Each topic and each message has links (or buttons) to help you post.

Notifications
To request an email every time someone posts n the topic, use the notify link. For more information see Notifications - getting messages by email.

Replying to a post
To reply to a post, use the Reply link. If you want to quote the original message, use the Quote link.

Whether you are starting a new topic, or replying to another post, the writing box works the same way.

Type the subject of your post.

You can change the message icon to reflect the mood of your post.

Now type your message.

When you have written your message, you can check the spelling, preview it or post it straight away. The preview appears at the top of your screen. If you are happy with your message, you can post it there and then using the handy button

Tip: You can press the ALT+S keys to post your message, and ALT+P to preview.

To add a link to your message, just type or paste in the website address. You can use addresses begining http://www or just www.

The software will automatically convert this to a real link - you can check this using the message preview.

You can add smileys using the icons at the bottom of the message writing box. Clicking a smiley icon will add characters to your message that the software will convert into an image.

You can format your message with bulletin board code (BBC). This is a set of formatting tags for forum messages. These do thinks like make text bold, add lists and make descriptive links to other websites.

The buttons at the top of the message writing box add BBC tages to your message.

Tip: You can also type BBC directly into your message.

Name	Button	Code	Effect
Bold		[b] ... [/b]	Bold
Italic		[i] ... [/i]	Italic
Strikethough		[s] ... [/s]	Strikethrough
Horizontal rule		[hr]
Image		[img]www.mywebsite.com/picture_file.jpg[/img] Note: this option is currently unavailable
Link		[url]www.mywebsite.com[/url] [url=www.mywebsite.com]My link description[/url]	www.mywebsite.com My link description
Email		[email]name@mywebsite.com[/email]	name@mywebsite.com
Superscript		[sup] ... [/sup]	106
Subscript		[sub] ... [/sub]	Log10
Quote		[quote] ... [/quote]	Quote Quote goes here
List		[ul] [li] ... [/li] [li] ... [/li] [ul]	Item Item

Tip: Previewing a message will show formatting and links as they will appear in your message when it is posted.

If your question is not answered here:

• try looking in the Using the forum board
• post your question in Help questions and answers board

Help navigation:

• Main menu explained
• Forum index explained
• Board index explained
• Your profile
• Personal messages
• Searching the forum
• Notifications - getting messages by email
• Privacy and confidentiality guide
• Quick guide - making the forum work for you