OpenTopic™

F R E Q U E N T L Y   A S K E D   Q U E S T I O N S

REGISTRATION AND SECURITY

Is registration required?
Your UBB.x Your OpenTopic™ administrator may require you to register in order to post new topics or replies. Some forums may be open for posting without registration. Follow the register link (usually found at the top right of the page) to register. Look at the top of your OpenTopic™ main page to see your current login status.

How can I change my registration profile?
You may easily change any information stored in your registration profile, using the "MyPop" link located near the top of each page (click MyPop then click Profile). If you are already logged in, all of your profile information will appear on screen. You cannot leave blank any fields required by the message board administrator.

What do I do if I lost my username and/or password?
Retrieving your username and password is simple. All of the pages that require your username and password carry a "lost password" link that you can use to have your username and password emailed instantly to your email address of record. If your email account has changed, contact the message board administrator for assistance.

Are cookies used by the OpenTopic™ application?
The OpenTopic™ application uses a cookie to store your login information, if any. This cookie is stored in your browser. You can delete it at any time by clicking the logout link on any OpenTopic™ page. The cookie is deleted automatically at the end of each browser session unless you select "Check this option so you don't have to log in each time" when you first login. Note that this option is not recommended if other people share your computer.

What are moderators?
Moderators are individuals assigned by the message board administrator to manage activity within individual forums. They can edit, delete, or move any posts in their forums. If you have a question about a particular forum, you should direct it to your forum moderator.

Are there any censor features?
The bulletin board administrator has the power to censor certain words. This censoring is not an exact science, however, so certain words may be censored out of context. Please realize that the censoring, if any, is done by a computer based on a word list set by the administrator. Censored words are replaced with asterisks.


FORUM MESSAGES AND ACTIVITY

How can I use smilies?
Smilies are keyboard characters used to convey an emotion, such as a smile :) or a frown :(. The OpenTopic™ application automatically converts certain smilies to a graphical representation; these icons are called "Instant Graemlins". For example, if you type :o in your post, it will automatically be converted to -- an ashamed face. Only the Instant Graemlin icons in the posting form are converted automatically. Click the icon to add it to your post (you will not see the conversion until the message is posted).

Can I add HTML and/or UBBCode™ to my messages?
You may be able to use HTML and/or UBBCode™ in your posts, if your administrators and moderators have those options turned on. Some forums may have either HTML or UBBCode™ turned off, or both turned off. Only your bulletin board's leaders can set this option. Every time you post a new note, you will be told whether UBBCode™ and/or HTML is enabled for that particular forum. If HTML is on, you may use any HTML tags, but please be very careful that you use proper HTML syntax. If you do not, your moderator or administrator may have to edit your post. UBBCode™ is similar to HTML, but offers just a few basic functions, such as hyperlinking, image display, bolding and italicizing. A complete directory of current UBBCode™ is listed here.

Can I edit my own posts?
You may edit your own posts for a period of time selected by the administrator. Just go to the topic where the post to be edited is located. Click on the edit icon to edit or delete the post. No one else can edit your post, except for the forum moderator or the discussion forum administrator. A note is generated at the bottom of each post that is edited so that every one knows when a post has been edited. Note that if your post started a new topic and has replies, you will not be able to delete your post.

Can I attach files?
Files can be attached to posts if the administrator has enabled that option. Some users may be allowed to attach files and others may not. The administrator may also decide to approve all attachments before they appear.

Can I search?
You may search for specific posts based on a word or words found in the posts, username, date, and particular forum(s). Just click on the "search" link at the top of most pages.

Can I add a standard signature to my posts?
You may use a signature on your posts if your administrator allows them. You can choose to include a signature in any post by checking the "include signature" box when you create your post. To change your signature, click on MyPop™>>Profile, scroll down to the Signature text box, edit, and submit the change.

Note: You may use HTML in your signature file if the administrator permits it. However, it is safest to use plain text or UBBCode™ rather than HTML.

How can I view new posts since my last visit?
Click the "New Since your Last Visit" link at the top of the list of forums to provide a list of all topics in that forum new since your last login.

What are posting icons?
The OpenTopic™ application allows you to associate an icon with each post that you make. These posting icons are intended to identify the general mood or subject of the post; they range from a simple note to sadness to warning, and appear next to each topic in a forum listing and on each post. If you do not see icons, your forum administrator may not be allowing icons on this particular forum. (Thanks to Kombat03 for the icon idea!)

I posted something and it didn't show up!
Your OpenTopic™ administrator may be using the Moderation Queue feature. If so, your post will appear as soon as it has been approved by the designated moderator of the forum.


NOTIFICATION FEATURES

What is the PopIt tool? How do I use it?

Use this tool to keep in touch with what's new in the community. You can request immediate email notification, daily or weekly email digests, or online notification in the new MyPop™ pages. Your site administrator selects the available options for each community or forum.

What can I track using the PopIt!™ tool? You can track the following:

• New Topics in a Forum - find out when a new topic has started
• Replies to Topics - track topic replies
• Members - follow your selected members' posts within the community
  

What delivery options can I request? The options available to you depend on what your site administrator has enabled. The options may include:

• MyPop™ Page - new posts since your last visit are updated online in the MyPop™ Page. After you visit the old posts will automatically be deleted so that you always have a fresh list of what's new.
• Immediate Notification - email automatically sent to you when there is an update.
• Daily Email Digest - a summary of all of your notifications sent once a day.
• Weekly Email Digest - a summary of all of your notifications sent once a week.

How can I modify or cancel a notification?

• Click on the 'MyPop™' link
• Go to 'Subscriptions' to view all of your current notification requests.
• Click the 'edit' link to change delivery options or cancel the request entirely.

• You can also edit your preferences directly from the email you receive from the OpenTopic™ application.

How can I create a Private Topic?
Click the MyPop link, and then click the "Private Topics" tab. Click the "New Topic" button, and you will see a screen to select other members to invite into your topic. Only those people you invite will be able to see or participate in your Private Topic; you can remove any member from the Private Topic at any time. One word of caution: the community Admin and designated moderator(s) CAN see your Private Topic content, as they have access to, and control over, the content of the entire community. Use the "Add" and "Remove" buttons to create your invitation list, and then click "Invite These Members." Next, confirm your participants.

Create a subject and message for the Private Topic, and click "Post Private Topic Now." Your invitees will receive an email invitation to participate.

To see your open Private Topics, you can either use the MyPop link or you can click this icon on any page:

How do I add a Member to my Contacts list?
Click this icon if you wish to add a member to your contact list. This list is handy for composing invitation lists when you create private topics. To view your contact list, click this same icon on any page.

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