my private messages?
You
must be registered and logged in to check your private messages. Click the button in the menu on the top of
the page that refers to private messages.
It will say “you have no new private messages” or “you have x new
private messages.” This will open up an
inbox with any private messages you may have received.
9)
How do I change the information shown in my
profile?
You
must be registered and logged in to edit your profile. You may edit the information shown in your
profile by clicking on the “profile” button and then changing your information/preferences
in the page that opens up. Please do
not include any personal information that you do not wish to share with the
entire message board community. (You must
provide an e-mail address so the administrator and moderator can contact you,
but you can select the option not to show your e-mail address in your
profile. If you select this option,
only the administrator and moderator will have access to your e-mail address.)
10) How do I
add a signature line to my posts?
You
may add or edit your signature line by following the directions above for
editing your profile. The signature box is one of several options you can
change through the edit profile function.
You may enter up to 255 characters that will show up at the bottom of
each of the messages you post. Some
information you might want to include in your signature is your connection to
ACC, the first name and age of the person you know with ACC (if you are not an
individual with ACC), or a favorite quotation.
11) How do I
search for posts on a certain topic?
You
must be registered and logged in to search for messages. Click on the “search” button in the menu on
top of the page. After that, enter the
keywords you wish to find.
Please
note that the search system works a little differently than the search engines
(e.g., Google) you may be used to using.
If you choose to enter more than one keyword, you need to use “AND,”
“OR,” or “NOT” to connect these words.
You can use “AND” to define words which must be in the results, “OR” to
define words which may be in the result and “NOT” to define words which should
not be in the result. You can also use * as a wildcard for partial matches.
You
can also specify whether you want to search for message that contain all the
search terms, or messages that contain any of the search terms; the author of
the message; the forum(s) in which the messages were posted; the date(s) on
which the messages were posted, etc.
You
may need to play around with the different options in order to get the results
you desire; if you don’t get any results, try a few slightly different searches
before you give up on finding information on a topic!
12) What are
the rules and guidelines for these message boards?
You can read the rules and guidelines for the site here. (link)
Amy
Tully (mod_amy) and Brian Eriksson (admin_brian) run this site. You can read more about us here. (link)