Purpose of this board
Discussion of boardtitle.
What to post
Discussion and news about boardtitle.
What not to post
Please avoid abusive, redundant, off-topic or commercial
messages.
Moderator
The moderator is a person who removes offensive and off-topic
messages, and removes old messages to make space for new ones.
The moderator is important for avoiding the chaos you see in
unmoderated Usenet groups where many of the messages are
off-topic. The moderator can be contacted by E-mail to MODERATOREMAIL.
Occasionally, somebody contests the decisions of the moderator or argues over whether this or that should be allowed on this web board. Such arguments tend to start a long, obnoxious, and unproductive discussion over moderation policy and censorship. Please keep such discussions to a minimum and confine them to the thread where they started.
How to use the index
Each topic board has a main index
listing all threads and a thread index for each thread.
Let me first explain what a thread is: Assume that Ali posts a message, Beth and Chang each post a reply to Ali, Dolly comments on Beth's reply, and Ella posts a follow-up to Dolly's comment.This group of connected messages is called a thread. It will be listed like this in the thread index:
Ali
Looking at the thread index you will get an overview of the thread, and you can click on the messages you want to read.
The main index has only one entry for each thread. If you are used to other web boards with only one index then you have probably discovered that big threads tend to clog up the whole index and make it difficult to overview.
The main index may look like this:
The number to the left is the number of messages in the thread. Next comes the subject which is the heading of the first message in the thread. After the subject comes the name of the person who started the thread, and the dates of the first and last messages in the thread. You can click on the subject to see the first message in the thread, or click on the number to get the thread index, which is placed at the bottom of the first message in the thread.
The main index is upside down, with the latest messages first. The thread index has the oldest messages first in order to clearly represent the connection between messages.
There is also an unthreaded index listing all messages regardless of thread. The purpose of the unthreaded index is to make it easier to search for messages when you don't know which thread they are in.
How to post a message
If you want to contribute to an ongoing discussion then go
to the message you want to comment on and press the button Submit
Follow Up. If you want to post a message on a new topic, then
go to the main index and press the
button Post message - New thread. In both cases you will
get a form where you can write your message. It is important that
you choose a subject title that identifies the topic adequately.
When you have filled out the form press the OK button. You
will now get a preview of your message so that you can check if
the message looks as you want it to and check it for errors. The
preview has a green background to distinguish it from the final
message. When you have approved the preview press the button Post
Message.
Can I copy text from my word processor?
Yes. If you want to write your message in advance
before you log on to the net, or if you want to copy text from
somewhere else, then you can use simple cut-and-paste. If you
have a Windows system it goes like this: Highlight the text you
want to copy by running over it with the first mouse button down
or by using Shift+Arrow key. Press Ctrl+Ins to copy
the highlighted text to the clipboard. Now go to the place where
you want to copy your text to, and press Shift+Ins. This
will insert the text from the clipboard. This method works
everywhere in almost all Windows programs. Only the plain text is
copied in this way. If you want special formatting such as fonts,
emphasis, etc., then you may copy the text as html code.
Copyright law says that you can copy small excerpts from newspapers, books, and other sources for the purpose of discussion. But you are not allowed to copy longer pieces of copyrighted text.
Can I format my text to
make it look more nice?
There are special formatting codes that you can use. The
most useful codes are listed below:
Other simple html codes are also allowed, while advanced codes such as scripts and frames will be deleted automatically. Note that <bq> is not a standard html code, but an abbreviation for <blockquote> that has been implemented here for your convenience. The quoted text will be shown as indented and, if possible, with a different font. You may use italics instead for very short quotes.
If your word-processor can produce HTML code then you may paste the HTML code directly into the text field.
Check the preview of your message to see if the codes work as intended, or use the test board for experimenting with html code.
Can I add links?
You can add a link to another message on this board or to
any other page on the web. Insert the address of the link in the
field Optional Link URL and its title in the field Link
Title. The address or URL can be copied from the location
field in your web browser using the cut and paste method
described above.
Can I add an image?
Only if the image is accessible somewhere else on the web,
for example on your own homepage. Insert the address of the image
in the field Optional Image URL. To find the address of an
image, click on it with the right mouse button and select copy
image location or properties.
Can I post the same
message to several topic boards?
No. If your message is relevant to more than one topic,
then you should post it to only one of the message boards and
make links to it from the others. This is necessary in order to
keep the thread of follow-ups together.
Can I post anonymously?
Yes. However, it is recommended that you provide an
E-mail address where you can be contacted. Anonymous E-mail
addresses are available for free at USA net, and Hotmail.
My message looks wrong
If you have problems with linefeeds then you may use special
codes for controlling where you want linefeeds in your text. Use
the code <br> to insert a line break. Use the code
<p> for a paragraph break. The system
will avoid linefeeds anywhere else if you use these codes.
Alternatively, you may write your text in a word processor that
can make html code and paste the html code into the writing field.
If the background is green then you are looking at the message preview, not the final message.
If the background is white or gray then you need to turn off the color settings in your browser. If you have problems printing a message because of the colors then you may need to set the colors to black on white in your browser while printing.
The messages look different in different browsers. Some browsers support style sheets that allow a more detailed control of fonts, colors, etc. The difference is only aesthetical and not important to the use of this board.
If you think the time is wrong, then please note that the time is represented as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Reporting problems
Technical problems are often caused by overloading of the
Internet. Such problems tend to disappear after a few hours or
days. Persistent problems may be reported to MODERATOREMAIL.
Complaints about improper messages may be directed to the moderator.