A Quick "How-To Post" Guide & Tutorial

Don't be scared: If you've never experienced a Message Board before and this is your first time, don't hesitate to jump right in. Instead of thinking “I might not get it right and do something wrong” I invite you to change that around and think “I just might get it right and have fun with this thing!”

Before you post: Make sure you are posting to the correct category and Topic. If there is no Topic relevant to yours then create a new one. A search should be done to see if your questions have not been already posted. You have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section where you can find answers for general questions.

THE MESSAGE BOARD SCREEN
The Message Board screen is setup in 3 primary sections: the Header, the Additional Info, and the Topics sections.

HEADER: The header area is at the top of the page and includes the Forum picture and title (Glenwood Hills South Casa Grande Neighborhood Association), as well quick links to Home, Calendar, FAQ, Search and etc. The header is handy in that it is displayed on every page regardless of where you’ve navigated so you can easily navigate back to the home page, view the GHSCGNA calendar, etc.

ADDITIONAL INFO: The additional info area is along the left border of the page and includes options for Searching through topics (or the web), a scrolling list of the latest posts (newest posts scroll first, click any post in the scrolling list to be taken to that topic / post), and the GHSCGNA Calendar which lists important neighborhood events including board and semi-annual meetings, 5K run, etc. See the ADDING CALENDAR EVENTS area under the section entitled ADDING A TOPIC below.

TOPICS: The topic section is the most important section and will likely be the one you use most often. Information on how to Post (your opportunity to add you input, comments, etc.) begins below.

HOW TO POST - The Tutorial
Posting is really quite easy, however you MUST be a registered member of this Message Board in order to Create a New Topic or Post a Reply to an existing Topic. Once you've registered as a user you can continue with this tutorial. NOTE – none of your personal information is accessible to anyone except the administrators (admins) of this list who are members of your neighborhood and the GHSCGNA. Any personal information you enter for registration WILL NOT be shared, provided or sold to anyone for any reason.

ADDING A TOPIC: For this tutorial we'll use the main category "Anything Crime Related" and the sub-category "Recent Car Vandalism".

Click on the "Recent Car Vandalism" link to be taken to the posting area for this category. Any existing Topics will be displayed. Any existing Topics will be displayed. If you wish to reply to an existing topic, see POSTING A REPLY below. If you wish to start a new Discussion Topic in this category then click on the "NewTopic" button. The screen will change to give you an area to enter a Topic Subject (Title) and an area below it for you to enter text related to your new topic. Members will only be able to see the Subject of your new topic so name your Subject so it is meaningful and easy for others to understand what the Topic pertains to.

ADDING CALENDAR EVENTS: At the bottom of the NewTopic screen is an option to make a Calendar Event for your Topic. This should be used only if there is a notable even happening. Entering the Calendar Event Date (day it begins), the Hour of Event (what time it begins), and During information (how many days, hours, minutes it lasts) will result in the Subject line of your Topic being added to the GHSCGNA calendar.

POSTING A REPLY: If a Topic already exists in a category you select, you'll see them listed once you click on the link for that category. Clicking on the link for a Topic will take you to a new window which displays any posts related to that Topic. To post a reply to a Topic simply click on the "PostReply" button and you will be shown the same Subject / Text screen as described in ADDING A TOPIC above. Alternatively, you may click the "QUOTE" button shown on a specific post if you would like to include text from that post in your reply.

Just below the subject line you'll see icons to enhance your text, i.e. Bold, Italics, Underline and etc. You are not required to use any of these options and, in fact, most people don't apply any optional formatting to their posts. You may also place 'smileys' into your text if desired...those are located on the right side of your screen. Again, most people don't use them, however if you do decide to add smiley's please do so sparingly.

SUBMITTING YOUR POST: When you are satisfied with what you've written you can select either of the 2 buttons below the text entry area to either Preview you post prior to sending it, or Send your post to the list. If you realize (too late) you don't like what you've written and need to change or delete it, that's relatively simple...see the section below labeled CHANGING OR DELETING YOUR POST.

You might also notice below the Preview and Send buttons are there is a check box for "Notify me when a reply is posted". If you select this check box you will receive an email anytime someone adds a post to the specific Topic you posted to. The other two check boxes (Disable BBCode and Disable Smilies) can be checked or left unchecked…most people don’t bother doing anything with these.

CHANGING OR DELETING YOUR POST: After you've sent your post, you have the authority to change what you've written in a post or to delete the post altogether if you decide. Nobody else except for moderators and admins have the authority to change or delete your posts and you do not have the authority to change anybody else's posts.

To change or delete your most recent post, navigate to it and you'll see an "Edit" button as well as an "X" button. Clicking the Edit button will permit you to modify and repost your original posting. Clicking the X button will permit you to delete your original post...you'll be given a yes / no option to delete the post before it is actually deleted. If you have a number of posts in a topic you can only delete your most recent post. If you want to delete an earlier post you will need to delete all posts, one a time, that have been created after that older post in order to eventually be able to delete that older post.

FINALLY...
There are lots of other buttons, options, and navigation links available to you as a user. Don't be afraid to explore and play with them to customize your screen or move around the forum. You can't ruin anything and may find a more meaningful way to display your screen information. Have fun!