MPGFA

[atticus]

Walk through

Section One - Introduction
The purpose of this post is to explain the various features of these forums and to outline the posting procedure. These features include a multi-threaded message-board system with email integration, an intra-site private message system. While these forums are in constant development, and new features will be continually released, this walkthrough serves to explain the basic features of registering, posting, and sending private messages.

Section Two - Registering
The forums and forum-groups of this board function with defined permissions. Without being logged in, you are able to access any of the public forums and view any topics in them, but you cannot post. In order to post, you must first register as a user. After this short process, you can log in with your new account and begin to explore the forums. If at any time you forget the password to your account, clicking 'Help, I lost my password!' on the login screen will allow you get your password emailed to you.

Section Three - My Profile
This page will allow you to update your user-profile. Currently there is a public user-gallery, so the information you put here is viewable to users. However please make sure the email address listed in your profile is current and accurate. In a future version of these forums, we plan to have a seperate 'public bio' area where you can share information about yourself with the community.

Section Four - My Private Messages
Our PM system allows users to have dialogue with one-another outside the public domain of the forums. To view your inbox, click messages. From the view screen you will also be able to reply to the message. To send a new private message, click Compose New Message. If you wish to save the message after sending it, check "I want to keep a copy of my message". Any sent private messages that you have saved can be found by clicking Sent Messages.

Section Five - Posting
To create a new topic, click 'New Topic' in the forum where you wish to create the topic. To create a topic, you must give the post a subject, and any text. To format the text, these forums use the Kwiki system. Try to click any of the GUI buttons to see how they work, or click Kwiki Reference for a breakdown of kwiki usage. If you wish to receive email notification whenever a response is made to your post, check that box before clicking Add. If you wish to preview your post, keep that box checked - otherwise uncheck it to post directly without first previewing. The preview will give you a chance to see how your post will look and to make any changes to it. When posting a reply, the procedure is very similar. You get to the reply screen by clicking 'Add Reply' to any post. The subject line will not be automatically be filled in - however, feel free to change this if you like. After adding the reply you are redirected to the thread in which you posted.

Section Six - Forums Subscription
If you subscribe to a forum, any posts made in it will be emailed to you. To subscribe to a forum, click the 'Subscribe to Forum' link at the top of the forum. To unsubscribe at any time, click the link (which will have changed to read 'Unsubscribe from Forum').