A Newbie's Guide to the Forums

[Crystal]

On behalf of the U.S. Politics Online team I would like to welcome you to our online community. If you have not registered, we encourage you to so that you may have the best possible experience here at USPO. For those that have already registered, we want to say “Thanks!” and we encourage you to introduce yourself. We want to know what your interests are, what you hope to gain from the site, and where you stand politically.

On our navigation bar you will find several useful features that will make your experience here more pleasant. This guide will go through the ones that will get you started on our forums right away.

• UserCP: This is the User Control Panel. Here you will be able to change your signature, email & password, profile, options, avatar, and profile picture. This is also where you will be able to view your private messages, subscribed threads, and paid subscriptions.
  
• Quick Links: When you click here a box will drop down. It will give you quick access to Today’s Posts; open FlashChat; allow you edit your signature, profile, and options; view your warnings; access your private messages, subscribed threads, profile, and view who’s online.

Please note that our navigation bar also gives you access to FlashChat, Document Archives (where you will find many great works), Photo Gallery, and quizzes.

Below you will find some helpful links:

http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/welc...must-read.html
http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/welc...-policies.html
http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/welc...lf-thread.html
http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/welc...embership.html
http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/welc...rum-tools.html

FAQ:

Q: How do I post within a thread?
A: If you want to post a quick reply simply hit the “quick reply to this message” button in the lower right corner of each post. This will automatically take you to a text box at the bottom of the screen, of course you could just simply scroll down as you continue to read, then post in the box or hit the “go advanced button”. Hitting the “go advanced button” will take you to another screen where all of our cool smilies are.

Q: But how do I quote someone else?
A: To quote someone simply hit the "quote" button located in the lower right corner of their post. If there are several posts in a thread you would like to respond to simply hit the “multi-quote this message button” located in the bottom right corner of every post you want to quote. Once you have selected “multi-quote” for each post you want to quote, then hit the quote button on the last one. If you want to quote something not written on the board, then type the text, highlight it, then hit the quote button located at the top of the text box.

Q: How do I start a thread?
A: First, our forum software is set up in a way that tries to prevent spam. We really aren’t here to get hot deals on Nokias. Unfortunately, this also means our new member accounts aren’t set up to start threads. New members will gain the ability to start threads once they have been here 30 days and have 30 posts. Of course, you are more than welcome to send a private message to Crystal or O’Sullivan Bere and request your account be adjusted to allow you to start threads.

Once you have the proper permissions to start a thread you do so by clicking the “New Thread” button. It is located on the left side of your screen, just above the active threads. Be sure to enter a title and preview your thread before submitting it.

Q: How do I add a poll to my thread?
A: You have to add a poll to your thread when you start it. Once you enter all the text for your new thread scroll down and look under “Additional Options”. There you will see “Post a Poll”. Be sure to check the box, “Yes, post a poll with this thread” and enter the number of poll options you want. The default is set at four, but it’s okay to lower or raise it. From there you will hit “Submit New Thread” and you will be taken to a new page where you enter the contents of your poll and then submit.

Q: How do I add an image to my post/thread?
A: There are a couple of ways to add an image to your post and/or thread. If the image is hosted elsewhere (Photobucket, ImageShack) you can simply click the image button and insert the URL. If the image is on your computer and you want to upload it, you will have to be posting in the “Go Advanced” screen. To upload an image, click the paperclip that is located at the top of the text box. A pop-up will appear that will allow you to browse for and upload you image. You can also manage your attachments by scrolling down to the “Additional Options” and click “Manage Attachments”.

Q: How do I place a link into my post?
A: If you want to link your own text to another site, then highlight the word(s) and then click the “Insert link” button. A pop up box will appear and you paste the URL in it. If you simply paste the URL in your post, it will automatically appear as the title of whatever page you are sharing with us.

Q: How do I report a post?
A: At the top of each post you will see a “Report Post” button, simply click that and it will take you another screen where you enter any comments you may have for the admin/mod team.

Q: How do I rate threads?
A: At the top of each thread, you will see, “Rate Thread”, simply click this and pick 1-5 stars.

Q: What is the deal with the stars, statues, and eagles?
A: Those are a member’s user rank. The more posts a member has the more stars they get, then statues, then eagles. Their user title also changes with their post count beginning with citizen and going all the way to President.

Q: How do I donate money to this AWESOME forum?
A: The simplest way is to click the banner at the top of the page. It will take you to an order page. Make your selection and following the steps from there. You will receive extra benefits as a subscribing member and if these benefits don’t automatically kick in please send a private message to Crystal or O’Sullivan Bere.