Getting Started

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Welcome to this discussion board! This document gives you the basic knowledge that you need to use this board effectively. If you experience any difficulties with the board, please contact a moderator.

• Reading Discussions
• Contributing to Discussions
• Searching the Board
• Getting an Account
• Where to get further information
• Rules and "Netiquette"

Anyone with WWW access can read discussions on this board. To read discussions, navigate to the discussion of interest by single clicking on the links from the list of topics and subtopics. You can navigate backwards using the navigation bars at the top of each page.

To post a message to an existing discussion, fill in the "Add a Message" box at the bottom of the page. You may use formatting codes or basic HTML tags to improve the appearance of your post. At the discretion of the moderators, the discussion may allow public posting or may require a user account (username and password). Follow the instructions on the form to supply the necessary credentials for posting.

Where available, you may click on a "Create New Conversation" button to start a new discussion. This will add a subtopic with the subject you specify and start a conversation with the initial message that you specify. After filling in the subject line, post a message as described above.

This discussion board can be searched by time of post and keyword from the Search screen. This searching mechanisms provide convenient methods to locate discussions of interest.

Having a user account on this discussion board gives the following benefits:

• Ability to specify your full name and e-mail address to be included on your post
• Ability to enable e-mail notification of all posts to topics you select
• Ability to change your own password
• Ability to specify miscellaneous preferences for operation of the board, and to give more information about yourself that others can view

To obtain a user account, go to the User Registration screen.

For additional information on using this system, read the Formatting document and the Troubleshooting document. If you have additional questions or concerns, post them to an appropriate area on the discussion forum, or contact one of the moderators or the board administrator from the contact page.

When writing your messages, please use the same courtesy that you would show when speaking face-to-face with someone. Flames, insults, and personal attacks will not be tolerated. It's fine to disagree strongly with opinions, ideas, and facts, but always with respect for the other person. Great minds do not always think alike, and that's where the fun is! Also, note that messages express the thoughts of the writers, not the board or its moderators.