Arya Samaj

Shishya · Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 2:26 pm Post subject: How to Navigate the Forum

How to Navigate the Forum

The Portal

The Portal is the ‘front page’ of the forum. It contains useful information like who is online at the moment and which topics have been responded to recently.

To view the Portal, click here.

Below, we shall look at each of the parts or ‘modules’ of the Portal, and explain what they are for.

The Navigation Bar

At the very top of the Portal, you will see the Navigation Bar. This provides links to various parts of the forum.

FAQ: This opens a list of frequently asked questions about the navigation of the forum.

Search: This opens a search panel which allows you to search the forum database. You can search by keyword or by author. Also, you can determine the parameters of your search by date or by sub-forum.

Memberlist: This opens a list of all the members that have made at least one post on the forum. From this list you can send a member a personal message, view their profile or see how many posts they have made, among other things.

Usergroups: This opens a list of all the public usergroups at the forum. A usergroup is a group with special status which allows them to view private forums.

Register: This opens the registration page. If you haven’t already registered an account, this is one way to begin the process.

Profile: This opens your personal profile page. From this page you can change or add information to your public profile, such as where you are located or your profession. You can also add a picture of yourself or an avatar to your profile, as well as a ‘signature phrase’ which can be added to the end of your posts.

Private Messages: This opens your Private Message folder. Here you can view messages you have received from other members as well as compose new ones. These messages are completely private, and can only be viewed by you and the person you send them to.

Log In: This opens the Log In page. Here you can enter your username and password to log in to the forum.

The Forum Banner

Underneath the Navigation Bar, you will find the Forum Banner.

By clicking on the Banner, you will be taken to the Main Forum Index.

Forum Quick Links

In the upper left-hand corner you will see the module entitled “Forum Quick Links”.

This provides you with a list of links to the most important parts inside the forum itself.

Statistics

Under the Forum Quick Links you will see the module entitled “Statistics”.

This gives an overview of important information regarding the current membership of the forum, such as the number of members, the number of topics and the number of posts contained in the forum.

Shout Box

Under the Statistics you will see a module entitled “Shout Box”.

This offers you the possibility to send short public messages to all the members of the forum. It is also a way to say “Namaste” when you don’t have time to post a full message.

Top Posters

Under the Shout Box you will see the Top Posters Module.

This lets you know who has the highest number of posts in the forum. Also, you can click on the name or image of each member in the list to be taken to their public profile.

From the Life of Swamiji

Under the Top Posters you will see a module entitled “From the Life of Swamiji”.

This presents a scene from Swami Dayanand’s life in the form of a small image and a short text describing the scene. This is updated on a fairly regular basis.

Welcome…

In the top right-hand corner of the Portal, you will see the “Welcome Guest” module.

This is how it looks when you are not logged in. Otherwise, it will welcome you with your username and picture, tell you the current time (you can set the clock to your time-zone in your profile), the time of your last visit, and provide you with a link to the messages that have been posted since your last visit. It is a good idea to start each visit to the forum by checking this module first.

Special Features

Under the Welcome module you will see the Special Features section. This is a showcase of all kinds of information and is changed occasionally, providing members with news regarding changes, contests, programs to download, etc.

Who is Online

Under the Special Features you will see a module entitled “Who is Online”.

This tells you how many members and how many guests are currently viewing the forum as well as the highest number of members and guests ever online at one time. Also, by clicking on the link “View Complete List”, you will be taken to a list showing where each individual is in the forum at the moment. They may be viewing a particular topic, looking at the index, searching the forum database or viewing private messages, among other things.

Most Recent Contributions

Under Who is Online you will see the Most Recent Contributions module. This module presents a list of the last 10 messages to be posted. For each one, information such as the name of the author and the time it was posted is given. By clicking on the name of the topic, you will be taken to the message in question.

Poll

Under the Most Recent Contributions you will see the Poll module.

This is a way for you to cast a vote on a particular issue, and the poll topic changes frequently.

Blog

In the center of the portal you will see the blog. This is usually an article either by one of our members or by another Arya Samajist. By clicking on the link at the bottom of the article, you can add your comments.

The Main Index

The Main Index is a list of all the forums and sub-forums contained in the Arya Samaj Forum.

To view the Main Index, click here.

To the left of each title, you will see a brown button with either a white or an orange page. Orange pages mean that there are posts in that forum which you have not yet read. White means that there are no new messages. A black lock means that you can view the forum, but cannot add any new posts to any of the threads in it.

To the right of each title, you will see a little post icon and a name. The name indicates the member who was last to post in the particular forum.

To view a forum or sub-forum, simply click on its title.

The Forum View Page

A Forum View page presents a list of all the topics in a particular forum. Just like on the Main Index, there is also a system of white and orange symbols to show which topics contain new posts.

At the top and bottom of each Forum View page, you will see a brown button entitled “New Topic”. Click this button if you want to start a new topic in the Forum you are currently viewing.

There are two ways you can access a particular topic from the Forum View page. If you click on the title of the topic, you will be taken to the first post in that thread. If you click on the page icon to the right of the topic title, you will be taken to the last or most recent post.

To view a typical Forum View page, click here.

The Topic View Page

A Topic View page, also called a ‘Thread’, contains all the comments that have been made on a particular topic in the order they have been posted by members. To add you comments to a thread, simply click on the button “Post Reply” located at the end of the thread. This will open up the Text Editor.

The Text Editor

The Text Editor works similar to any other basic word processing program. You simply type your comment in the white field. You can also format your post using the buttons at the top of the editor. The formatting tags may at first seem a bit strange, but anyone can learn to use them in a very short amount of time.

When you are done typing in your comment, simply press “Submit”. Alternatively, you can preview your comment before posting it to check for spelling errors and formatting problems. To do this, just press “Preview”. But don’t forget to submit your message before leaving the editor, or else your message will be lost.

If you have any other questions relating to the navigation of this forum, do not hesitate to ask. We have several capable moderators who will be more than willing to answer your questions.