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| Ross
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pmwwwmsngtalk vForum | | Guide to Using Your Forum (25th Nov 07 at 12:46pm EST) | | Setting Up Your Forum
Categories
Boards
Sub-Boards
User Rankings
Customizing Your Forum
Coloring your Forum
Customizing the Forum Images
Adding a Banner
Adding Custom Codes/Mods/Hacks
Spacing Categories/Sticky Topics
Forum News
Using Your Forum
Registering an Account
Logging In
Changing your profile
Navigating the Forum
Private Messaging
Posting Messages
Creating Topics
Repying to Topics
Modifying Posts
Deleting Posts
Creating Polls
Moderating your Forum
Locking Topics
Stickying Topics
Moving Topics
Deleting Topics
Security Log
Staff Members
Warning Members
Banning Members | |
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| Ross
Administrator
Posts: 3,429
Status: Offline
Age: 22
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Support Team
pmwwwmsngtalk vForum | | Re: Basic Guide to Using Your Forum (25th Nov 07 at 12:46pm EST) | | Categories
Categories are used to group similar boards together. For example, if you have a general forum you may choose to have one music category where you have all the music related boards and one sports category where you have sports related boards.
Categories have options available when creating/modifying them for you to choose who can see it and which member groups can access it. This is great for when you want some boards to only be available to certain members, such as established members.
To create a new category, you can go to your administration panel, select the "Categories" tab and then choose "Create Category". The Category ID used to identify the category and is used as part of the categories URL. The Category Name is the heading shown on the main page, this field can contain UBBC code to customize the look of the name.
If you wish to change the order the categories appear in on the main page then you can do so by going to your administration panel, select the "Categories" tab and then choosing "Reorder Categories". From this page, you can use the Up/Down arrows to move your categories into a different order.
Boards
Boards, are what are used to hold and group individual topics and posts. For each board you can set who can create new topics and who can reply to existing topics. Each board needs to be placed within a category, on the main page all boards are shown beneath their respective categories. Sticking with our sports example used above you would have Football, Hockey and Golf boards as part of your sports category.
Boards are sometimes referred to as "forums".
Sub-Boards
Sub-Boards are almost exactly like a board except they are used as a further level of organisation. Rather than being on the main page under a category, they are shown on the board view page as a board within a board. Going back to the earlier example of a general forum having a sports category and within that a football board. Within that football board, they may choose to add two sub-boards to further organise the topics, such as splitting them into league and non-league boards.
User Rankings
Each non-staff member of your forum is given a user rank based on their post count (the number of topics/replies they have made). We find this is often a good way of seeing which members are participating in your community and can encourage further activity by giving the members a rank to aim for.
You can set the different user rankings for your forum via the "Modify Ranks" page found in the "Manage Members" section of your admin panel. | |
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| Ross
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pmwwwmsngtalk vForum | | Re: Basic Guide to Using Your Forum (25th Nov 07 at 12:47pm EST) | | Coloring your Forum
Your forums colors are set via the "Modify Colors" page found in the "Site Design" section of your admin panel. On this page you can set the HEX color code for each part of the forum such as the title bars, windows and links. To find the HEX color code to use, you can use a color picker such as http://colors.mrfrufru.com. There are also boxes where you can specify the font you wish to use on your forum as well as background image URLs if you wish to use an image in the place of a background color. If you wish to have an automatic background image created, one that fades between two colors, then that can be achieved on this page by selecting the color to fade too and the type of fade you want to use.
Adding a Banner
A banner is a logo or image displayed at the very top of your forum in the welcome table. Usually, this image would bear the name of your forum.
To use a banner, go to your admin panel and select the "General Settings" option. The second input box is the one for the URL to your image. The URL is the web address of where this image is hosted. For example, it might look something like http://virtualforums.co.uk/images/banner.gif If you do not have a host you can use to host this image, then you can use a service like http://photobucket.com or http://imageshack.us to host the image for you.
Customizing the Forum Images
The forum images are all editable via the "Modify Images" page in the "Site Design" section of your admin panel. Here you can enter a custom URL for each image in your forum. To use the default vForum image, just leave the text box empty.
Adding Custom Codes/Mods/Hacks
Custom Codes/Mods/Hacks are pieces of client side code such as JavaScript, HTML or CSS which can be used to further customize the appearance and functionality of your forum.
A number of such codes which you can use can be found in our Hacks/Mods/Codes board. If you cannot find what you need there, then you can post a new thread in our Support board requesting a new code be made for you.
Spacing Categories/Sticky Topics
This is a commonly requested modification that has been made into a built in feature for ease of use.
In the "General Settings" page of your admin panel you will find 4 options where you can enable a gap to appear between each category on the main page or between the sticky/standard threads in the thread listing and set the size of this gap.
Forum News
There are 3 types of news display which can be shown at the top of your forum. These are set via the "Forum News" page in your Admin Panel. On this page you can choose to have a scrolling display, a static table or a dynamic fader. Depending on which option you choose, the box for entering your news may change; the Fader option uses a set of single line input boxes whereas the other options use a single larger text box.
All standard UBBC tags & smilies can be used in all of the news displays. In addition to these, there are two additional tags you can use. [newest_member] will display a link to the profile of the newest member and [highest_poster] will display a link to the profile of the member with the highest post count. | |
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| Ross
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Posts: 3,429
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Age: 22
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pmwwwmsngtalk vForum | | Re: Basic Guide to Using Your Forum (25th Nov 07 at 12:47pm EST) | | Registering an Account
Users can register their own account via the register page, the link to which is in the menubar for all guests. Here they must enter some basic information including a valid email address and a randomly generated security code. Once they have done this, an email is sent to the address supplied containing their login information and a randomly generated activation key in order to validate that the email address is theirs.
Logging In
The two main sections where users are given the opportunity to login are on the "Login" page, the link to which is in the menu bar, and via a login form located at the base of the main page.
The users login information is encrypted before being stored as a cookie on their PC. It is this cookie which keeps the user logged in. When the user wishs to logout of the forum, they can do so via the "Logout" butoon on the menubar which will delete this encrypted cookie.
Changing your profile
Every user on the forum has their own profile where they can display information about themselves such as their instant messengers, birthday and website. Apart from the username, displayname and email (which can be hidden), all of the information is optional. It is important that users remain aware of the risks when giving out personal information.
Navigating the Forum
The main forum structure is made up of
Main Page
-> Categories
-> -> Boards
-> -> -> Sub-Boards
-> -> Topics
-> -> -> Posts
The navigation bar found at the top of the forum allows users to step back one or more levels at a time. There is also a "Home" link in the menubar which enable users to return to the main page at any time.
Private Messaging
The private messaging system (referred to as the "PM" system) allows users to send private messages to one another, similar to sending emails. Each message can be sent to one or more recipients by entering the usernames in the "to" field, each username seperated by a comma.
All messages are stored in the users inbox/outbox where they can view them and reply to them. Only the user sending the message and the user recieving the message are able to view each message. | |
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| Ross
Administrator
Posts: 3,429
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Age: 22
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pmwwwmsngtalk vForum | | Re: Basic Guide to Using Your Forum (25th Nov 07 at 12:47pm EST) | | Creating Topics
To create/post a new topic the user must first navigate to the board or sub-board where they wish the topic to be posted. Provided they are allowed to post topics in this board, there will be a "new thread" button to the top right of the thread listing - this button takes the user to the posting page.
On the posting page, the user must fill in both the subject, which is the topics name/title, and the message body. The user has a number of Smilies and UBBC formatting options which can be used to change the way the message body looks for example by making some text bold or a different color.
Replying to Topics
There are 3 ways of replying to a topic. The first would be to use the "Reply" button found at the top of each topic. This buttons takes you to the posting page, similar to the one used for creating new topics except the subject is pre-filled and there is a topic summary below the posting form.
The second way to reply to a topic would be to use the "Quick Reply" form found at the bottom of the topic. This form is basically a compressed version of the posting page, you still have somewhere to type your message and the standard UBBC formatting buttons but it's all been squashed together in a smaller space.
The third way to add a reply to a topic is by use of the "Quote" feature. Next to each post is a "Quote" button. When clicked, you will be taken to the posting page but the message will be pre-filled with the text (wrapped in [quote] tags) of the message you clicked the quote button for. This is often used to show other users what particular message you are replying to.
Modifying Posts
All posts made have the ability to be modified by either the member who posted it or by staff members with the appropriate powers. The only exception to this is if a topic has been locked, in which case members cannot modify their posts within the topic.
When a post is modified, a note appears at the bottom of that post showing who modified the post and when.
Deleting Posts
All posts made have the ability to be deleted by either the member who posted it or by staff members with the appropriate powers. The only exception to this is if a topic has been locked, in which case members cannot delete their posts within the topic.
Creating Polls
New polls can be made in a similar fashion to new topics. Next to the "new thread" button is a "new poll" button, provided that the user has permission to create polls in that board.
When creating a poll you must not only fill in the subject and message but there are input boxes for the poll question, up to 30 different options and a couple of checkboxes to enable/disable optional poll features. For the poll to be valid, you must provide a question and at least two possible answers. | |
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| Ross
Administrator
Posts: 3,429
Status: Offline
Age: 22
Joined:
Additional Groups:
Support Team
pmwwwmsngtalk vForum | | Re: Basic Guide to Using Your Forum (25th Nov 07 at 12:48pm EST) | | Locking Topics
When you lock a topic it prevents other members from being able to post replies to it. The only people able to post replies will be staff members with the appropriate abilities.
Stickying Topics
When you sticky a topic it remains at the top of the thread listing above all other threads which makes it more visible and easier to find.
Moving Topics
If a topic is posted in the wrong board you can move it, along with any replies that have been made, to a different board by selecting the new board from a drop-down list. Whilst doing so, you will be given an option to leave a message in its place telling users where it has been moved to and why.
Deleting Topics
Staff members with the appropriate powers can delete entire topics from the forum. If all the posts in a topic are deleted then the topic too is marked as deleted.
Security Log
The security log which is found in the "General" section of your admin panel lists the last 500 security-related actions which have taken place on your forum. For example modifying posts, banning members or deleting topics.
Staff Members, how to create staff groups and place members in them
Staff members are those members you choose to give administration/moderation abilities to in order for them to help you run your forum. We always suggest that you are very careful when giving out these abilities, only giving high risk abilities to those who you really trust.
To create/modify a staff group you can use the "Create User Group" and "Modify User Group" pages found in the "Other" section of the admin panel. If you click the "Limit Power" box seen next to some moderation abilities these means members of this group will only be able to perform this action in boards where you specify them as being a moderator.
To assign a member to a staff group you must modify their profile and set the "Member Group" option to the staff group you want them to be in.
The Warning System
Warning levels can be increased via the "Warn Member" link found at the top of all members profiles. When you click this link, you will be presented with a short from where you will need to provide the amount to increase / decrease the warning level as well as an optional field where you can provide a reason for the warning. If you choose to provide a reason, this will be added to the warned members account notes which they can see.
Warnings can be any whole number between 0 and 100. To decrease a warning level, you should enter a negative number on the warn member page, ie. -10
Warning levels can also be set to automatically decrease. The rate at which this decrease happens is set via the "General Settings" page of the admin panel. You can decide both the amount to deduct along with how often it should be deducted.
Staff members with the power to can view a list of all warned members along with their current warning and the last reason provided for this warning. This list is found on the "View Warned Members" page found within the "Manage Members" section of your admin panel.
Banning Members
To ban a member you can use the link called "Ban Member" found at the top of their view profile page. The link takes you to a short form where you can choose how to ban the user and give a reason. If you choose to give a reason, the user will be shown this reason when they attempt to access the forum.
You can also use the "Ban Members" page found within the "Manage Members" section of the admin panel to add and alter bans. Simply fill in the required criteria leaving any unneeded columns blank and click the "Update Banned Members" button. If you need to add more bans than there are input boxes avaliable, simply fill in those 4 fileds and save the page. When you then return to this page from the menu, there will be 4 new slots.
To remove a ban, either Username, IP or eMail, tick the checkbox next to the appropriate row(s) on the "Ban Members" page and click the "Update Banned Members" button.
Wildcard banning can be used to ban a range of criteria. This type of ban is especially useful for persistent spammers using rotating IP addresses. To use, substitute any part(s) of the IP address with an asterisk. eg. 123.456.789.* will ban all IP addresses starting with 123.456.789 such as 123.456.789.001 and 123.456.789.543 | |
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