50connect Forums: A User Guide

Our forums allow you to discuss any topic and share your views with others.

How To Get Started

Begin by going to http://forums.50connect.co.uk/.

Register

To be able to use all the features on this board, you must register for a member account. Registration is free and only takes a moment to complete.

During registration, you must supply a valid email address. This is important as you must validate your registration via an email. If your email does not arrive, then on the member bar at the top of the page, there will be a link that will allow you to re-send the validation email.

Once you have registered and logged in, you will have access to your personal messenger and your control panel.

Logging In & Out

If you have chosen not to remember your log in details in cookies, or you are accessing the board on another computer, you will need to log into the board to access your member profile and post with your registered name.

When you log in, you have the choice to save cookies that will log you in automatically when you return. Do not use this option on a shared computer for security.

Logging out is simply a matter of clicking on the 'Log Out' link that is displayed when you are logged in. If you find that you are not logged out, you may need to manually remove your cookies. See the 'Cookies' help file for more information.

If you lose your password click the forgotten password link.

Your Control Panel (My Controls)

The control panel is where you set up your personal preferences for the board. You can change how the board looks and operates for you from here.

Subscriptions

• View Topics: View topics that you have subscribed to here, or change the way you are notified for each topic. You can also remove topic subscriptions from here.
• View Forums: View forums that you have subscribed to, or change the way you are notified for each forum. You can also remove forum subscriptions from here.

Personal Profile

• Edit Profile Information: Here you can specify your own personal information, such as your birthdate and contact information.
• Edit Personal Portal Information: You can change your personal statement, notification and moderation options from this section.
• Edit Signature: You can view and manage your signature from here. You may use BBcode to format your signature (to link to images, etc.).
• Edit Avatar Settings: You can view and manage your personal avatar from here. You may choose an avatar from the board's gallery, link to an offsite image (the image will be resized if it is larger than the dimensions allowed) or upload an image from your computer to use as your avatar.
• Change Personal Photo: You can upload an image that will be displayed on your profile.
• Change Display Name: You can change how your name appears on the board from here.

Options

• Manage Your Attachments: You can view and manage your file attachments from here.
• Manage Friends List: You can approve pending friend requests from here (if you have set your profile up to require approval) as well as view and manage your existing friends from this page.
• Manage Ignored Users: You may view, add and remove ignored users from this page.
• Board Settings: You can manage settings related to how the board is displayed/operates from this page. You can choose your timezone and various view options here, such as which text editor you would like to use.
• Change Email Address: You can update the email address associated with your account from here.
• Change Password: Here you can update the password you use to log in to the board.
• Email Settings: There are several email-specific settings available on this page:

Privacy Settings

• Hide my email address from other members: You can choose to not display your e-mail address to members of the board.
• Send me updates sent by the board administrator: Your board administrator may want to periodically send newsletters to members of the board, check this to make sure you receive these updates.

Board Preferences

• Include a copy of the post when emailing me from a subscribed topic: If you opt to receive notifications of new posts/topics, a copy of the post/topic body will be sent in the notification e-mail.
• Send a confirmation email when I receive a new private message: Enabling this will allow the board to send you an e-mail when you receive a new PM.
• Enable 'Email Notification' by default?: Enabling this will automatically subscribe you to any topic/post you reply to or create. Use the drop-down box to select how you would like to be notified.

Posting

There are three different posting screens available. The new topic button, visible in forums and in topics allows you to add a new topic to that particular forum. The new poll button will also be viewable in topics and forums allowing you to create a new poll in the forum. When viewing a topic, there will be an add reply button, allowing you to add a new reply onto that particular topic.

Posting New Topics & Replying

When making a post, you will have the option to use IBF/BB Code when posting. This will allow you to add various types of formatting to your messages. For more information on this, click the 'BB Code Help' link under the emoticon box to launch the help window.

Rich Text Editor

With the Rich Text Editor, instead of seeing the bits of code, you'll see how the post will look when it's finally posted, like a live preview. You can take advantage of the RTE if you have Internet Explorer 6 or higher, or Firefox 1.5 or higher. The toolbar from left to right, top to bottom contains:

• Remove Formatting: This will remove all formatting from the post.
• Insert Special Item: This box will allow you to insert items such as Topic Links, Post Links, and other Custom BB Code that the Admin allows.  See the BB Code Help for further information on what these objects will look like.
• Fonts: This will allow you to choose a font for your text.  If you have the RTE enabled, the chosen font(s) will be displayed within your post.
• Sizes: In this box, you can choose from seven different sizes for your fonts.
• Undo & Redo: These two arrows will undo or redo your last action.
• Entry box size buttons: Here, you can increase or decrease the size of the post box, giving you more or less room to work.
• Standard Editor/RTE Toggle: This button will switch between the Standard Editor and the RTE.  You can also change this setting via "My Controls"
• Styling Buttons: Bold, italic, and underline respectively, which will apply said styling to your selected text.
• Text Formatting: This button will let you choose to superscript, subscript, or strikethrough your text.
• Text Color: This box will display a list of several colors in which to apply to your text.
• Emoticons: The button with the smiley icon will display a listing of all the emoticons for the board, and allow you to insert them into the post.
• Outdent/Indent: These two buttons will let you indent your text to the right, or outdent it back to the left.
• Text Alignment Buttons:  These buttons will let you choose left, center, right, or justified alignment for the selected text.
• Lists: These two buttons will let you create ordered (ie. numbered) or unordered (ie. bulleted) lists.

Toggle Side Panel

Clicking this will bring up a Side Panel containing helpful links. It will include all 'Clickable' emoticons, as well as the same Custom BB Code in the 'Insert Special Item' menu. You can click 'Toggle Side Panel' to either close or open the Side Panel. Your selection will apply across the boards.

Post Options

There are three options available when making a post or a reply:

• 'Enable emoticons?': If this is unchecked, then any text that would normally be converted into an emoticon will not be.
• 'Enable signature?': Allows you to choose whether or not you would like your signature to appear on that individual post.
• 'Enable email notification of replies?': Ticking this box will mean that you will receive e-mail updates to the topic, see the 'Email Notification of new messages' help topic for more information on this.

You also have the option to choose a post icon for the topic/post when creating one. This icon will appear next to the topic name on the topic listing in that forum, or will appear next to the date/time of the message if making a reply to a topic.

Poll Options

If you have chosen to post a new poll, there will be an extra two option boxes at the top of the help screen. The first input box will allow you to enter the question that you are asking in the poll. The text field underneath is where you will input the choices for the poll. Simply enter a different option on each line. The maximum number of choices is displayed on the left.

Quoting Posts

Displayed below each post in a topic, there is a 'Quote' button. Pressing this button will allow you to reply to a topic, and have the text from a particular reply quoted in your own reply. When you choose to do this, an extra text field will appear below the main text input box to allow you to edit the content of the post being quoted.

Editing Posts

Above any posts that you have made, you may see an 'Edit' button. Pressing this will allow you to edit the post that you had previously made.

When editing you may see an option to 'Add the 'Edit by' line in this post?'. If you tick this then it will show up in the posts that it has been edited and the time at which it was edited. If this option does not appear, then the edit by line will always be added to the post.

If you are unable to see the edit button displayed on each post that you have made, then the administrator may have prevented you from editing posts, or the time limit for editing may have expired.

Fast Reply

Where it has been enabled, there will be a fast reply button on each topic. Clicking this will open up a posting box on the topic view screen, cutting down on the time required to load the main posting screen. Click the fast reply button to expand the reply box and type the post inside of there. Although the fast reply box is not expanded by default, you can choose the option to have it expanded by default, from the board settings section of your control panel. Pressing the 'More Options' button will take you to the normal posting screen.

The search feature is designed to allow you to quickly find topics and posts that contain the keywords you enter. There are two types of search form available, simple search and advanced search. You may switch between the two using the 'More Options' and 'Simple Mode' buttons.

• Simple Mode: All you need to do here is enter in a keyword into the search box, and select a forum(s) to search in. (to select multiple forums, hold down the control key on a PC, or the Shift/Apple key on a Mac) choose a sorting order and search.
• Advanced Mode: The advanced search screen, will give you a much greater range of options to choose from to refine your search. In addition to searching by keyword, you are able to search by a members username or a combination of both. You can also choose to refine your search by selecting a date range, and there are a number of sorting options available. There are also two ways of displaying the search results, can either show the post text in full or just show a link to the topic, can choose this using the radio buttons available.

There are also search boxes available at the bottom of each forum, to allow you to carry out a quick search of all of the topics within that particular forum.

Topic Options

At the top of each topic, there is a 'Options' menu. Clicking this menu will expand the options menu. From this menu, you can select from the following options: 

• Track this topic: This option will allow you to receive e-mail updates for the topic, see the 'Email Notification of new messages' help file for more information on this.
• Email this topic: From here you can email a link of this topic to someone by entering their name, email, and desired language.
• Print this topic: This will present the current topic you are viewing a printer friendly format, removing most images and using a standard layout.
• Download this topic: Will show the topic in a number of different formats. 'Printer Friendly Version' will display a version of the topic that is suitable for printing out. 'Download HTML Version' will download a copy of the topic to your hard drive, and this can then be viewed in a web browser, without having to visit the board. 'Download Microsoft Word Version' will allow you to download the file to your hard drive and open it up in the popular word processing application, Microsoft Word, for viewing offline.
• Subscribe to this forum: Will allow you to receive e-mail updates for any new topics posted in the forum, see the Notification of new messages' help file for more information on this.

Viewing Active Topics & New Posts

You can view which new topics have new replies today by clicking on the 'Today's Active Topics' link found at the bottom of the main board page (the first page you see when visiting the board). You can set your own date criteria, choosing to view all topics  with new replies during several date choices. The 'View New Posts' link in the member bar at the top of each page, will allow you to view all of the topics which have new replies in since your last visit to the board.

Your Personal Messenger

Your personal messenger acts much like an email account in that you can send and receive messages and store messages in folders.

• Send A New PM: This will allow you to send a message to another member. If you have names in your friends list, you can choose a name from it - or you may choose to enter a name in the relevant form field. This will be automatically filled in if you clicked a 'PM' button on the board (from the member list or a post). There is also a 'type-ahead' feature which automatically pulls users from the database as you start typing their name. If allowed, you may also be able to enter in multiple names in the box provided, will need to add one username per line.

  If you choose to check the 'Add a copy of this message to you sent items folder' box, a copy of the message will be saved for you for later reference. If you tick the 'Track this message?' box, then the details of the message will be available in your 'Message Tracker' where you will be able to see if/when it has been read.

• Inbox: Your inbox is where all new messages are sent to. Clicking on the message title will show you the message in a similar format to the board topic view. You can also delete or move messages from your inbox.
• Sent Items: This folder is where any sent PMs go to, if selected when sending the message.
• Saved (Unsent) PMs: This area will allow you to go back to any PM's that you have chosen to save to be sent later.
• Empty PM Folders: This option provides you with a quick and easy way to clear out all of your PM folders.
• Edit Storage Folders: You may rename, add or remove folders to store messages is, allowing you to organise your messages to your preference. You cannot remove 'Sent Items' or 'Inbox'.
• PM Block List: You may add in users names in this section, or edit any saved entries. This section is used as a ban list, denying the named member the ability to message you.
• Archive Messages: If your messenger folders are full and you are unable to receive new messages, you can archive them off. This compiles the messages into a single HTML page or Microsoft Excel format. This page is then emailed to your registered email address for your convenience.
• Message Tracker: This is the page that any messages that you have chosen to track will appear. Details of if and when they have been read by the recipient will appear here. This also gives you the chance to delete any messages that you have sent and not yet been read by the intended recipient.

My Assistant

The 'My Assistant' feature can be accessed by clicking the link of the same name in the board header. This tool provides quick links to many important areas on the board, as well as quick access to common features. My Assistant has four separate feature tabs:

• Information: This tabs offers links to the overall and daily Top Ten posters, as well as your last ten posts on the board. You can also click to view the Moderation Team.
• New Posts: Will show you a link to any new posts made since your last visit, and how long ago they were posted.
• Search: Using this, you can search the forum basically the same way the standard search function works. This box will show you the number of results, and allow you to click to view them
• Recent PMs: On this tab, you can view your 5 most recent PMs and when they were received.

The My Assistant is also used when a new PM arrives. If you have selected to be notified when a new PM is received, the My Assistant box will appear on your screen displaying your new PM.

Contacting The Moderating Team

If you need to contact a moderator, you can click the link 'The moderating team' found at the bottom of the main board page (the first page you see when visiting the board), or from 'My Assistant'. This list will show you administrators (those who have administration control panel access), global moderators (those who can moderate in all forums) and the moderators of the individual forums.

If you wish to contact someone about your member account, then contact an administrator - if you wish to contact someone about a post or topic, contact either a global moderator or the forum moderator.

Reporting A Post

You'll see a 'Report' button in a post, next to the 'Quote' button. This function will let you report the post to the forum moderator (or the administrator(s), if there isn't a specific moderator available). You can use this function when you think the moderator(s) should be aware of the existance of that post. However, do not use this to chat with the moderator(s)!. You can use the email function or the Personal Messenger function for that.

Help

For further help and more features such as the calendar, please see the Forums Help at http://forums.50connect.co.uk/index.php?act=Help.

Your Suggestions

If there's a category you would like to see in the forums, or you have any other suggestions, you can email us at editor@50connect.com.

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