Why should I register? In order to fully utilize the abilities of this forum, users are required to register as a member. Registration is free, and allows you to do the following:
Post new threads
Reply to other peoples' threads
Edit your posts
Receive email notification of replies to posts and threads you specify
Send private messages to other members
Set up a 'buddy-list' to quickly see which of your friends are currently online
To register, you will need to specify a username and password, and a valid email address. Entering your email address will not leave you open to 'spam', as you can choose to hide your email address, and messages sent to you via email do not reveal your address to the sender in any case. (To verify this, you can try sending an email message to another user.)
After registering you will be sent a validation email. This the final part of the registration process, and ensures that the email address you provide is valid and working.
If you are under the age of 13, it is required by law that a parent or guardian provides consent before allowing you to complete the registration process. More information about this is available during the registration process.
Does this forum use cookies? The use of cookies on this forum is optional, but may enhance your experience of the site. Cookies are used to enable functions such as showing whether or not a thread or forum you are viewing has new posts since your last visit, or to automatically log you back in when you return to the site after being away for a while.
When you register, you will be given the option to 'Log me on automatically each visit'. This will store your username and password in a cookie, stored on your computer. If you are using a shared computer, such as in a library, school or internet cafe, or if you have reason to not trust any other users that might use this computer, we do not recommend that you enable this.
How can I change the information in my profile? It is your responsibility to keep the information in your profile up-to-date. You should especially ensure that your email address is kept current. You can alter any of the fields in your profile, except your username. Once you have registered your username, it becomes yours for life. In extreme circumstances, you may request that the administrator change your username, but he or she will require a very good reason to do so.
What is the signature for? After you have registered, you may set your signature. This is a piece of text that you would like to be inserted at the end of all your posts, a little like having headed note paper.
In your Profile you have the option to create a signature. If you have specified a signature, then the forum will automatically append your signature to any messages you post. You can disable signatures on a per-post basis by un-ticking the 'Attach signature' checkbox when you compose your message.
You may turn the signature on and off on posts you have already made by editing the post and altering the state of the 'Attach signature' option.
When creating a signature, please be sensible and follow the Ely Message Board Guidelines. No advertising, insults or objectionable content is permitted.
I lost my password, what can I do? If you forget your password, you can click on the 'I forgot my password' link on any page that requires you to fill in your password.
This will bring up a page where you should enter your registered email address, and an email will be sent to that address instantly, with instructions for resetting your password.
How do I get a picture under my username? These small images are called Avatars. They are displayed below your username on all posts that you make. There are two kinds of avatars: those provided by the administrator and those that you upload yourself.
If the administrator has provided a set of avatars, and avatars are enabled, you may select an avatar that best describes your personality.
The administrator may also have enabled custom avatars, which allows you to upload an avatar image from your computer.
Can I search the message board? You can search for posts based on username, word(s) in the post or just in the subject, by date, and only in particular forums.
To access the search feature, click on the "search" link at the top of most pages.
You can search any forum that you have permission to search - you will not be allowed to search through private forums unless the administrator has given you the necessary security rights to do so.
Can I send email to other members? Yes! To send an email to another member, you can either locate the member you want to contact on the member list, or click the username on any post made by that member to visit their profile.
This will open a page that contains a form where you can enter your message. When you have finished typing your message, press the 'send e-mail' button and your message will be sent instantly. Note that for privacy reasons, the email address of the recipient is not revealed to you during this process.
Note that if you can not find an email button or link for a member, it means that the member in question has specified that they do not wish to receive email from other members of the forum.
Registered members may also be able to send messages to other members of this forum using the private messaging system.
What is Private Messaging? The Private Messaging system allows registered members to send each other private messages.
Sending Private Messages
Private messages work a little like email, but are limited to registered members of this forum. You may be able to include vB Code, smilies and images in private messages that you send.
You may send a private message to a member of this forum by clicking 'Private Messages' link in the private messaging section of your user control panel, or by clicking the Send Private Message button in a member's posts.
When you send a message, a copy of the message in your Sentbox folder.
Private Message Folders
The folders provided are the Inbox, Sentbox, Outbox Savebox. When an item is sent to you it originates in the Inbox and can be moved to the Savebox. Each folder has a different capacity of private messages that can be stored.
I cannot send private messages!
There are three reasons for this; you are not registered and/or not logged on, the board administrator has disabled private messaging for the entire board, or the board administrator has prevented you individually from sending messages. If it is the latter case you should try contacting the administrator.
I have received a spamming or abusive email from someone on this board!
We are sorry to hear that. The email form feature of this board includes safeguards to try to track users who send such posts. You should email the board administrator with a full copy of the email you received and it is very important this include the headers (these list details of the user that sent the email). We can then take action.
How do I use the Memberlist? The Memberlist contains a complete list of all the registered members of this forum who have at least posted once. You can view the member list ordered alphabetically by username, by the date that the member joined the forum, or by the number of posts the members have made.
Are there any special codes/tags I can use to markup my posts? For the most part, your posts will contain plain text, but on occasions, you may want to emphasize certain words or phrases by making them (for example) bold or italic.
HTML code has been disbale for security purposes. Instead you can achieve the same effect with vB Code: a special set of tags which you can use to produce the most popular text-effects. vB code has the advantage that it is very simple to use, and is immune to malicious javascripts and page layout disruption.
Also enabled are smilies, which allow you to use small icons to convey emotion.
What is email notification? If you post a new thread, or reply to an existing thread, you can choose to be notified by email when someone else replies to that thread. You can also choose to receive email notifications of new posts in a thread without posting in that thread, by clicking the 'Watch this topic for replies' link displayed in the thread page.
If you choose to stop receiving email notifications from a thread, you can turn off the option by clicking the 'Stop watching this topic' link displayed in the thread page that you have are subscibed to.
Only registered users may receive email notification, and they can set whether they want to receive email notification by default by editing their options.
What are smilies? Smilies are small graphical icons which you can insert into your messages to convey an emotion or feeling, such as a joke or embarrassment. For example, if you entered a sarcastic comment, rather than type 'that was a joke', you could simply insert the 'wink' smilie.
If you have used email or internet chat systems, you will probably be familiar with the concept of smilies already. Certain combinations of text characters are converted into smilies. For example, :) is converted into a smiling face. To understand smilie codes, tilt your head to the left and look at the text: you will see that :) represents two eyes and a smiling mouth.
On occasions, you may want to prevent the text in your message being converted into smilies. You will see a checkbox which you can select when you make a new post, which will allow you to 'Disable Smilies in this post'.
Code Buttons and Clickable Smilies These controls allow you to quickly and easily enter BBcode into your posts and messages. To use them, simply click the appropriate buttons of BBcode.
Pressing a button will insert the appropriate STARTING tag for the code, leaving you to enter text into the message area. When you have finished the text and want to close the tag, simply press the Close Current Tag button. Please note that the 'close tag' buttons only close tags that have been entered using the code buttons.
You may also type and highlight the items you want surrounded by BBcode tags and click the appropriate BBcode button.
To use the clickable smilies, simply click the smiley that you want to insert into your message, or click the 'View more Emoticons' to access the full list of smilies.
How do I create and vote in polls? You may notice that some threads on this forum also include a section where you can vote on an issue or question. These threads are called 'polls' and this is how to create them:
Creating a new poll
When you post a new thread, scroll down to the bottom section called 'Add a Poll'.
This function allows you to ask a question and specify a number of possible responses. Other members will then be able to vote for the response they wish, and the results of the voting will be displayed in the thread.
An example poll might be:
What is your favorite color?
Red
Blue
Yellow
Green
Sky-blue pink with yellow spots
You may also want to specify a time limit for the poll, so that (for example) it only stays open for voting for a week. Type '0' or leave blank for a never-ending poll.
Voting in and viewing a poll
To vote in a poll, simply select which option you want to vote for, and click the Submit Vote button. You may view the current results for a poll before you vote by clicking the 'View Results' link. Voting in a poll is entirely optional. You may vote for any of the available options, or cast no vote at all.
Generally, once you have voted in a poll, you will not be able to change your vote later, so place your vote carefully!
Can I edit my own posts? If you have registered, you will be able to edit and delete your posts.
To edit or delete your posts, click the button by the post you want to edit. If your post was the first in the thread, then deleting the post may result in the removal of the entire thread.
After you have made your modifications, a note may appear, which notifies other users that you have edited your post. Administrators and moderators may also edit your messages but this note may not appear when they do so.
What Are Moderators? Moderators oversee specific forums. They generally have the ability to edit and delete posts, move threads, and perform other manipulations. Moderators are usually emloyees of the Ely Times and/or assigned leaders of a board who are affiliated with the Ely Times.
Why have some of the words in my post been blanked? Certain words may have been censored by the message board word filter. These words are usually vulgar and against the message board guidelines. If your posts contain any censored words, they will be blanked-out like this: *****.
The same words are censored for all users, and censoring is done by a computer simply searching and replacing words. It is in no way 'intelligent'. If you feel a word or part of a word that you are posting is not vulgar, please contact us at webmaster@messageboard.elynews.com with the word in concern.
in a member's posts.
button by the post you want to edit. If your post was the first in the thread, then deleting the post may result in the removal of the entire thread.