Well, there are a bunch of questions which seem to come up quite frequently from newer members, so I'm putting together a quick guide for forum newbies and thought I'd ask for your input.
Below is what I have so far - of course it'll be formatted more prettily with pictures, links etc to help users find their way around, but this is the bones of it:
Is there anything else you think newbies might need a helping hand with when they're getting started? Anything else which isn't very obvious and needs pointing out?
Below is what I have so far - of course it'll be formatted more prettily with pictures, links etc to help users find their way around, but this is the bones of it:
Forum Guide for Newbies
How do I get my account activated/approved?
Once you've registered your forum account you need to post a message on one of the forums. This will be approved by a member of staff and then your account will be approved/activated. Unfortunately this is a necessary step to keep out spambots, thus keeping the forum tidy and pleasant.
How do I create a Blog?
You will need to have your account activated/approved before you are able to blog here. You can change the name/description of your blog via the 'Blog' tab on your User Control Panel. To create a new Blog post, click on the 'My Blog' link along the top of the site and use the 'new entry' button to start a new post.
How to post a topic/reply
Go to the forum Home page and click onto a forum of your choice (scroll down the page and you should see the list of forums, eg "Introduce Yourself", "Fasting Today", "The 5:2 Lab" etc).
On the forum page you should see the 'new topic' button around the top left and also bottom left of the list of topics. Click on it to create your new topic in that forum.
If you want to reply to an existing topic, click onto the topic name and you'll find the 'post reply' button around the top left and bottom left of the page. In some forums you may also find the 'quick reply' button at the bottom of the topic, allowing you to make a quick, unformatted response.
Posting smilies & formatted text
Some characters in your posts will automatically be converted into forum smilies, such as :) :D :( etc.
However, there are a lot more smilies available for you to use and you can see a list of them by clicking on the 'View more smilies' link to the right of your posting box. You can also click on a smilie from the selection displayed to insert it into your post.
You can add formatting (such as bold, italics, font colours etc) via the buttons above the post box. This formatting does not appear in the box itself but is inserted as 'bbcode' - it will display normally in your post. You can click to preview a post if you want to see how it will look. More info about these 'bbcodes' can be found in the Forum FAQ here.
How to get an avatar/picture under your name
Our Staffer dominic has written a topic all about this! Click here to have a look.
Reporting posts
If a post seems to be in violation of our Forum Rules & Policies, please do take a moment to report it. This is done simply by clicking on the 'exclamation mark' icon to the top right of the post.
Thanking for posts
You can 'Thank' a user for their post (think of it as 'liking' as is done on Facebook) by clicking on the 'thumbs up' icon around the top right of the post. Please note this option is not currently available in the mobile version of the site.
Tagging users
You can 'tag' a user in a post to draw their attention to a particular topic by using the 'tag' bbcode with their username, egThe user will be notified by private message (or by email, depending on the option they select in their User Control Panel) along with a link to the post.
- Code: Select all
[tag]Moogie[/tag]
Progress Tracker: Progress Chart link on profile/beside posts
You may have noticed some users have a link to their progress charts. If you'd like to include a link to your progress charts you will need to go to your Progress Tracker: Edit Settings page and select for your Statsitics to be displayed.
Progress Tracker: Editing your weigh-in data
If you've made a mistaken when entering data in to your Progress Tracker you can edit it by viewing your 'Weigh-in Stats' page and clicking the 'edit' button alongside the entry you want to change. Please note that this is not possible for your very first weigh in data - if you want to edit this you will need to contact Moogie to request the change.
Mobile version
The mobile version of the forum should be automatically detected and switched-to by your mobile device, however if this does not happen you can edit your preferred forum style via your User Control Panel (you can choose from the Desktop Theme or Mobile Theme). The setting here will be remembered and used whenever you are logged in. Note that the mobile style may not have all the features of the desktop version.
I've got a question which isn't answered here!
A lot of common answers and general forum help can be found on the Forum FAQ, here.
Alternatively we have a Help Forum where you're welcome to ask your questions and other members will do their best to help you.
Is there anything else you think newbies might need a helping hand with when they're getting started? Anything else which isn't very obvious and needs pointing out?
Maybe also a link to where all the forum jargon and abbreviations are explained?
