dotNetBB Forums
HealingWell.com Community Forum Help
Becoming a MemberBack to Top
Why Register?
In order to use the forum to its full extent, you must be a registered member. Registration does not cost anything and adds the following features :
  • Posting forum messages.
  • Post events to the community calendar.
  • Replying to other peoples forum posts.
  • Editing and deleting your forum posts.
  • Receive email notifications of replies to your postings.
  • ...and more


How do I register?
Registration is as simple as filling out a quick form and responding to a confirmation email. CLICK HERE to create your profile right now.


What is COPPA?
The Childhood Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998 is a privacy act enabled to protect children under the age of 13. If enabled by the forum administrator, you might need to affirm that you are at least 13 years of age in order to register online for forum membership. If you are under the age of 13 and the administrator has COPPA registration enabled, you will need to have from your parent or legal guardian fill out the printed registration form specific for COPPA registrants and send it to the contact listed on the form. More information about COPPA can be found at http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/coppafaqs.htm.

 

Log in to the ForumBack to Top
How do I log in to the forum?
You should see a "Log In" link or button in the upper right corner of the forum. Clicking on this link will take you to the log in form. Enter the user name and password you selected when you created your forum member profile and click on the 'SUBMIT' button to process your login. You will be notified of a successful login when you have correctly entered your user name and password.


I forgot my user name or password. Now what do I do?
If you are unable to remember your user name or password, you can click the link below the login form that says "Forget your login information? CLICK HERE". This will take you to another form where you can enter your e-mail address that you used when you registered your account. Your login information will be mailed to the address you enter.

 

Navigating The ForumBack to Top
The Navigation Bar
When you are logged into the forum as a member, the top of the forum you should have something similar to this image :

Navigation Bar Sample

  • Log Off : Clicking this button will log you out of the forum. You will need to log into the forum again before you can post anything if you click this link.
  • Control Panel : Clicking this button will take you to your personal control panel. In the control panel you can make changes to your profile, forum options and manage your subscriptions.
  • Private Message (not available on HealingWell.com): Clicking this button will take you to your Private Message mailbox. You can use private messaging to send messages to other forum members that are not publicly shown. (THIS OPTION IS DISABLED for the HealingWell Forums, does not appear).
  • Home : Clicking this link will take you to the forum homepage.
  • Calendar : Clicking this link will take you to the community calendar. This calendar contains birthdays and events that are entered by forum members.
  • Search : Clicking this link will take you to the forum search form. Using this form you can search by keyword or member for posts made on the forum.
  • Member List : Clicking this link will take you to the member listing.
  • Help : Clicking this link will open up this help documentation.


Forum Views
When navigating thru the forum posts, you will find 4 main views. These views are :
  • Top of the Forum : This view is the top most level of the forum. Here you will find all of the forums you have access to view.
     
  • Category Listing : Forums can be grouped into common categories so that they can be better organized.
     
  • Thread Listing : When you click on one of the forum names in the top forum view or in the category view, you will be taken to a thread listing page. The thread listing pages can be sorted by each of the column's you see. You can change the column you sort by using the dropdown listing similar to the image shown below :
    Forum View Sorting Sample

  • Message Thread Listing : When you click on one of the topic name's in the thread listing, you will be taken to the message thread listing. This list can be sorted by date order when you click on the link at the top of the message thread similar to this image :
    Message Thread Sorting Sample


Following The Breadcrumbs
As you navigate the forum a breadcrumb trail is shown near the top of the forum. These breadcrumbs are there to assist you in moving up one or more levels based on where you currently are in the forum. An example of a breadcrumb link trail would be :
Breadcrumb Sample

 

Posting To The ForumBack to Top
Using the WYSIWYG Editor (a.k.a. What You See Is What You Get)
If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer (v5.5 or newer) you can use the WYSIWYG editor with your posts. Using this editor you will see the font, font size, and any other changes to your post in the post editor itself. This is very similar to using a program like MS Word where you see how your post will appear as you type it. This is an improvement from the standard editor since you do not have to preview the post before seeing how it will appear. You can apply the changes to your post by using the toolbar buttons that are found above the edit box. An example of the WYSIWYG editor can be seen in this image :
WYSIWYG Post Editor Sample


Using the Standard Editor (a.k.a. mCode Editor)
The Standard Editor is the default editor for browsers that do not support the WYSIWYG editor (Firefox, Safari, Netscape, etc.). The Standard Editor can also be used by members who do support the WYSIWYG editor by clicking on the "Standard Form" link on the WYSIWYG form. An example of the Standard editor can be seen in this image :
Standard Post Editor Sample


Adding A Poll To Your Post
If enabled by the forum administrator, you can add a poll to your post. You can only add a poll to a new topic by checking the box in your post similar to the image below :
Add A Poll Sample

When you submit your forum post form with this box checked you will be shown a second form similar to this image :
Poll Form Sample
You must enter a minimum of 2 choices for your poll before it will be accepted. The actual maximum number of choices may vary depending on what your forum adminitrator has set. Additionally, if you would like the poll to end after a period of time, you can enter in the maximum number of days you want the poll to run in the box labeled "Poll Timeout".


Filtered Words
The forum administrators have the option of replacing words that they decide are offensive or unacceptable for use on the forum. If this is used, this administrative feature would replace any words in your post that are on their list of censored words. Typically the filtered words are replaced with characters such as "****" though the administrator may choose to replace it differently.


Editing Your Post
You can edit your post by clicking on the edit image in the message thread similar to :


Deleting Your Post
You can delete your post by clicking on the delete image in the message thread similar to :


Why did my post change and it says it was edited by a moderator?
From time to time the forum administrators and moderators might feel the need to edit your post. This can be done for various reasons, most of which can be better explained by them. See the forum rules and guidelines.

 

Using The Control PanelBack to Top
Your Control Panel is the place to change your personal preferences and options for the forum. There are 6 main parts to the control panel that split up the various sections. These 6 sections are :

Control Panel Home Page
The Control Panel home page gives you a quick view of any threads you are subscribed to that have unread posts. You can use the links in either section to quickly go to these unread items.


Change Password
If the forum is using dotNetBB authentication, you can use the form on this page to change the password you use to log into the forum with.


Edit Profile
Your forum profile can be edited on this page. All fields can be changed with the exception of your user name. Once you pick a user name it is yours to keep and only a forum administrator can change it. When creating or editing your profile your real name, user name, password and e-mail address are all required fields. All other fields are optional but you are encouraged to complete the profile form as much as possible.


Edit Options
Your forum options can be edited on this page. Items such as your local time zone, language preference, forum theme and personal avatar are all set using the form found on this page.


Edit Subscriptions
If you are subscribed to any forums or message threads, you can use this page to unsubscribe from those items.


Edit Ignored Users
If you have decided to ignore any forum members, you can use this page to remove the ignore filter.

 

Using the Community CalendarBack to Top
Calendar Views
If enabled by the forum administrator, the Community Calendar can be used to view member birthdays and events. The calendar has the following view modes :
  • Day View : Shows all of the birthday's and events scheduled for a single day
  • Month View : Shows an overview of the entire month highlighting the days that have events with links.
  • Year View : Shows an overview of the entire year calendar, highlighting days with events or birthdays by making the date a clickable link.


Adding an Event to the Calendar
Member's have the ability to add events to the Community Calendar. You can add an event by clicking on the "Add Event" link in the upper left corner of the calendar when in the "Month View" or "Year View" modes. When you click on this link you will be taken to a form similar to what is shown in the image below. Using this form, you can enter in the date/time that your event will start and end and choose what timezone to set the event for. This time will be adjusted for each member viewing the event to their selected timezone setting. NOTE : HTML and mCode is not allowed in the Community Calendar. The calendar only allows plain text messages.
Community Calendar Event Entry Form Sample

 

Searching The ForumBack to Top
You can search the forum by clicking on the "Search" link on the navigation bar. Using keywords you can search any of the forums you have access to. You have the option of filtering the results by selecting the forums to be searched, time range, and maximum number of posts returned. The search form is similar to the image below :
Search The Forum Form Sample