Tips for Using the Discussion Area
Tips for Participating in Online Events | Tips for Navigating This Site | Tips for Using the Discussion Area | Glossary |
These tips can help both the experienced and novice web users fully participate in and benefit from this online event discussion.
Understanding the Lingo
New technology often assigns new meaning to "old words." Here are some commonly used terms you may encounter when you participate in online discussions throughout this event.
WebBoard: The software used on the general Drug Prevention and School Safety Coordinator website and the online event websites to support online discussions among coordinators and Training Center staff.
Discussions: Online "conversations" taking place within central Discussion Areas of the WebBoard. Discussions appear on the left hand side of the screen. One or more Discussion Areas will be available to you during an event.
Topic: A specific thread of discussion within a Discussion Area of the WebBoard. Topics appear indented, under a particular Discussion.
Post: Sending a message to the Discussion Area of the WebBoard that begins or continues a thread of discussion. You must first select a discussion before posting a new topic (or continuing an ongoing one).
Reply: A posting/message made in response to another posting/message, always threaded under an existing topic on the WebBoard. Replies appear indented beneath the messages to which they correspond.
For a more extensive list of definitions, visit the event Glossary.
Viewing Topics
To view topics within a Discussion, click the plus symbol [+] next to a Discussion name (or the Discussion name itself). You can also click the plus symbol [+] next to a topic to view the replies beneath it.
Posting a Message
If the message you are sending to a Discussion begins a new topic (rather than adding to a current topic), you are posting a message. To post a message, follow these steps:
Select a Discussion by clicking on its name.
Use the Post button on the top (color) toolbar, or open a message in the topic and select Post from the options at the top of the message.
You will see a message creation form. Enter your new topic in the topic field.
Type your message in the text box.
Select the Post button on the form.
Responding to a Message
To respond to a message, follow these steps:
Open the message by clicking on it.
Select Reply from the menu at the top of the message.
You will see a message creation form; the current message's topic will appear in the topic field. Edit the topic if you wish.
Type your response in the text box.
Select the Post button on the form.
Subscribing to a Discussion via E-mail
You have the option of subscribing to a discussion via e-mail. This means that you can receive new Discussion postings as regular e-mails, and you can respond to them as regular e-mails as well. To subscribe to a particular Discussion, follow these steps:
Select More from the toolbar.
Select Mailing Lists from the list of options.
Subscribe to the Discussions you want by clicking the appropriate checkboxes.
Save your changes -- and you're done!
NOTE: Attachments made to a WebBoard posting/message will not be carried through e-mail. You must open the posting via the Web in order to retrieve an attachment.
Attaching a File to a Message
If you use Netscape 3 or above (or Explorer 4 or above), you can attach documents to a message in a WebBoard Discussion. To attach a document, follow these steps:
Create a message either by posting or replying.
Select the Attach File checkbox by clicking on it.
Post the message. If you have "preview/spell check" selected, you must click Post twice.
You will see a form for uploading documents. Click on the Browse button to look for the document you wish to attach.
Select the document and click Upload Now. You're done!
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