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Joining our Communities
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Logging On

You can visit About.com Forums any time as a guest. To log on as a guest, go to the Forum Logon page and click the Guest button.

To start discussion threads or reply to existing discussions you must join our Forums as a member. Your membership allows you to enter and post messages on any About.com Forum. To enter a Forum as a member, go to the Forum Logon page, enter your Member Name and Password in the fields provided and click the Logon button.

The Start Page
When you log on to one of our Forums, you'll be taken to the Forum Start Page. The Start Page is divided into three columns:

• The left column links to current messages on the Forum and lists recent visitors. If you click on the Start Reading button in the left column, it will take you directly to the message board and display the first new message.
• In the center column, you'll find a welcome from the About.com Guide who hosts the discussion as well as a link to the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for the Forum.
• In the right column you can link directly to discussions in progress.

The Message Board

Click on the Messages tab (at the top of the Start Page) or the Start Reading button (in the left column of the Start page) to view the Forum message board. The message board screen is divided into two columns.

The left column contains the list of discussions, organized by folder. Each discussion consists of one or more messages under a common subject. When you first visit a particular Forum, all the discussions will be marked =New to indicated that they contain messages you have not yet read. On future visits, you can look for the =New symbol to find messages and discussions posted to the Forum since your last visit. As you read through discussions you will notice additional symbols in marking the messages. A · means that you have read all the messages in the discussion. A ·)) marks the discussion you are currently reading.

Reading Discussions

When you click on a discussion link in the left column, the discussion will be displayed in the right column. At the top of the discussion, you'll see the folder name and the discussion title. Each individual message in the discussion is enclosed in a box with a shaded bar at the top. In the shaded bar you'll see the name of the person who posted the message, the name of the person to whom the message is addressed, and the date and time the message was posted. Navigation links within the message box let you jump to the Next message, the Previous message, or the Top of the discussion.

Replying to Messages

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• To - You can select "All" or the names of recent Forum visitors from the pull-down menu, or you can click on the Others button to type in a name.
• Message text -- Type the text of your message into the large block. Message text may include HTML code. The Forum software automatically detects URLs in messages and makes them live links.
• Signature (optional) - You can also include HTML in your signature.

Starting New Discussions

Any About.com member can start a new discussion thread. Simply click on the Post New link from the Start Page or the message board. You'll be taken to a screen where you will fill in the following fields:

• Folder - Use the pull-down menu to select the folder where you want your discussion thread to live.
• Title - Type in a title for your discussion.
• To - You can select "All" or the names of recent Forum visitors from the pull-down menu, or you can click on the Others button to type in a name.
• Message text -- Type the text of your message into the large block. Message text may include HTML code. The Forum software automatically detects URLs in messages and makes them live links.
• Signature (optional) - You can also include HTML in your signature.

Searching for Messages
You can search on each of our Forums for the particular word(s) or topic(s) that interest you. You'll find search boxes on both the Start Page (in the right column) and the message boards (in the left column). Type in the word(s) for which you want to search and hit the green Search button. This will take you to a page that lists all posts containing your search term(s). You'll also have the opportunity to search by message author or recipient or to narrow down your search to a particular folder range of dates.

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