absolute beginners
Awaiting Translation
HOW TO USE THE FORUM/MESSAGE BOARD
If you are a complete beginner to computers or to the Net, you may not have posted on a message
board before. Here are detailed instructions on how to use the Torey Hayden Ultimate Bulletin
Board.
What does it mean: I have to register?
1. To use this board, you need to register. This is to allow the software which runs the message board to work properly. You do not need to give your real name, if you don't want to. You do need to give a legitimate e-mail address. We need this as a precaution against people who abuse or mis-use message boards. We will NOT pass your e-mail address on to anyone else.
2. When you enter the forum (reach the page which says 'Torey Hayden' and under it 'Thanks for the Ordeal' on the left and 'Torey Hayden Bulletin Board' on the right), you will see in small letters under 'Torey Hayden Bulletin Board', the word 'register'. Click that.
3. The first page is the 'rules and disclaimers' page. Click 'Agree' after reading it.
4. Follow the instructions on the page that appears. Everything with an asterisk behind it must be filled in. You do not need to give your real name, if you don't want. Your 'user name' can be anything you want. The other information is optional.
5. You can choose whether you want other people using the board to be able to see your e-mail address or not.
6. Click 'Submit'.
7. You are registered!
Filling out your 'profile'.
1. When you enter the forum, in small letters on the right-hand side under 'Torey Hayden Bulletin Board' you will see "profile". This gives a small amount of information about yourself to other message board users. You do not have to fill this out, if you don't want.
2. Click on this and the profile window opens. Fill in the sections, as appropriate.
3. Click 'Submit'. Your profile is now completed.
How to use the actual message board.
1. Once you have clicked on "Enter the Forum/Message Board", you will arrive at a page which says "Torey Hayden, Thanks for the Ordeal" on the left-hand side. This is the main page of the message board. It is also called the Forum page. "Forum", "Message Board" and "Bulletin Board" all mean the same thing in this case.
2. You will see the word 'Forum' with a list of topics under it. The term "forum" here simply refers to the different areas of discussion on this message board. Look through the list to see which ones interest you.
3. Click on the forum that interests you to open it up. For example, click on "General Discussion".
4. This will cause this forum to open up, showing all the various topics being discussed under the heading "General Discussion". Again, look through the list to see which ones interest you.
5. Click on the topic that interests you.
6. This will open up all the messages left by other people on that topic.
7. You may read any topics you want.
To leave your own message
1. You are welcome to join any topic currently being discussed or you may start a new topic.
2. On the right-hand side of the page at the top or on the left-hand side of the page at the bottom, you will see two buttons. One says 'Post New Topic' and the other' Post Reply'.
3. If you want to reply to the person's message that you have just read, click on 'Post Reply'
4. If you want to start a different topic of discussion, click on 'Post New Topic'.
If you want to ask a new question or start a new topic, please try to put it into the forum that is most appropriate. For example, if you want to ask a question about Sheila in ONE CHILD, choose the ONE CHILD forum. Once that opens, then click on New Topic and submit your question there. If you want to generally say hello, choose the PERSONAL STUFF forum and click on New Topic there. If it is a general comment and you don't know where it goes, choose the GENERAL DISCUSSION forum. But don't worry if you get it wrong! Everyone will understand. No one will mind.
Answers to a few questions:
1. What are those icons at the top of each person's message?
You will see five things appear next to someone's name when they post a message. Smiley (or Smilie):
This is just a little symbol to tell others the 'tone' of your message. You choose this from an assortment
of icons when you write your reply or post a new topic by putting a dot next to the one you want under
'Message Icon'. You don't have to choose one.
Date: Obvious what this is. The time is always shown in Greenwich Time (British time), because that's where Torey is.
Profile: The next little icon is where you can see what someone's profile is. Click on that and it will show you the profile of the person leaving the message.
Edit/Delete: This allows you to edit or delete your own message. If you wrote something
you didn't intend or want to add something after you have already clicked 'Submit', you can go back
and change it by clicking on this icon. You can only edit or delete things from your own message,
obviously! Beware: If you started the topic and delete your first message in that topic, you will
delete everyone else's replies too!
Reply with quote: This is the last icon. It is for when you want to include that message as
part of your reply.
2. How do I get the little smiley icons into the body of my message?
When you are writing your message, you will see underlined to the left the words: Smilies Legend.
If you click on that, you will see a list of all the commonly used 'Smilies' on the Net and how they
appear when typed. For instance, the common smiley is :) If you type one of these listed, it will
automatically appear as the coloured icon when your message appears on the message board.
If all else fails, read the FAQ! (main page, under 'Torey Hayden Bulletin Board')
Visit the Message Board / Forum