Groupee’s UBB.Threads™ software

User Guide

ã Groupee, Inc. All rights reserved.

2401 Fourth Ave, Ste 500 • Seattle WA 98121

Phone 206.283.5999 • Fax 206.283.6616

 

 

Document Las Revised: 9/24/05 (UBB.threads™ version 6.5.3)

 

 

 

 

 

Groupee, UBB, Ultimate Bulletin Board, UBB.threads, UBBCode, UBBFriend,

Wordlet, and other Groupee products/features referenced in this

document are trademarks of Groupee, Inc.


 



Introduction   2

A Few Notes…    2

Getting Started   3

Register   3

Email verification   4

Logging in   4

If you have trouble logging in…    4

Customizing the look and feel  4

Setting an avatar   4

Setting Email Preferences  4

How Do I?  5

Post a New Topic   5

Post a Poll  5

Post a Reply   5

Reply with Quote  6

Create a Calendar Event  6

Edit my Message  6

View Recent Messages  6

View Threads that Contain New Posts  6

Subscribe to a Board (Forum) 6

See Who’s Online  7

See the Whole Member List  7

Search for Information   7

Use the Expand/Collapse Feature  7

Collapsed View    7

Expanded View    7

Change from Threaded to Flat Display   7

Threaded View    8

Flat View (same thread) 8

Expand/Collapse the Category View on Main Index  8

Add Someone to my Address Book   8

Send a Private Message  8

Print a Thread   9

Add a Reminder   9

Favorite Threads  9

Add a Board (Forum) or Thread to Favorites  9

Add an image to my message (or signature) 9

Rate a User   10

Ignore a User   10

Rate a Thread   10

Mark all Posts as Read   10

Clear Cookies  10


Introduction

Welcome to the UBB.threads™ community!

t

he UBB.threads™ software is one of the easiest web-based message boards to use, with a unique set of personalization features that allow you to move in and make it your own!

This guide will offer you an explanation of the various features, to allow you to jump right into participating.  The UBB.threads™ community is all about participation and interaction, so you’ll find that most features are readily accessible.

The UBB.threads™ software is used for many purposes, including customer support, intranet collaboration among colleagues, non-business related discussions among affinity groups, compilation of FAQs, and more.  A user has the ability to:

§         Create new topics or polls

§         Reply to topics posted by others

§         Edit or delete his/her own messages

§         E-mail topics to others

§         Search for relevant messages

§         Send private messages

§         Customize the look and feel of the interface (color, language, time format, and threaded/nonthreaded mode)

§         Rate threads and other users

§         Receive email notification of replies in Favorite threads (if enabled by admin)

A Few Notes…

 

Your Privacy & SecurityThe UBB.threads™ software is downloaded and installed on the message board owner’s Web servers.  The information you provide during your participation in a UBB.threads™ community is only accessible to the group of members as the board administrator directs.  Groupee itself does not access or redistribute your information or messages for any reason.  It’s always a good idea to read the Privacy Policy of the Web site you are visiting, before providing any personal information.

 

Registration – Most UBB.threads™ communities require that you register before you can read or post messages.  Completing the user registration form (which becomes your profile), normally will grant you access to read messages, start topics, and post replies. 

 

Your Profile – At any point, you can click on the “My Home” link to reach the page where you can change the information you provided at registration.  This is useful if you wish to change your display name or any of the optional information about yourself.  Most of the profile information is visible to all members of the UBB.threads™ community to which you are registered, so don’t enter any information you’re uncomfortable with sharing.

 

How to Contact the Administrator or Moderator – We hope you enjoy your experience.  If you encounter difficulties while using a UBB.threads™ community, you can first contact the forum moderator or administrator (there is usually a “contact us” link at the bottom of the page for this purpose, or you can click on the person’s e-mail link in the interface).  The community owner/administrator can also contact Groupee directly for technical assistance, if necessary.

 

What’s an online community?

 Think of it as the modern version of the city marketplace, with people gathering to talk about their personal lives, purchase goods, recommend things to friends, ask questions of the merchants, and compare notes.  And just as in the city market, each vendor has the chance to make his/her display unique!

Getting Started

The UBB.threads™ message board software is one of the most customizable around!  Once you register, you’ll be able to make the interface look just the way you like, by changing colors, threaded/nonthreaded display, and even the language.

Register

When you first encounter the UBB.threads™ community’s main page, if you have never registered before, you’ll see a link that says “New User” in the center of the header bar.  Click the “New User” link to choose a username and have your password emailed to you (if display names are enabled, you will optionally be able to choose a display name in addition to your username. This will be the name other people can see, not your log-in.)  If there is a delay in receiving your password, it may mean that the owner of the board is screening/approving new registrations; in that case, you won’t receive your password until the owner approves your membership.

Email verification

The administrator might have email verification turned on. If so, you will receive an email at the address you registered. There will be a link in the email you will have to click in order to verify your email. If you have a text-only email client and the link is not clickable, you will have to paste it into a browser.

Logging in

Once you receive the email with your password in it, you can go back to the main UBB.threads™ page and click the “Login” link.  Use your new username and password to log in, and you’re ready to start participating.  You’ll notice a flashing envelope icon at the top of the page when you login…click it to see your first private message, a welcome from the administrator.

If you have trouble logging in…

Click the FAQ link at the top of the page and look for “Help, I’m having trouble logging in”.   That FAQ offers some troubleshooting tips and a link to a script tool that will help you clear your cookies.

Customizing the look and feel

UBB.threads™ will let you personalize the way the community appears, and change your mind as often as you like.  Simply click the “My Home” link at the top header bar, and scroll down to the “Main Configuration” table.  Click on “Display Preferences.”  You’ll see an option that says “which style sheet (skin) do you want to use for your display?”  Click the dropdown menu, and choose one of the options. The style change will take place immediately!  You can select a different style any time you wish, or you can choose the “default” style to use the style the board owner prefers.

Setting an avatar

Would you like to display a picture or graphic with your username?  Use the same “Main Configuration” table mentioned above, but click on “Personal Information, email, password…”.  Scroll down to “Your Picture” and enter the URL to the image you wish to use.  Note that it must be no larger than 65 x 75 pixels.

The owner of the board may or may not allow you to upload your own custom avatar to his/her server.  If this feature is enabled, you’ll see a “Browse” button.  If you don’t see the “Browse” button, you need to use a URL to an image that has already been uploaded to a web server.  The board owner may also be allowing you to select from a stock set of avatars; if this is the case, you’ll see the “Use a stock avatar” option.  Click “change” to select an image from the default set.

Setting Email Preferences

From the “My Home” link, scroll down to the “Main Configuration” table and select edit for “Subscribe/Unsubscribe from receiving forum posts….”  On this page, you can determine if, when, and how you wish to receive emails from this community.  You can also choose whether to receive emails in text-only or HTML format.

How Do I?

These are some of the most commonly used features…

Post a New Topic

Look for this icon:  Post

Click the “Post” link

Use the resulting screen to enter a subject, select a post icon, and write your message.  At this time, you can also check a box to add the thread to your “favorites” list, or check a box to preview your post and/or or attach a file. 

Post a Poll

You can create your own poll question and answers, and include them in any post you make.  The text above a poll can be edited, but the poll itself cannot be edited.  Polls can be deleted.

To add a poll to your post, click “add a poll to this post” and select a number of questions.  This will bring up a page where you can type your poll question(s) (e.g., What is your favorite color?), the number of answers, and the number of responses you will allow for each.  Next click “Continue”.  This will bring up another page where you can type the response options. Click “Continue”.  Choose a start/end time for your poll if you wish, opt to withhold the results until the poll ends, or force users to vote before viewing the results.  Click “Continue”.  You can then preview your poll and submit it when it’s ready.

Post a Reply

UBB.threads™ software allows you to reply to a specific post within a particular thread.  For example:

 

Reply with Quote

If you’d like to include a quote from the previous message in your reply, simply click this icon:  Quote.  This will bring up the posting screen, with the previous message already quoted in the text box.  Simply add your comments and click “Submit”.

Create a Calendar Event

This feature is only available to you if the board owner has allowed it.  The owner can determine who is permitted to add public calendar events.  If you are permitted, you can add an event to the calendar by clicking “Post” and filling in the subject and message body with your event details, then select “List as event in calendar on [date]”.  You can select the date for your event.  Public events show up when users click the “Calendar” link in the top navigation bar of the community.

Edit my Message

If you notice an error in the message you have posted, and you wish to change it, you can edit your own post (the admin determines the period during which you can make edits). Where the change is substantive, you should mark the post as edited (this option is contained in the edit post screen) so as to alert viewers to the changed content. For cosmetic changes it's better not to do so.  When you edit a message, you also have the opportunity to upload an attachment, or delete an existing attachment (if they’re enabled on the community by the admin).

View Recent Messages

From the main index page, you can view messages that have been posted within the last 24 or 48 hours, or the last 7 days.  Simply go to the main index page, and use the links at the bottom of the page to select your viewing preference.  Another way to see new content is to click the “Active Topics” link in the upper tool bar.  This shows topics that have been active in the last 24 hours.  The results have links to go to the first post, the first unread post, or the last post in the topic.

View Threads that Contain New Posts

From the forum page, look for threads that have the yellow folder next to them: .  These threads contain posts you have not yet read.  If you click on the yellow arrow next to the post subject, you will be taken to the first unread post in that thread.  If you click on the subject itself you will be taken to the first post in the thread, where you can jump directly to the new posts by clicking “jump to first unread posts” at the uppermost left corner.

Subscribe to a Board (Forum)

You have the option (if enabled by the admin) to subscribe to any board or thread (which means that you receive an email when there is new activity).  To subscribe (or unsubscribe), look for the  subscribe/unsubscribe to board link at the bottom left of any board (forum) page.  You can also subscribe to all boards that are marked as “Favorites”, by going into your “My Home” page and editing “Subscribe/Unsubscribe from receiving forum posts….” .

See Who’s Online

Notice the “Who’s Online” link in the top navigation bar?  If you click that link, you’ll see a list of which users have logged into the community in a timeframe defined by the admin, and where they are.  Note that users who have opted out of this feature will not be shown.

See the Whole Member List

Click the “User List” link in the top navigation bar, and you will see a full listing of all registered members of the community.  Other information includes avatar, status (are they an Admin or Moderator), home page, total number of posts, ICQ number, and date of registration.  Each of these columns is sortable, by clicking the link at the header of the column.

Search for Information

One of the key benefits of the discussion board format is that it enables commonly asked questions to be answered once, for the benefit of all. Before posting your question, it is always worth checking to see if it has already been asked - and answered! You can do this via the Search link on the top navigation bar. Various options are available, both for how the search term is specified and for controlling how much of the Forums database you want to search. This is where the specificity of thread subjects is important, making it much easier to locate precisely what it is you're after from a list of search results.

Use the Expand/Collapse Feature

UBB.threads™ software allows you to decide how much information you want to see.  Any time you’re viewing a particular board (forum), you can click the “expand” or “collapse” link to see second or third level replies.  Here’s an example:

Collapsed View

 

Expanded View

Change from Threaded to Flat Display

With UBB.threads™, you can also reply to any specific post within a thread, creating a hierarchy of replies (aka threaded mode).  The screen shots below show the difference between “threaded” and “flat” view.  You can switch between views at any time, by clicking the “Flat” or “Threaded” links at the top right corner (see circled area).

Threaded View

Flat View (same thread)

Expand/Collapse the Category View on Main Index

You can choose to expand or collapse the categories and forums shown on the main index page.  Simply click the  or  symbol to the left of any category.  If the symbol is yellow, it means there has been new activity in that category since you last visited.

Add Someone to my Address Book

Your address book is accessible at any time from your Control Panel, and can be used to send private messages or see which of your friends is logged into the community.  To add someone to your address book, simply click his/her name from anywhere in the community.  This will bring up that person’s public profile, which includes an “add to address book” link.  Click the link, and that person will be automatically added to your personal address book.

Send a Private Message

Click your “Control Panel” link at the top navigation bar.  Click “Send a PM” from within the “Message Box” table.  You can then fill in the username (if you know it), or use your address book to select a recipient.  Write your message, add any UBBCode you wish to use, click Submit, and you’re done!

Print a Thread

Look for this icon  within any thread.  If you click it, a new window will open that contains a stripped-down version of the thread content. Use your browser’s print function to print this version.

Add a Reminder

What if you’re reading a thread, and you know you want to join the discussion, but you don’t have time?  Just mark it with a reminder, and you’ll be able to go straight to it when you’re ready.  From any thread, look for this icon  to add a reminder about a specific post.  When you click it, that post will be added to your My Home page under “Post Reminders.”  It will remain there until you reply to the post or you delete it  manually.

Favorite Threads

This feature allows you to collect together threads that you are following with particular interest, bypassing the rest of the content in the forums if you wish.  This feature can be useful if you’re participating in a particularly large community, with many forums. 

You can use the Show Favorite Forums link at the bottom left of the main index page to monitor recent activity in just your selected forums of interest (this link toggles to show only your Favorite forums or all forums).  You can also elect to have any replies to those threads emailed to you, using the “Subscribe/Unsubscribe from receiving forum, posts by email, change message notifications, etc.” section of the “My Home” area.

Add a Board (Forum) or Thread to Favorites

Similar to the Remind Me function, but applicable to an entire board or thread.  If you see an interesting discussion, you can click this icon  to add it to your My Home page under “Favorite Threads” or “Favorite Forums.” 

Add an image to my message (or signature)

In order to add an image to your message or your signature, you must have the image already available on a web server.  This can be an image on your own personal web page, for example.  To place an image within a message, simply use the following “Markup Tag”:

[image]http://www.url_to_image.com/image_name.gif[/image]

For example, if you have an image called “cateye.gif” and it’s available from your own website at http://www.mywebsite.com/pics, then you would use the following image markup:

            [image]http://www.mywebsite.com/pics/cateye.gif[/image]

You can do the same for your signature.  Click the “Control Panel” option found on any page.  Then, under the Main Configuration heading, click on “Personal Information, email, password…”.  Look for the “Signature” box, and enter your desired information, including any images/markup as above.

Note: To keep the forums loading quickly for everyone, it is recommended that you do not exceed 35k for your image size.

Rate a User

You can rate other community members by clicking the member’s username (which is linked to their profile).  You’ll see a “rate this user” option, with one to five star ratings available.  Be careful! You can only rate someone once, and you cannot “take back” a rating once you’ve submitted it.

Ignore a User

You can choose to ignore the posts of a particular user, if you wish.  Posts from an ignored user will still be shown to preserve the flow of the conversation; however, the body of the ignored user’s posts will be set to “You are ignoring this user”.  To ignore a user, click his/her username to go to the profile and click “ignore this user”.  You cannot ignore a Moderator or Admin.

Rate a Thread

Add your rating to a thread by scrolling to the bottom of the page.  Look for this option in the bottom left corner:

Use the dropdown menu to select a rating from 1 star to 5 and click “submit rating”.  Use caution! You can only rate a thread once.  After you have already rated a thread, you will see “You rated this thread a x” displayed at the bottom of the page in place of the rating dropdown.

Mark all Posts as Read

If you have finished reading all of the new posts within a session, and you wish to clear the new post indicators manually, click the “My Home” link at the top of the navigation bar, then click “Mark all Read” in the Maintenance section.

Clear Cookies

If you are experiencing difficulties, you may wish to manually clear your cookies.  Click the “My Home” link at the top of the navigation bar, then click “My Cookies” in the Maintenance section.  You can then see the cookies that the UBB.threads™ software has set for you.  If you click the “expire cookies” button, the cookies will be cleared.