Forum Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

• How do I create a new message subject?
• How do I read or reply to a message?
• How long are messages kept on this system?
• How do I input an optional link in a message back to my home page or to any page?
• Can I use html tags anywhere in my message body?
• Why are there colons in the message section when I try to post a follow-up?

How do I create a new message subject?

A new message is not a reply to an existing message (see Reply for information on how to reply to a message). All the messages or topics that are to the far left are the main topic of a message thread and the replies are indented underneath them. Click on Post New Message/Topic found at the top of every page of this Forum system to create a new message. It will ask you for your name, message subject and message body which are all mandatory. Your real E-mail address is optional. Then you have the option of inputing information on a webpage you might want to link to your message, title of that link and possibly a link to an image. Fill in the windows provided and then hit the button labeled post. If you entered your data correctly it will tell you on screen that is was a success. If you forgot a mandatory piece of information it will tell what is missing and direct you to use your browser back button and correct that window. Make sure you input a valid email address if you choose this option. Someone might want to reply to your message in private and could get frustrated if they cannot contact you. becuase you used a false address. The email address is blocked from external robots extracting your email address for spam purposes by using the www approved standard for robot exclusion.

How do I read or reply to a message?

On the main message page you will see all the current messages and the subjects will be underlined. You can click on the underlined subject title and it will bring up the entire message for you to read. Plus it will list the replies for this post if there are any. At the bottom of the page you will see the same input windows as you would for posting a new message. It will automatically insert a RE: info of the message subject. This is internet speak for response. Fill in your name, email address and then add your reply below the text in the message body window. You can also edit the original message. This is suggested if you want to respond to just a single statement within a very long message. It keeps it simple and to the point when someone wants to read your reply. Then you have the option of inputing information on a webpage you might want to link to your message, title of that link and possibly a link to an image. Fill in the windows provided and then hit the button labeled reply. If you entered your data correctly it will tell you on screen that is was a success. If you forgot a mandatory piece of information it will tell what is missing and direct you to use your browser back button and correct that window. Make sure you input a valid email address if your choose this option. Someone might want to reply to your message in private and could get frustrated if they cannot contact you because you used a false address. The email address is blocked from external robots extracting your email address for spam purposes by using the www approved standard for robot exclusion.

If you want to reply to a message in private then at the top of this page will be the poster's name. If it is underlined then it is hot-linked to their email address. If it is not underlined then the poster elected not to put in an email address. If it is underlined then just click on their name and your browser should bring up an email window for you to enter your private message that will not get posted to the Forum..

How long are messages kept on this system?

Messages are currently kept on the system for 14 days. This is controlled by the original subject. Meaning that if the original subject is 15 days old and the replies are 14, 10 and 7 days old they will all be cleared off the system and moved to the archive when the original subject is moved.

How do I input an optional link in a message back to my home page or to any page?

You have the option of putting a clickable hot link to your home page or to any page on the web and having it show up in your message. Examples might be in your response you might tell someone, I have the information you are looking for on my website, or go to this website to see what I am referring to. It is an added feature to make things easier for people reading your message. This feature is available both in new messages and replies. Just fill in the complete page like this: http://www.someserver.com/seethispage.html, where that leads to an active page. Example, if I wanted to refer you to the Apple Computer Home Page, I would put http://www.apple.com, in the window named Optional Link URL, and directly below it in the window named Link Title I would put something like My Home Page. Then in the body of my message I would tell whomever is reading it to click on the link I provided below this message to see what I am referring to.

Can I use html tags anywhere in my message body

Yes, but. The message body as it is read near the top of a page does convert the tags and display them correctly. However in the message window where someone would post a reply to your message they do not work. In this window it is just a block of text and it has no way of interpreting tags like <b>make it bold</b> and so forth in the message window. So be careful when using html tags. Someone replying to your message could mess up your tags and then make the whole message not appear or look crazy to the person who read their reply.

Why are there colons in the message section when I try post a followup?

A single colon or : is added before and after each reply to a message. Unfortunately at this time the software does not have the mechanism to add : or a > at the start of each line like a normal email package would do when somebody replies to your message.