Using HTML codes

1. Can I use HTML codes in my discussion postings?

Who's Who?

1. What is the red M next to some member's names?
2. What is the red next to some member's names?

What is the red NEW message about?

1. What is the NEW next to a post?

What is the icon next to a thread about?

1. What is the icon next to a thread?

Tips/Tricks by the Veterans

1. Adding a new message pertaining to computer help
2. Using a text editor for long comments

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Registration

1. Register to join
2. Logging in

1. How to register

Membership is free. You are welcome to browse the boards as a guest. To post a message or start a discussion of your own, you must complete a one-time registration. To register, simply click on the "Log In" link located on the right hand navigation bar under the "Member login" tab and fill out the necessary information required. For security purposes, we require e-mail confirmation of your registration. Please provide a valid e-mail address that you can check immediately. When you register, you must choose a unique user name or "handle" and you must provide a unique, valid email address. Duplicate user names and email addresses are not allowed, so if the name or address you enter is already in use, you will be prompted to choose another one. Once your e-mail address has been confirmed, you are ready to participate.

Your registered name and e-mail address will never be visible to other forum members, though your e-mail address will be visible only to the administrators of the forums in case they need to contact you for any reason. Those who are in read-only mode will see a "Login" link at the right hand navigation bar of the forum page, which will disappear when logged in.

2. Logging in

Each time you enter the forums, you are viewing messages in "read-only" mode. To log in, simply click on the "Login" link located on the right hand navigation bar. Enter your registered e-mail address and password and the click on the "Log In" button. That's it! You can at anytime choose to log-out by clicking on the "Log out" button.

Navigation Help and Tips for Using the CNET Forum

1. Moving from one forum to another
2. Moving between messages
3. Getting back to the Main List while reading a message
4. Referring to another message in your comment
5. Adding a new message
6. Adding a reply to another member's message
7. Adding an emoticon to your message
8. Alerting our moderators of an offensive message
9. Subscribing to a discussion

1. Moving from one forum to another

Once you're in a forum, you can move among forums by clicking on the Back to main Forums page link, which is located on the left hand side near the top of browser under the forum name header. This link will take you to the list of all the forums.

2. Moving between messages

To move between messages, you may use:

The Main Thread List
The Main thread list will display all the current messages in a Collapsed View (Collapsed View will show the very first message in a Thread). When using this method to move between messages, you need only to scroll through the message titles, clicking on the ones you wish to read.

Next/Previous Links
While reading a message, you may click on the or links to either take you to the next/previous message. The Next/Previous links are located above the message you are currently reading.

*Tip - Right click on each message you wish to read (or click and hold on a Mac), and choose Open in new window. Once you are done reading the new message, you can simply close the new window, leaving the main tree list as you left it. Or you can click and drag other message links from the main forum page into the new window to view them in the target window.

Mini Tree
Below each message you are currently reading is a Mini Tree, which contains the entire thread in an expanded view. You may hop between messages by just clicking on the next one you wish to read. A bolded out subject line with no hyperlinks, indicates which message you are currently viewing in that thread.

3. Getting back to the Main List while reading a message

To get back to the Main thread list while reading a message, use the "Back to ***** Forum Link". Which is located on the left-hand side, above the message you are currently reading. Or to return back to main forums list page, click on "Back to main Forums page" which is directly next to the "Back to ***** Forum" link.

4. Referring to another message in your comment

When referring in your comment to another message that is located in the forums there are two things that you can do: One is to copy the entire URL including the "http://" and simply paste it into the content of the message and it will automatically make the URL an active link. Or you can you use this BBS code, to make any URL active: [url]URL link here[/url]. All links will open in a new browser window. "A HREF" HTML tag will not work in these forums. For more text stylizer and URL hyperlinking BBS codes please click here for more information.

5. Adding a new message

To add a new message to a forum board, click on the button, which is located under the forum name header. Once you have clicked on the "Add New Discussion" button, you will be presented with a window in which you can add your subject (what your question or comment is about), and a box in which to type your comment.

When you are ready to submit your comment, scroll to the bottom of this window, and click on the button. You will now be presented with your comment. You can either chose to "Go Back/Edit", "Post Message", or "Cancel".

If you are not satisfied with the way your comment appears, click on the button, to correct anything you wish to change. If you are satisfied with the way your message appears, click on the button, and your comment will be posted on the forum for public viewing. If you change your mind about posting a comment, click on the button, your comment will not be posted and you will be taken back to the forum's main tree list.

*Note: In order to post a message, you must enter a "Subject Title" and a "Message Body" or the system will prompt to do so until those two fields are satisfied.

6. Adding a reply to another member's message

To add a reply to another member's message that you are currently reading, click on the button, which is located on the left-hand side below the message you are currently reading.

Once you have clicked on the "Reply to this message" button, you will be presented with a window in which you can add a subject title to correspond with your response and a box in which to type your comment. Note that the message you are replying to will be displayed below the comment box so that you can reference its contents and cut-and-paste some or all of it into your message.

When you are ready to submit your comment, scroll to the bottom of this window, and click on the "Preview my Message" button. You will now be presented with your comment. You can either chose to "Go Back/Edit" or "Cancel."

If you are not satisfied with the way your comment appears, click on the button, to correct anything you wish to change. If you are satisfied with the way your message appears, click on the button, and your comment will be posted on the forum for public viewing. If you change your mind about posting a comment, click on the "Cancel" button and your comment will not be posted; you will be taken back to the forum's main tree list.

*Hints: If you add a reply to somebody else's thread, quote the individual's message to which you are specifically replying as well as place that person's name in the Subject line, otherwise the person may not know your comments are addressing him/her and not read it.

7. Adding an emoticon to your message

The following emoticons may be added to any part of your message. To have an emoticon appear in the body of your message, type the keystrokes directly into your message. The following table illustrates what keystrokes are required to produce a particular emoticon, and what it means.

Meaning	Keystroke	Emoticon
Happy	:) or :-)
Sad	:( or :-(
Grin	:D
Love	:x
Mischief	;\
Cool	B-)
Devil	]:)
Silly	:p
Angry	X-(
Laugh	:^O
Wink	;) or ;-)
Blush	:8}
Cry	:_|
Confused	?:|
Shocked	:O
Plain	:|

8. Alerting our moderators of an offensive message

If you read a particular message in the forums that contains spam or other offensive content which violates our usage policy, we encourage you to notify our moderators by clicking the button below the message. You will be prompted to notify the moderator by simply clicking on the "Send to moderator" button (there is no need to enter a comment). If you wish to make a comment about this message to the moderator, feel free to enter something into the comment field. Our moderators will be notified of the message and act accordingly.

9. Subscribing to a discussion topic

How can I receive a notice that there is activity on a discussion?
It is easy to be notified of activities on a particular discussion topic. Follow these steps to subscribe to a discussion topic:

Click on the discussion topic you are interested in. When viewing the posting, click on the button directly beneath the discussion posting. We'll send you periodic e-mail updates about new activity on your subscriptions. If you are currently already subscribed to a discussion, a will appear in place of the subcribe button.

How can I review which discussions I am subscribed to?
Click on the My Discussions link on the right-hand column below the Forum Information heading. The My Discussions page contains a list of all the discussions to which you are subscribed, as well as a list of the most recent discussions in which you have participated.

How can I unsubscribe from a discussion?
To unsubscribe from a discussion, click My Discussions link on the right-hand column below the Forum Information heading. The My Discussions page contains a list of all the discussions to which you are subscribed to. Check the boxes next to the discussion thread(s) that you do not want to participate in and click on Unsubscribe Selected Discussions button.

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Maximum thread layers

1. How many layers deep can I post comments?

2. What is the next to some member's names?

The designates a CNET Editor/employee. From time to time, you will see editors or writers from our channels that will start threads, linking them to a column or article to discuss. So join in the fun and discuss.

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What's the red NEW message about?

1. What is the red NEW next to a post?

1. What is the *NEW* next to a post?

The red *NEW* text next to a posted message indicates a new message that has been submitted within the last 24 hours. The *NEW* text is automated and will expire after a 12 hour period from the time of which the submission was made.

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What is the icon next to a thread about?

1. What is the icon next to a thread about?

1. What is the icon next to a thread about?

The icon next to a thread indicates that this discussion has been locked by our forum moderator or administrator and no further post or replies will be allowed.

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Tips and Tricks

In this section you will find Tips and Tricks on using the message boards, from the veterans of our boards. If you have a tip or trick you'd like to submit, please e-mail it to Lee Koo.

1. Adding a new message pertaining to computer help
2. Using a text editor for long comments

1. Adding a new message pertaining to computer help

When adding a new message that pertains to a computer related problem you are experiencing, always include the OS used on your computer and the program/application name and where/when the error occurs.

Submitted by Bill Gaston      

2. Using a text editor for long comments

If you plan to write a fairly long message, compose it in Word Pad or SimpleText first, saving periodically, then cut and paste into the forum editor. That way you won't lose all your work in case of a dropped connection, or system crash on either end.

Submitted by Dave Konkel

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