Posted By: Eric_Hill
FAQ: Main Forum Page - 10/30/2003 03:48 PM
[color:"blue"]Forum Page[/color]
The picture shown here, "forum01", is an example of the BVI forum. Notice that the "header" portion has changed slightly; there are two new entries: [color:"green"]BVI Travel Calendar[/color] and [color:"green"]BVI People Talk[/color]. The [color:"green"]BVI Travel Calendar[/color] will bring you to a trip calendar that members can use to check other members travel plans, as well as add their own to the calendar. The [color:"green"]BVI People Talk[/color] link will take you directly to that forum, which is designed for non-travel related posts. On the [color:"green"]BVI People Talk[/color] forum, this link button is replaced by one taking you back to this forum. The SXM forum is arranged exactly the same, with the two special links pointing to SXM-related links.
![[Linked Image]](http://www.traveltalkonline.com/faq/forum01.gif)
[color:"green"]forum01[/color]
Notice that the first two threads are shown in a darker color than the others. That means that there are new posts in those threads. Looking under the "Replies" column, you can see the number of new posts in each thread. Directly above the thread listing are a couple of important items. To the extreme left, you can see which forum you are currently in; in this case, "British Virgin Islands". You can also see that this forum is a member of the "Travel and Vacation Forums", which you can reach by clicking on it. To its right is the "Post" link, which allows you to start a new thread. To its right, you can press the "Index" button to go to one level higher (in this case, the "Travel and Vacation Forums"). Further right, the "Next" button takes you to the next page of posts in this forum. On the extreme right, the "Expand" button lets you view threads in an expanded mode, where you see every post in a thread. The opposite of the "Expand" button is the "Collapse" button, which will bring the view back to the one you see here.
At the bottom of the Forum Page, as you can see in picture "forum02", are a number of informational selections that can be made. All are pretty much self-explanatory with the exception of one item. "Delete Cookies" is designed to assist members who are having trouble logging into TTOL. Pressing this link button will remove the "cookies" that the TTOL software writes to your computer.
![[Linked Image]](http://www.traveltalkonline.com/faq/forum02.gif)
[color:"green"]forum02[/color]
[color:"blue"]Starting Threads and Replying to Existing Messages [/color]
As explained earlier, you can create a new thread by clicking the "Post" button on the Forum Page. If you want to reply to an existing thread, open the thread so that you're looking at the various posts.
![[Linked Image]](http://www.traveltalkonline.com/faq/forum03.gif)
[color:"green"]forum03[/color]
At the bottom of a post you'll find 4 small buttons, each of which allow you to do something special with this post.
![[Linked Image]](http://www.traveltalkonline.com/faq/forum04.gif)
[color:"green"]forum04[/color]
To the right of any post, you'll see either 2 or 3 buttons (see picture "forum03"). The "Edit" button will appear if this was your own post and was created no more than 4 hours ago, the "Reply" button will allow you to respond to this post, and the "Quote" button can be used so that the post you're replying to is quoted entirely in your reply.
When you click a button (including the "Post" button), you'll see the following window.
![[Linked Image]](http://www.traveltalkonline.com/faq/edit01.gif)
[color:"green"]edit01[/color]
The various boxes are pretty much self explanatory. The one check box that might need some explanation is the one marked "Add this thread to my favorites". This is covered in the "My Home" section, below, but basically it allows you to track a favorite thread.
Also visible on this screen is a section that lets you add all kinds of formatting and options to your post.
![[Linked Image]](http://www.traveltalkonline.com/faq/edit02.gif)
[color:"green"]edit02[/color]
The nicest thing about all this is that you don't have to know any computer code to use these options. When you click on some of the options, you have to enter some additional data; with others, no additional information is needed. We suggest you go to the Test Forum and practice using these options - you'll find that using them can greatly improve the quality and enjoyment of your posts.
The picture shown here, "forum01", is an example of the BVI forum. Notice that the "header" portion has changed slightly; there are two new entries: [color:"green"]BVI Travel Calendar[/color] and [color:"green"]BVI People Talk[/color]. The [color:"green"]BVI Travel Calendar[/color] will bring you to a trip calendar that members can use to check other members travel plans, as well as add their own to the calendar. The [color:"green"]BVI People Talk[/color] link will take you directly to that forum, which is designed for non-travel related posts. On the [color:"green"]BVI People Talk[/color] forum, this link button is replaced by one taking you back to this forum. The SXM forum is arranged exactly the same, with the two special links pointing to SXM-related links.
[color:"green"]forum01[/color]
Notice that the first two threads are shown in a darker color than the others. That means that there are new posts in those threads. Looking under the "Replies" column, you can see the number of new posts in each thread. Directly above the thread listing are a couple of important items. To the extreme left, you can see which forum you are currently in; in this case, "British Virgin Islands". You can also see that this forum is a member of the "Travel and Vacation Forums", which you can reach by clicking on it. To its right is the "Post" link, which allows you to start a new thread. To its right, you can press the "Index" button to go to one level higher (in this case, the "Travel and Vacation Forums"). Further right, the "Next" button takes you to the next page of posts in this forum. On the extreme right, the "Expand" button lets you view threads in an expanded mode, where you see every post in a thread. The opposite of the "Expand" button is the "Collapse" button, which will bring the view back to the one you see here.
At the bottom of the Forum Page, as you can see in picture "forum02", are a number of informational selections that can be made. All are pretty much self-explanatory with the exception of one item. "Delete Cookies" is designed to assist members who are having trouble logging into TTOL. Pressing this link button will remove the "cookies" that the TTOL software writes to your computer.
[color:"green"]forum02[/color]
[color:"blue"]Starting Threads and Replying to Existing Messages [/color]
As explained earlier, you can create a new thread by clicking the "Post" button on the Forum Page. If you want to reply to an existing thread, open the thread so that you're looking at the various posts.
[color:"green"]forum03[/color]
At the bottom of a post you'll find 4 small buttons, each of which allow you to do something special with this post.
[color:"green"]forum04[/color]
- [color:"red"]Printer:[/color] pressing the "Printer" button will open a new browser window with a printer-friendly copy of the post. Just press your Print button on your browser to print it.
- [color:"red"]Reminder:[/color] the "Reminder" button will add this post to your list of "Post Reminders" found in My Home (see below).
- [color:"red"]Notify Moderator:[/color] this button will send a message to the forum moderators notifying them that you have asked them to look at this post.
- [color:"red"]Email Post:[/color] this button will send an email of this post to another person (the sender has to be registered; the receiver does not).
To the right of any post, you'll see either 2 or 3 buttons (see picture "forum03"). The "Edit" button will appear if this was your own post and was created no more than 4 hours ago, the "Reply" button will allow you to respond to this post, and the "Quote" button can be used so that the post you're replying to is quoted entirely in your reply.
When you click a button (including the "Post" button), you'll see the following window.
[color:"green"]edit01[/color]
The various boxes are pretty much self explanatory. The one check box that might need some explanation is the one marked "Add this thread to my favorites". This is covered in the "My Home" section, below, but basically it allows you to track a favorite thread.
Also visible on this screen is a section that lets you add all kinds of formatting and options to your post.
[color:"green"]edit02[/color]
The nicest thing about all this is that you don't have to know any computer code to use these options. When you click on some of the options, you have to enter some additional data; with others, no additional information is needed. We suggest you go to the Test Forum and practice using these options - you'll find that using them can greatly improve the quality and enjoyment of your posts.