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Club members can take advantage of the new discussion board/forum which is an improved version of the old one. All old messages are still in place, but members should register to get full benefits of the new forum - read the instructions below.

These instructions can also be downloaded as an Adobe PDF file: 446kb

Instructions for new forums

The new forum is very similar to the old one, but with some subtle and useful changes.

One of the key benefits of the new forum is that it allows you to 'subscribe' to threads or discussions you would like to follow. If you are subscribed to a thread, and have registered your email address on the forum (see below), then you will receive an email informing you of any new replies or postings to the discussion you are following. This saves you having to go to the board just to check if there are any new postings/replies. It's a very handy feature and therefore highly recommended that you register and provide your email address in your profile. In any case, you won't be able to post to the board at all unless you're registered!

Here's what to do:

1. Go to the discussion board via the usual link on the club web site - remember you have to go through the normal password protected gateway. (If you don't know or have forgotten what this is, email Andy Hall andy@rrcpc.org.uk or myself hugh@rrcpc.org.uk for details).
   
   
2. At the new look board, click on the Register link at top right. You'll then see the register form:

   

   Enter the name you want to use, and choose a password - confirm the password.

   It is recommended, though not mandatory, that existing users of the board choose the same name as they have already posted under on the old board, e.g. Paul Wilkinson, tim, Andy Hall, Jim & Jacq and so on. Observe the upper/lower case you used before.

   New users can choose any name they want.

3. Click the Register button.

   You will now be taken to a new page which displays your personal option links:

   

   click on the My Profile link, which will take you to the overview pane:

   

4. Go to the contact details in the bottom left section and enter your email address. You may also want to check the 'Hide' box, which stops your email address being visible to other forum users but still allows the system to send you emails, and for other users to send you Private Messages (see below).

   

   If you want you can also enter personal details on the rest of the page.

   Click 'Save Changes' and you will be returned to the list of personal options links. Investigate these if you want, but you're probably ready to go straight to the forums. Click on the 'Forums Index' link.

    

5. The forums operate much as before, and you can upload pictures and files (e.g. Word, PDF) through the 'Attachments' link at the side of the posting form. Please note that in efforts to conserve server space, the maximum upload size is now 150kb. This is plenty enough for a decent photograph 500 pixels maximum wide at 72dpi resolution.

   Remember

• Maximum file size 150kb
• Maximum photo width 500pixels

1. Please observe these limits so that the board operates swiftly and economically. (particularly if your name's Becca….!)

    

2. **IMPORTANT**….Subscribing to Threads

   Subscribing to threads allows you to receive emails when anyone posts a reply to a discussion your 'subscribed to'.

    

   If you are starting a new thread or discussion, do so in the normal way and submit your post. You will be returned to the thread index. Click on your new post and when it appears, note the 'subscribe to this topic' link just above.

   

   Click this and you will be subscribed to your thread. The link will change to 'unsubscribe', which you can click again at any time when you want to un-subscribe from the discussion.

   Anyone who is registered and logged in can subscribe to a thread. You don't have to be the originator of the post, you just have to be registered and logged in.

   If you reply to a thread, you will notice that there is a 'subscribe to this topic' link in the posting form. You are advised NOT to use this particular link. This is one place where the forum is poorly designed - if you've just written a reply and click the subscribe link before you submit your entry…..your entry disappears and is not posted and you have to start all over again!

   So try not to use this link when replying. Instead, always use the subscribe link at the top of the thread.

   

    

3. **IMPORTANT** - STAYING LOGGED IN

   You've just registered with a new username and password, and you're probably thinking "Jeez, how many names and passwords have I got to remember!"

   Fear not….

   ONCE YOU'RE LOGGED IN, DON'T LOG OUT!

   As long as cookies are enabled on your browser (almost 100% certainty), the browser will remember that you are logged in on the forum. Even after the computer is switched off and restarted.

   Yes, you will always have to go through the main password-protected discussion link gateway. But once through, you should see that you're still logged in to the forum. Magic, isn't it! But remember DO NOT LOG OUT FROM THE FORUM, unless you love entering usernames and passwords.

    

4. Private Messaging