CooneyTech Robotics Forums - Forum Tutorial/Help Documentation

It has become apparent that some people do not know how to use the forum, so here is some documentation on how to use the forum.

Basic Forum Functionality

Registration -
To post in most of the forums, a user must first register. To register, click on register at the top-right of the forums, or click here. To register, you must accept the Registration Agreement, then fill out the form. Once the form is complete, you have to wait for an administrator (Andy, Anthony, or I) to activate your account, which we will try to do as quick as possible, and the wait is usually no longer than one (1) day.

Logging In -
After creating an account, you must log in. To log in you can click log in at the top-right or fill in the form at the bottom of the forums index/main page. Clicking "Log me on automatically each visit" will automatically start a new session for your username every time you come to the forum so you don't have to type in a username and password every time you come to the CooneyTech Robotics forums. (Note: This setting is not recommended for shared computers.)

Browsing the Forums -
To browse the forums, a user must start by first clicking on one of the forums on the index page. From there, the user will see a list of threads posted in that forum, with the thread with the newest reply on top. The number of times the thread has been viewed is in the second (2) column, the author of the thread is in the third (3) column, the number of times the thread has been viewed is in the fourth (4) column, and the date and author of the most recent reply is in the fifth (5) or last column. Clicking on a thread will take you inside the thread, where you can read each individual users post/s or replies, starting with the first post in the thread, descending to the latest, most recent post. If a thread is multiple pages in length, page number are at the bottom of each page.

Posting Threads -
Threads are topics created within a forum. Posting a new thread will allow you to create a new topic in a forum. Your thread should be about a new subject that another user has not posted about yet. To post a new thread, click the "new topic" button at the top or bottom of a forum or thread in the forum you would like your thread to be in. Type your subject in the subject field (first field or box) and your message into the message body (larger field or box). Text can be formatted using bbCode (Bulletin Board Code), which will be discussed later in this tutorial. When complete, click submit.

Posting a Reply -
A reply is an answer or comment to another users post. A post is a new message added to a thread. To create a new post, click "post reply" at the top or bottom of the thread you would like to reply to. The subject is optional, but the message is typed into the message body (larger field), and formatted using bbCode (Bulletin Board Code), which will be discussed later in this tutorial. When complete, click submit.

To quote an existing post (include the text of an existing post in a reply) use quote bbCode tags, or click quote in the upper right corner of the post you wish to quote. Type your message around the quoted text, and click submit.

Posing a Poll -
Posting a poll, which allows users to vote on an option, is very similar to posting a thread. Click the "new topic" button at the top or bottom of a forum or thread in the forum you would like your thread to be in. Type your subject in the subject field (first field or box) and your message into the message body (larger field or box). Text can be formatted using bbCode (Bulletin Board Code), which will be discussed later in this tutorial. When complete, click Fill in poll question field with your question. The form starts out with room for one poll option, but more can be added by clicking "Add option". Add the number of fields needed and type your options. Type in the number of days you would like to let the poll run, and click submit.

bbCode

What is bbCode -
bbCode stands for Bulletin Board Code, which are tags that are used to format a message posted to a forum or online bulletin board. It is used to replace HTML formatting, which is not allowed on these forums.

Example bbCode tags -

Code:

[b][/b] - bold

[i][/i] - italics

[u][/u] - underline

[color=red][/color] - font color (replace red with color name)(phpBB safe colors - darkred, red,  orange, yellow, brown, green, olive, cyan, blue, darkblue, indigo, violet, white, black)

[color=#FF0000][/color] - font color (for advanced users! - hexidecimal color values)

[size=9][/size] - font size (size is between 7 (smallest) and 24 (largest))

Tags can be combined to create a large, red, bold text for example.

Code:

[size=18][color=red][b]Large, red, bold text[/b][/color][/size]

Would output - Large, red, bold text

Quoting -

Code:

[quote][/quote] - quote

[quote=Chris][/quote] - quote using Chris as author

Code -

Code:

[code]

[/code] - code

Lists -

Unordered List -
Unordered lists are bulleted lists.
Start with an list tag, and each item in the list has an asterisk tag, then follow with a cloding /list tag.

Code:

[list]

[*]Red

[*]Blue

[*]Yellow

[/list]

Ordered List -
Ordered lists allow you to choose what is outputted before each item.

Code:

[list=1][/list] - numbered list

[list=a][/list] - alphabetical list

Options are still listed using asterisks.

Links -

Code:

[url=http://www.domain.com]Domain Name[/url] - Use text as a link

[url]http://www.domain.com[/url] - Use the domain name as a link

[email]user@domain.com[/email] - Link to an email address

Images -

Code:

[img]http://www.imageurl.com[/img] - hotlink to an external image (show the image in your post)

[url=http://www.domain.com][img]http://www.imageurl.com[/img][/url] - make the image a link

For more help with bbCode, view this. As a message is posted, a user can also use the buttons above the message body field for help.

Emoticons

What is an Emoticon -
An emoticon is an image posted to show feeling.

Posting an Emoticon -
Emoticons can be clicked on by the user. They are located in the column to the left of the message body field. To view more emoticons, click "View more Emotions" beneath the emoticons and click on the emoticon/s you with to insert.

Emoticons can also be typed into a message, if the user knows the code. Example code

Code:

:D - Very happy

:) - Smiley

Searching the Forum

Using the Forum Search
The forum can quickly be searched by typing in a term/s to search for into the field at the top of the forums and clicking "Search". The results will be shown in a list, with the thread that contains the term that is being searched for.

Advanced Search
Advanced search will give the user more advanced search options. To go to advanced search, click "Advanced Search" on the left side of the search field at the top of the forums.
Keyword Search - search for a specific keyword/s
Author search - search for a specific author
The keyword field, author field, or both fields can be filled in to search.

If multiple terms/keywords have been entered, selecting "Search for any terms or use query as entered" will search for one of the terms entered. Selecting "Search for all terms" will search for all terms entered.

Advanced search also allows the user to search in a specific forum or category, show the results as posts or threads and return a set number of characters (letters, numbers, spaces), sort the results by time ascending or descending, or search within a specific timeframe.

When complete, click "Search".

Profile Settings

What is a Users Profile? -
A users profile is all information about a specific user.

Viewing a User Profile -
Click on the users name on the index page, in a forum, in a post, on the memberlist, or on the Who's Online list. It will show you the user's name at the top.
- In the left column - avatar (if the user has one), email address or form to email the user, private message, IM (instant messenger) information
- In the right column - registration date, posts with link to view posts and threads created by the user, location, website, occupation, and interests.

Profile information can also be viewed inside of a thread. At the bottom of each users post is a link to their profile, pm form, email address/form, and any IM (instant messenger) information.

Editing my Profile -
Each user can edit their profile by click on the profile link at the upper left or by clicking here.

How do I change my username -
Users cannot change their username. If you would like to have a different username, please send a PM to AndyB, Anthony Garcia, or Chris, and we will consider changing your username.

Editing profile -

The first thing to keep in mind when editing your profile - your profile is PUBLIC information! (besides the password)

Email - The first item in the form is an email address. This can be changed, but will need to be activated each time it is changed.

Password - To change your password, enter your current password, followed by your new password two (2) times. Your password should not be hard to crack. CooneyTech Robotics is not responsible for hacked accounts. Choose an alphanumeric (numerical and alphabetical characters) password at least 6 characters in length that is not a common word in any language, and is not a personal detail, like a birth date, address, or SSN.

Instant Messenger - The next few fields are for instant messenger data. Type your screen names for the instant messenger services you use, if you wish to share that information with the public.

Website - URL of your website, if you have one

Occupation - Job, for most people this will be student or blank

Interests - What are you interested in?

Signature - Text or an image that will be shown beneath every reply you post. Signatures should not exceed 200 characters, and images should be no larger than 100 pixel heigh, 400 pixels wide, and/or 80 kb (kilobytes - 1024 bytes) in size. bbCode (Bulletin Board Code) can be used to format a signature, and emoticons can be posted in signatures.

Always show my email address - If Yes a link to email you will appear in your profile. If set to No, the link will not appear. (does not pertain to this forum since a form is used to send emails to users)

Hide your online status - hide your username from the Who's Online list, located at the bottom of the index page.

Always notify me of replies - sends you an email every time a user posts in every thread you replied to or created

Notify on new Private Message - sends you an email every time you receive a private message

Pop up window on new Private Message - will show a pop up window when you come to the site, notifying you of a new private message (pop up blockers must be turned off or set to allow forums.cooneyrobotics.com to allow pop up to use this option)

Always attach my signature - attach your signature to every reply you post so you don't hae to click "Attach my signature" on every reply or thread you post

Always allow BBCode - show any text using bbCode

Always all HTML - show any text using HTML (does not pertain to this forum because HTML is turned off)

Always enable smilies - show smilies in posts

Board language - choose a language to view the board in (English is the only language cooney06 uses. If you wish to use Spanish, please select subSilver.)

Board style - the forum template/skin

Timezone - the timezone you live in in relation to GMT (Greenwich Mean Time, or the time in Greenwich, England)
Current GMT Time
Central Daylight Time is GMT -5 from April-October, 1918-1919, 1942-2006 and March-November, 2007-Infinity
Central Standard Time is GMT -6 from October-April, 1918-1919, 1942-2006 and November-March, 2007-Infinity

Date format - the format of the date (leave at the default value unless you are an advanced user - uses PHP's date() function)
[code]
Day -
d - day of the month, 2 digits with leading zeros
D - a textual representation of a day, three letters
j - day of the month without leading zeros
l - lowercase - a full textual representation of the day of the week
N - numerical representation of the day of the week
S - English ordinal suffix for the day of the month, 2 characters
w - numeric representation of the day of the week
z - the day of the year, starting from 0
Week -
W - week number of year, weeks starting on Monday
Month -
F - full textual representation of a month
m - numeric representation of a month, with leading zeros
M - short textual representation of a month, three letters
n - numeric representation of a month, without leading zeros
t - number of days in the given month
Year -
L - leap year
Y - full numeric representation of a year
y - two digit representation of a year
Time -
a - lowercase ante meridiem and post meridiem
A - uppercase ante meridiem and post meridiem
g - 12 hour format without leading zeros
G - 24 hour format without leading zeros
h - 12 hour format with leading zeros
H - 24 hour format with leading zeros
i - minutes with leading zeros
s - seconds, with leading zeros

Avatar

What is an Avatar? -
An avatar is an image that shows up below each users username in a post, and on the users profile. The image should be unique to the user.

Avatar Restrictions -
Only one image can be displayed at a time, its width can be no greater than 100 pixels, the height no greater than 100 pixels, and the file size no more than 9765625 kb.

Getting an Avatar -
Avatars can be created in a photo editing/manipulating program, or save from the internet. If you don't know where to find an image of a favorite subject, you can search the Google Image Search for an image.

Uploading -
Avatars are uploaded at the bottom of the profile form. Prior to uploading, you may need to resize your image in some image manipulation software like IrfanView (free) or Photoshop (Costly) to meet the upload standards.

Click browse, find the photo, and click open or find the image on the internet, copy the URL, and post it into the "Upload Avatar from a URL" field. Note: Images uploaded from a URL do not need to meet the avatar standards. phpBB will automatically resize the image.

Deleting an Avatar -
Avatars can be deleted beneath the current avatar image. Just check "Delete Image" and click submit.

I am not going to complete this help document right now, but if you need more help, feel free to view the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) by clicking at the link at the top of the forums, or by clicking here.