What does the Always Build check box do?
I cannot see a Recent Topics area to switch on ??
Finally ... can someone explain (in easy terms) what a content island is?
Always Build allows you to use the Island somewhere else on your site that isn't part of the forum.
To create the recent topics island you need to go into the post islands tab & click edit on the right to create a new island. Name it Recent Topics, change the Island type to recent topics and select the forums that you want to be included.
Every single box around your forum is a content island. Using this site as an example, the site links are a custom island, the search, who's online, top posters, forum stats, shout bos, calendar and newest members are built-in islands that come with the software.
To start with I'd recommend trying to mimic what they have here. Then once you get used to it start playing around with islands that fit your site and the order in which you want them.
For my site I put everything that I think people really need on the left and the additional islands on the right so that users can turn off the right island if they want more screen space.
