Forums 101 - Set up your account | Help, Tips, etc

[Janet H]

NOTE: Users are encouraged to also review:

New Member Orientation 102 and
Forum Community Rules (also Linked on bottom banner)


To access your account and adjust various options and settings you can click on the link To 'user cp' on the upper nav bar or click here: http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/usercp.php

You will find various menu options to control your account and subscriptions.

One of the features of our forum is the ability to receive e-mail updates of new posts to a thread you may be interested in. You can opt for no e-mail, instant e-mail, daily or weekly. If you have elected to receive e-mail, make sure you have a valid e-mail address listed in your account profile. your e-mail address will not be publicly viewable.


After you have adjusted your settings, be sure to scroll down and click save

[Janet H]

An avatar is the little picture displayed below your user name in the profile box on the left side of every post. You may use a forums avatar or upload your own custom avatar. Avatars are limited in size to 200 x 150 pixels or 100 KB (whichever is smaller).

To upload a custom avatar: Choose a picture you like that is stored in your computer. Resize the picture to meet the size requirements above using a photo/image editor or camera software. Images that are too large will fail to load and you will receive and error message.

1. Click user CP (control panel) on upper tool bar.
2. Click edit avatar on left side menu.
3. Scroll down to the "Custom Avatar" box and click the "use Custom Avatar" button.
4. Click Browse button. A file menu screen will appear and you can choose the avatar file to be loaded. The file name should appear in the "upload an avatar from your computer box".
5. Click save changes.

[Janet H]

How to get account help:

if you are having trouble logging in or need an assist getting your settings changed, Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the "Contact Us" link. You can send a note to the tech support are (help desk). Please be a bit patient as we check it several times each day.

If you have 2 accounts, we can merge them and move all posts to one account but we will need to know which account you wish to retain.

[Janet H]

Questions or a new topic thread can be started in the section of the forum that best fits the topic you have in mind. Once you have posted your question you can edit that post for a brief period of time.

• Log into the forums.
• Click on the "forums" tab at the top of the page. You may see a list of subforum/topic areas.
• Click on the subforum that best suits your intended post. Once it opens you will see a list of threads already in that subforum. At the top of the list, over toward the left, you should see a "new thread" button.
• Click on the new thread button and follow the prompts.

Once you have crafted your post, click on the submit reply button below the text editor to submit your post to the board.

[Janet H]

To reply to an already existing thread:

• Log into our site.
• Open the thread you want to reply to.
• In the bottom right hand side of the post you want to respond to, click on the note pad looking thing (post quick reply). A text editor box should appear.
• Add your text and then hit post reply at the bottom of text box.

Or... you can hit "go advanced" and get a more complete text editor with formatting options and the ability to upload photos.

Once you have crafted your post, click on the submit reply button below the text editor to submit your post to the board.

[Janet H]

• Click Quick Reply and scroll down to bottom of text box.
• Click Go Advanced, add text to message window and then scroll down.
• Click Manage Attachments. A separate window will pop up.
• Click Browse... then select the file to be uploaded. Be sure that the photo is appropriately sized. 1024 x 1024 pixels (or smaller) and no more than 100K. Forums software will automatically reduce the size, but smaller size photos will upload much faster. You may select several photos to upload at the same time by repeating the last step.
• Click Upload. After pics have loaded, close the pop-up window.
• Click Submit Reply to post the text of your message - photos will automatically appear at the bottom of your post.

You can also:

• Click Post Reply or, if starting a new thread, click New Thread
• Click on the paperclip symbol in the top row of the message box. A separate window will pop up.
• Click Browse...then select the file to be uploaded. Be sure that the photo is appropriately sized. 1024 x 1024 pixels (or smaller) and no more than 100K. Forums software will automatically reduce the size, but smaller size photos will upload much faster. You may select several photos to upload at the same time by repeating the last step.
• Click Upload. After pics have loaded, close the pop-up window.
• Click Submit Reply (if you are replying) or Submit New Thread (if a new discussion) to post the text of your message - photos will automatically appear at the bottom of your post.

[Janet H]

There are a couple of ways to search the forum. If you have a question we recommend that you search before posting. There's a fair chance that we have a several posts about your topic of interest.

The Forums search tool found on the nav bar is fairly easy to use and really quick. Our search tool searches for key words and you have a choice to search for threads or posts. Consider using the advanced search function to narrow down your choices. You must be logged into the forums to use the search tool.

Google search: We have an embedded google search available shortly. Check out the upper right hand corner of the page to find this tool.

[Janet H]

You can embed a YouTube video (provided it's on topic) in a post. Just copy the url of the video from your browser address line and paste it into your post. The video will display when you make the post.

How not to launch a brand new boat! - YouTube

[Janet H]

There are two ways to communicate with other forums members outside of the normal posting area.

• Private messages that only the person you send it to can read and respond to.
  
• Profile Comments left on the member’s page (profile). Anyone can see profile comments and the recipient has the option to delete it from their page.

If you click on a members name next to a post and select “View Public Profile” it will take you to the member’s profile page. Click on the “Contact Info” tab and you have several options depending on what types of messages the member has chosen to accept.

If you select private message you will need to select a title, type in your message and press the “Submit Message” button at the bottom. You can add smiles and links, but you can not attach pictures to a private message.

If you select to send a profile comment, type in the message and press the “Post Message” button at the bottom.

[Janet H]

Friend and contact lists can be both fun and useful. You can easily sent PM's with a single click to your group of friends, and see them more easily in the online lists as a + will display next to their usernames.

What is the difference between a friend and a contact?
A friendship is a mutual, two-way relationship between two users. It is initiated by one user and accepted by the other. A contact is a one-way friendship. This could be where the other person does not accept the friendship, a friendship request is pending, or you do not wish to be friends at this time but want to show them as a contact only.

Where is list of friends and contacts displayed?
Your friends and contacts are displayed on the 'Contacts and Friends' page in your User CP. Your friends are also displayed in your profile page.

How can I request a friend, accept a friend or break a friendship?
There are two ways to request a friendship with someone.
The easiest way is to view the profile page of the person you want to become friends with and click the 'Befriend' link.The other way is to add the person to your contacts first. Then from your 'Contacts and Friends' page ask to be their friend by checking the box next to their name labeled 'Friend'. Next, save the page.


If you know the username of the person you want to be friends with you can send a friend request using the box provided and clicking 'Add Friend'.
To accept a friend, go to your 'Contacts and Friends' page. At the bottom of the page you will see a list of pending requests. Check the box for the requests you wish to accept then check the 'Accept' button and save the changes. If you do not wish to be friends then select 'Reject' instead.
Breaking a friendship can be done in three ways.

• From your 'Contacts and Friends' page, uncheck the box for friend for the particular person and save the changes. If you no longer wish them to be a contact either, uncheck both boxes for that person.
• In your 'Profile Page', click 'Friends' and then click 'Break Friendship' next to the user's name.
• In the other person's profile, click 'Friends' then find your username and click 'Break Friendship'.

[Delia Rosa]

Is there a way to edit posts... I know you can edit a post immediately after you post it, but what about an earlier one.... for instance, I just notice a spelling mistake on one of my posts... how can I go back and fix it!

[Janet H]

Originally Posted by Capn Chuck

..... Edit Details requires that every box be filled out or it won't accept it. For instance if I don't post my zip code, which I don't want to do for privacy reasons, the rest of the information I put on the page is not accepted. Chuck

This is true however if you have privacy concerns there are some choices. There is a setting in your user CP to make more info private. Look for a link to "profile privacy"

Regarding your zip code.. your concern is noted however you might want to choose a nearby zip. Since the member list is sortable, it's a good way to find other nearby members. Adding totally bogus info defeats that tool....

Originally Posted by Delia Rosa

Is there a way to edit posts... I know you can edit a post immediately after you post it, but what about an earlier one.... for instance, I just notice a spelling mistake on one of my posts... how can I go back and fix it!

Old posts can;t be edited but if you think it needs to be changed you can ask a mod to do that for you. A simple way to do this is to use the report post button over to the left of the problem post This sends a note to moderators and references that post; you can explain what you need changed in the explaination for the post report.

Originally Posted by OFB

I have the same question re the profile page and details that I filled out. How do I edit back the info seen by forum users?

You can edit any section of your profile any time and set your privacy settings here There are two items you cannot change (these would require a moderator assist) your birthday and your username. Everything else in your profile is editable at any time.

[Delia Rosa]

Now that we can list the make of our vessels in the public "about me" section (a great feature by the way), is there a way to search for members with a particular make... for example, I would love to find all the Sea Ranger owners without having to go through all 2705 member profiles.

When I joined the forum, I did start a thread asking for info but although there were hundreds of views, and there were lots of replies, one could never really know how many owners were out there that just didn't want to post.

[Janet H]

You can find vessel info on the member list here Trawler Forum - Members List

or by clicking on member list under the community link on the nav bar.

There is an advanced search tool that is very helpful for finding specific info and posts by a specific member.

[Delia Rosa]

Originally Posted by Janet H

You can find vessel info on the member list here Trawler Forum - Members List

or by clicking on member list under the community link on the nav bar.

There is an advanced search tool that is very helpful for finding specific info and posts by a specific member.

Attachment 10716

I did a search for Sea Ranger in the member's area and only came up with my own profile.... does this mean that I am the only Sea Ranger that has filled out the profile vessel info as I know that there are several Sea Ranger owners on the forum....

[Janet H]

yes - it will take some time for folks to get their info filled out again - please be patient

[FF]

Still haven't been able to stop messages of new reply's from going to my E mail.

FF

[Pineapple Girl]

Originally Posted by FF

Still haven't been able to stop messages of new reply's from going to my E mail.

FF

FF, try going to your profile, picking settings and options, then edit options on the left. Look for default thread subscription mode. it is prob set on instant email. you can change it to daily, weekly, none...

[rjwilliams11741]

I have a picture of my boat in the profile but it does not show up when I post. What am I doing wrong.

[Tom.B]

There is a difference between a profile picture and an avatar. I suspect you posted a profile pic. Most of us made that mistake too. Go back and look for the upload an avatar tab.