This guide to the NSH forum is for web forum beginners. It will teach you how to read, write, subscribe and comment.

1. The Basics

If you have never used a web forum before, think of a cork bulletin board, the kind you might find in a supermarket, where you can post “for sale” or “help wanted” notices or an announcement for a school concert.

The website forum lets you do these things, and more, using the Internet. With the website forum you can comment on notices that others post and you can start conversations. Hence the name forum, a place where information, views and ideas can be exchanged.

The NSH uses the club forum to tell members about new events, to provide updates on planned events and as a general discussion forum for members.

Categories

A website forum can hold hundreds or thousands of notices, messages and comments. To help you find your way, they are grouped into categories. On the NSH forum you will find categories such as Hike Updates, New Events and Trip Reports. The forum index gives you a list of categories.

Topics

Categories provide a broad way of organizing things, but inside a category it helps to have related items grouped together. For example, if someone announces a new hike, another person asks a question about the hike and yet another person answers the question, you would like these three items grouped together. This is done with topics. Whenever someone adds something new to the forum a new topic is created to hold that information and anything anyone adds. For example, within the Trip Reports category, you might find a topic Thunderbird Ridge, Nov. 13. People with comments about that hike add them within the topic.

Reading the Forum

Most of the forum is available to the public. Open www.northshorehikers.org in a web browser. You don’t need to log in. Put your mouse pointer over the Forum button at the top of the window. In the drop-down menu, click on Forum Index which takes you to a list of the forum categories. Click on a category such as Hike Updates to open it. You see a list of topics in the category. Click a topic to read the posts in the category.

There are other ways to enter the forum. Put your mouse pointer over the Forum button in the top menu again and look at the other options on the drop-down menu. You can go directly to frequently-viewed categories, or you can go to Recent Topics which gives a list of the new or changed topics for the last month. Click a topic to view it.

2. Using the Forum

Only club members with a NSH website user name and a password can add to the forum or subscribe. If you need a user name and password, click Register at the bottom of the login box on the Home page and follow the directions, or go to Help on the website to learn more.

How to Start a Topic

Log in to the website, go to the forum index and click the category that fits your new topic.

At the top or bottom of the category window (there is a button in each place), click NEW TOPIC. An edit window opens. Fill in the subject with the topic name and type your text in the message box. If you want to add formatting to the text, see below under Advanced Use.

When you are done, you will find a Submit button at the bottom of the window. Before you click that, note that the Subscribe box is checked by default. More about subscribing below. Leave it checked if you want to be notified of responses to your new topic or click the check mark to remove if you don’t wish to subscribe. Now click Submit. You new topic is on the forum!

How to Reply or Comment

Log in to the website and go to the forum. Find the category, then the topic you wish to reply to or comment on. If others have left comments or replies, yours will go below the others. At the bottom of the topic box there are buttons for Quick Reply and Reply. Quick Reply gives you a simplified window while Reply gives you a full edit window. Use either to write your reply, and click Submit at the bottom of the window when you are finished.

How to Edit or Delete

You can edit or delete your own topics and replies but you can’t change what anyone else has written.

To edit, find the topic and open it, You will see the original topic message and any replies. There will be an Edit button for anything you have written. Click the Edit button to get an edit window with your text in it. Edit as you wish. You can give a reason for your edit using the small box at the bottom of the edit window. Leave it blank if you wish. When you finish your edit, click Submit at the bottom of the edit window. Your edited text is now in the topic.

If you started a topic and no one has replied, you can delete the topic. Open it and click the delete button at the top or bottom of the window. Likewise, you can delete your own reply to a topic. However, you cannot delete a reply anyone else has left, even if you started the topic, and if someone has replied to a topic you started, you cannot delete the topic. If you want your topic to be deleted and can’t do it because it contains replies, contact the forum administrator.

How to Subscribe

You may want to follow categories or topics on the website. Rather than having to return to the website to check for updates, you can subscribe to topics or entire categories. Whenever someone adds something to a category or topic you subscribe to, the website server sends you an email message. For example, if you are a frequent hiker and want to know about any hike updates, subscribe to the category Hike Updates and you will receive an email message whenever anything is added to that category. Likewise, if you start a topic to ask a question, subscribe to the topic and you will receive an email message when anyone replies. To subscribe, open a category or topic and look just above the title or at the bottom of the window for a Subscribe buttons. Click either button.

To cancel your subscription, go to the category or topic. Because the systems knows you have already subscribed, you will see Unsubscribe buttons in place of Subscribe buttons. Click Unsubscribe.

Try It Out

The website has a category named Sandbox. It is a place to try the forum; post, edit, comment, delete and subscribe without affecting any “real” category or topic. Don’t worry about what you say in the Sandbox. Notes that say “blah, blah, blah” or “this is another test message” are fine. Feel free to comment on any topic you find in the sandbox. Don’t put anything you want to keep in this category; the sandbox is cleared from time to time by the administrator.

Manners

• Be polite.
• Be brief.
• Be helpful.
• No arguments.
• No profanity.
• No commercial or off-topic postings.
• The NSH is a volunteer club. If it needs improvement, don’t complain; suggest how to make it better and offer to help.

If you see an inappropriate posting, look in the lower right corner of the posting box. You can click the Report to Moderator button to report the posting. Be specific in your reasons. You will receive a reply from the forum administrator.

Questions?

Use the Help button. If you don’t find your answer on the help page, ask it on the forum in the category for website and forum news, comments and questions. You can also send email with your question to the forum administrator: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . However, asking your question in the forum is better; if your question isn't answered on the help page others may have the same question.

11.11.21