Users Guide: How to use the board

[JustAskJulie]

Basics:

This should cover the basics of how to use this forum.

1. You do not need to be registered in order to post here. However, registering will give you full access to post in all forums and reply to others posts.

2. You may reply to posts in one of two ways. Underneath each post are two buttons. One says "quote". Clicking this button will take you to a new reply page which will give you all of the reply options (and will quote the original post you are replying to). The button next to it looks like a pen on paper. Clicking that button will take you to the "Quick Reply" box at the bottom of the page where you can easily type in your reply.

3. To start a new topic, Find the most appropriate forum (if you aren't sure which forum you should post in, post your question in General Swingers forum.
Once you find the appropriate forum, look at the top or bottom left of the page for the "new thread" button.

[JustAskJulie]

Sometimes you may wish to include all of or a portion of another users post when you are replying so that it is clear what you are replying to.

The easiest way to do this is to click the "quote" button on the post you are replying to. If you wish to include the entire post that you are replying to you simply type your own response either above or below what is already entered in the text box after clicking the "quote" button.

Typically, you will only want to quote a portion of the post you are responding to. The best way to do this is use the "quick reply" box or click the "post reply" button. Simply copy the portion of text you wish to quote (CTRL-C), click the quote button and then Paste (CTRL-v) the text into the box when asked.

[JustAskJulie]

Please remember that this is not a "hook up" board. While you may contact other users of the board privately, offensive or suggestive emails are not permitted and any user receiving emails or PM's that they find offensive via the board should forward them directly to JustAskJulie (via PM) or julie@swingersboard.com (via email).

Private Messages are similiar to emails in that they allow you to communicate with another user directly and privately. These are sent and stored on this website and you can access your PM's via your User CP. To send a Private Messenger to another user, click on their name in their post and select the "send private message to this user" option from the drop down menu.

Email - To send an email to another user on the board (if they have the option enabled) click on their name next to their post and select "email this user" from the drop down list.

You may also email or PM someone from their profile.

If a user has included their Instant Messenger (AIM, ICQ, Yahoo) information in their profile you can also contact them that way by clicking the icon in their post bit (the info listed next to their post) or via their profile.

[JustAskJulie]

Some forums are enabled for you to post images within your posts.

To include an image with your post, after entering the text for your post scroll down to the "manage attachments" button. Click the button and it will open a new window. In that window click the "browse" button and find the image/file you wish to share. Once selected click the upload button.

You may add up to 5 files per post.

Attachments are not allowed in all forums and may require moderation in others. If you do not see your attachment posted immideately assume it is awaiting moderation. And images should not be beyond R rated (no exposed genitals). Please keep in mind that this board is open to all.

[JustAskJulie]

With this latest upgrade the User Cp has changed quite a bit and in many ways is much easier to navigate.

When you initially access your User Cp you will be taken to a page that displays the new posts in any threads you have subscribed to. On the left you will see your User CP options.

Edit Signature - your signature is the line of information that will show up after every post you make. This is limited to 300 characters.

Edit Email & Password - This is where you will need to go to change your username or your email address.

Edit Profile - in this area you can change basic information about yourself.

Edit Options - here you can change your message board options, such as setting yourself in "invisible mode", private messaging options, timezone, etc.

Edit Avatar - change the image that displays with your user info next to your posts.

Edit Profile Picture - add an image to your profile - no larger than 400x400 pixels.

Private Messages -clicking the arrow to the left of "Private Messages" will give you a drop down list of all the folders you have (typically inbox and sent).

List Messages - will list all private messages in your "inbox".
Send New Message - will bring up the form to initiate a new private message.
Track Messages - allows you to track whether or not a user you have sent a PM to have read it yet.
Edit Folders - allows you to create folders in which to save your private messages (or delete folders you have created)
Subscribed Threads Subscription Folders


Buddy / Ignore Lists - allows you to quickly view who you have added to your buddy list and ignore list.

Attachments - allows you to view all attachments you have posted and easily delete them if you so desire.

[JustAskJulie]

If there is a user that tends to get on your bad side and who it may be best that you not view the posts of. Or if the user is bothering you via PM and you wish to prevent them from doing so, you may add them to your ignore list.

Adding a user to your ignore list will prevent them from sending you PM's and will also cause their posts to be invisible to you.

To add a user to your ignore list you can either -
1. Add them directly: Open your User CP, click the "buddy/ ignore list" option. Under where it says "Ignore List' you will see several boxes (some may have names in them already if you have previously added people to your ignore list). Type in the username of the person you wish to ignore and then click the update button.

2. Click the users name in their postbit (next to their post) and from the drop down list, select "view users profile". On their profile click the "Add user to ignore list" option.

[JustAskJulie]

The easiest way to post a link within your post is to simply paste/type the URL into your post and make sure that they "automatically parse links in text" in the "additional options" is checked.

If you wish to name the link like this: Swingers Board, click the button above the posting text box and then type in what you want the link to say. Click Ok. Then type (Or paste) the URL.

[JustAskJulie]

There are quite a few otpions for Searching now. You can not only search the entire board or a forum but you can search strictly within a single thread.

To Search the Entire Board:

For a simple search - click the Search Button from the navigation bar and type in the word(s) you are searching for in the drop down box and click search.

For an advanced Search, click search then click "Advanced Search" from underneath the text box. This will open a new page that gives you many options for searching.

Search by Keyword: Either within an entire post or just within the titles. The latter is helpful when you are trying to find a specific topic that you know exists.

Search by username: Find all posts by a particular user.

[JustAskJulie]

When you come across particularly offensive posts or spam posts you should report these posts to a moderator using the "report this post" option.

To report a post simply look for the icon underneath a users username/avatar and click it. This will bring up a text box in which you should type what the problem with the post was so that when the moderator recieves the report they know what to look for.

[JustAskJulie]

It is much easier to add smilies now. You can add them as you go by clicking the smilie you wish to add when you want to add it. *Or if you decide you want to add one after the fact, simply move your curser back to where you want the smilie to show up and then click on the smilie you wish to insert.

*This may not work for Mac users.

You can also just type the smlie code and when you submit your post it will be converted to the actual smilie (so long as "disable smilies" is NOT checked at the bottom of the page when you submit the post). You can view the codes with their respective smilies here.

[JustAskJulie]

Avatars are the small images that show up underneath your username. You may use on of the stock avatars or if you have at least 10 posts you may add your own custom avatar.

Select the "Edit Avatar" Option from your "User Cp". If you currently have an avatar selected. The first think you will see if your current avatar.

Next you will see the "Predefined Avatars". These are the avatars we have chosen and you can choose to display any one of these avatars by simply clicking the dot next to the avatar of your choice then at the bottom click the "Save changes" button.

If you have your own image you would prefer to use as your avatar and you have at least 10 posts you may do so. The image may not be more than 50x50 pixels. To use your own avatar, make sure that the dot next to "Use Custom Avatar" is selected. If the avatar is available on the internet you simply need to type in the URL for the avatar. If the image is your hard drive, click the "browse" button and find the image you want. Then click "Save changes".

[JustAskJulie]

User Titles (the text below your username and above your avatar) is automatically assigned based on the number of posts you have/ your user group.

Users with at least 100 posts can enter their own custom title from the "user profile" section of their User Cp.

[JustAskJulie]

When referring to a post in a different thread (or even back a ways in the same thread - if it's really long), you can now easily link directly to a specific post.

Above each post you will see a number. If you look at the top right of this post you will see #1, as it is the first post in this thread. If you click it, it will take you to a new page with only this post displayed.

Simply copy the URL from your browser's address bar, and where you wish to link to this post, click the button and enter whatever text you want displayed (like Julie's post on Linking directly to a post) and then on the next screen paste the URL that you copied earlier.

Go ahead and give it a try here to get the hang of it.

[JustAskJulie]

The buddy list allows you easy access to the profiles of your friends, as well as making it simple to PM them either one at a time or several at a time.

You may add someone to your buddy list by opening their profile and selecting "add to buddy list". You may also add them by going to your User CP and selecting "buddy list", there you can type in the name(s) of those you wish to add to your buddy list.

On the Navbar, note the "Quick Links" drop down box. The third option there is "Open Buddy List". Selecting this will open your buddy list in a new window. On top it will list those buddies who are online and all the rest of your buddies below. To the right of each buddy is a checkbox.

To PM any or many of your buddies at once, simply check the box next to their name then go to the bottom of the list and click the "PM Users" link.

You will also notice that any users you have on your buddy list will show a + next to their name in the "Who's Online" list.

[Brit_Pair]

Alternatively*, you can just right-click on the post number. When the right-click sub-menu appears, you'll see that one of the options is 'copy shortcut'. Selecting that option will copy the post's URL onto your clipboard: you can now paste the URL into another post wherever you choose.

(* - PC users. Not sure what the equivalent is for the Mac crowd.)