A Guide to the Forum

Viewing Forums - Click "Have Your Say" in the Main Menu box. The Forum feature provides a way to communicate with other Villagers on the site. The basic organization of the forum enables you to post your questions or comments in the most logical place. Forums are divided into "categories", and the places you can post within those categories are called "boards". Each new message in a board is called a "thread" or a "topic".

When viewing the main forum page, you will notice that the name of the category appears on a divider bar above the names of its various boards. The color of the divider bar is determined by the theme that is active on the site. But regardless of the site's theme, you should be able to distinguish the categories fairly clearly.

The name of every board within a category is hyper-linked. When you click on the name of a board, you can see all the topics, or threads, within that board. The name of each thread is also hyper-linked. When you post a new thread, or topic, on a board, whatever you type in the Subject will become the name of the thread. (See Posting in the Forums)

On the main forum page, you can see how many threads exist in each board, how many posts each board has accumulated, when the last message was posted and who posted it, and the moderator(s) assigned to that board. When viewing the threads within a board, the same information is available concerning each topic, with the exception of Moderator.

Sticky threads (or topics) appear at the top of the list of all the other threads in a board. They most often appear in a different color than the other threads so that they're easily identified. They never move down when new threads are posted. Sticky topics typically contain information that the Admin or moderator feels is vital to all members and should be read by everybody.

Posting in the Forums -Participating in the forums is fun! Here are a few steps to get you started.

Creating a New Topic -You may have something to say, not as a reply to an existing topic, but to begin a new discussion. Please think about the best place for your new "thread" and click into that Board. To post a new thread, or topic, in the forum about that method, I'd click into Over The Fence... because that's the board to talk about almost anything.

Once you're in the best board for your new topic, look at the upper right corner above the list of messages. You'll see a long, gray button that says New Topic. Click that, and you can begin a new topic of discussion.

Give your topic a short subject that gives an idea of what the thread will be about. Next, choose a symbol that best represents the tone of your topic -just click the down arrow and select one. You'll notice that a little picture instantly appears to the right of the drop-box.

Now type in your text and click the button that says Send Message.

Replying to a Post -If you click into one of the message boards, and click the title of a message, you may feel like replying to the post after you read it. Look at the icons at the bottom of the message. Click on the long gray button that says Post Reply.

You don't have to change anything in the Subject or Symbol... but you can if you want to. In the text area, type in the reply and you're all through replying, click the button that says Send Message.

Replying with Quotes -Instead of just hitting the Post Reply button, you may want to quote all or part of the message you're replying to. There are several instances in which this would be better than replying without quotes. You may be replying to something somebody wrote several replies ahead of your own.

For instance, let's say a user named Pickles posted a comment, and five others have posted comments after that one. You want everybody to know that you're addressing the post by Pickles. In this case, you'd post and click the icon that looks like quote marks at the bottom of that message.

When your composition screen appears you'd see Pickles' original post, and at the beginning and the end you'll see [quote] and [/quote]. Whatever appears between the "quote tags" will be indented, bold text with a line above and below Pickles' message, setting it apart from your own reply. You can type your own message either above or below the quoted text. When you've finished typing your reply, click the button that says Send Message.

Common Abbreviations -You'll come across some pretty funny looking "words" as you read through the posts in the forums or in the Chat Rooms. If you aren't experienced in the world of online chatting, you may feel left out because you don't know what they mean. This is not a comprehensive list of those expressions... but it will get you started to learn some of the chat "shorthand" that is commonly used across the globe.

LOL Laugh Out Loud 

ROFL Rolling On Floor Laughing 

IMO or IMHO In My Opinion or In My Humble Opinion 

TY and YW Thank You and Your Welcome 

TIA Thanks In Advance 

CYA or CU See Ya or See You 

TTFN Ta-Ta For Now

Flaming -Posting a message that degrades, disparages or denigrates another member, guest or admin/assistant is considered flaming and is not tolerated. If you flame, your post may be deleted, you may receive a message from an administrator or moderator, or your membership may be either temporarily or permanently revoked.

Inappropriate or Censored Language -WebAPP is equipped with an inappropriate or censored language filter. If you type one of the words or phrases that the site administrator has decided to filter, it will not appear as you typed it in your post.