Reading and Posting Messages

Posting New Messages​

When posting messages you may wish to include some formatting such as bold text, italic text and underlined text.

Adding formatting to your post can be done in two ways:

• Using clickable controls similar to those found in most word processors
• Typing formatting commands in BB code

Clickable controls are available in the Standard and Rich Text editors. The difference between these is that the standard editor will show the BB code in your message and be processed when it is displayed. The Rich Text editor will show your message as it will be displayed while you are typing.

To use these, simply click the button, for example the B (bold) button and then type to get bold text. Click the button again to stop using that formatting. You can also highlight text that you have already typed then click the formatting button to format existing text.

BB code is a special set of codes similar to HTML that can be used in posts to the board. To see the full list of BB code tags that can be used on this site and examples of their use, click here.​

Replying to a Post​

On some boards you might be able to post and reply as a guest user. But most communities require registration.

As a registered user you can go to a forum on a board where you have permission to view threads and leave replies. To reply you have a few options. You can click on the Reply button and add a new post to the end of the thread. Alternatively, you can leave a quick reply in a quick editor box listed below the posts in the thread.


If you want to post replies to multiple posts you can select them by clicking the multi quote button + Quote. This button will change to indicate that you've selected it. Once you've selected all the posts that you wish to quote scroll down to the 'Quick Reply' editor at the bottom of the thread and select the Insert Quotes to add all your quoted posts. A popup box will appear asking to confirm the quoted posts and also give you the option to rearrange the quotes in the order that you want.​

Alternatively you can also choose to use the full editor to make a post to the thread. Just click the More Options button below the quick editor box and you'll be presented with the Full Reply Screen.​

Editing and Deleting your Posts​

If you have registered and are logged in, you may be able to edit and delete your posts (although the administrator may have turned off this option). Your ability to edit your posts may be time-limited, depending on how the administrator has set up the forum.

To edit or delete your posts, click the Edit Post button by the particular post. If your post was the first in the thread, then deleting it may remove the entire thread.

Once you've made your modifications, a note may appear to inform other users that you have edited your post.

If the edit time and date appear as a link you can click on this to see the differences between the original and edited versions, or between edits if there have been multiple edits.​

Administrators and moderators may also edit your messages. If they do, there may not be a note telling other users that the post was modified.​

Creating and Participating in Polls​

When you post a new thread, you may also have the option to create a poll.

This allows you to ask a question and specify a number of possible responses. Other members will then be able to vote for the response they wish, and the results of the voting will be displayed in the thread.

An example poll might be:​

What is your favorite color?

• Red
• Blue
• Yellow
• Green
• Sky-blue
• Pink with yellow spots

To create a poll when you post a new thread, simply click the 'Yes, post a poll with this thread' checkbox at the bottom of the page, and set the number of possible responses you want to include.

When you click the submit button, you will be taken to the poll creation page, where you can specify the question and the list of responses you want to include.

You may also want to specify a time limit for the poll, so that (for example) it stays open for voting for only a week.​

To vote in a poll, simply select which option you want to vote for, and click the 'Vote!' button. Sometime you can choose more than one option. You can see the current results for a poll before you vote by clicking the 'View Results' link. Voting in a poll is entirely optional. You may vote for any of the available options, or cast no vote at all.

Note whether or not a poll is a public poll. If it is, any votes you cast will be attributable to you.

Generally, once you have voted in a poll, you will not be able to change your vote later, so place your vote carefully! Your vote(s) are denoted by the selection that is bolded and has an asterisk next next to it.
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Here is what a poll looks like before you cast your vote.


Here is what the poll will look like after you cast your vote.

Attachments and Images​

To attach a file to your post, you need to be using the main 'Quick Post' or 'New Thread' page. To use the main 'Reply to Thread' page, click the 'More Options' button underneath the quick reply box.

On this page, below the message box, you will find a button labelled 'Upload a File'. Clicking this button will open a new window for uploading attachments. You can upload an attachment either from your computer or from another URL by using the appropriate box on this page. Alternatively you can click the Attachment Icon to open this page.

To upload a file from your computer, click the 'Browse' button and locate the file. To upload a file from another URL, enter the full URL for the file in the second box on this page. Once you have completed one of the boxes, click 'Upload'.

Once the upload is completed the file name will appear below the input boxes in this window. You can then close the window to return to the new post screen.​

In the attachment window you will find a list of the allowed file types and their maximum sizes. Files that are larger than these sizes will be rejected. There may also be an overall quota limit to the number of attachments you can post to the board.

At High-Def Ninja we accept these types of file types:

• zip, txt, pdf, png, jpg, jpeg, jpe, gif

Once your Image(s) have been uploaded venture down close to the bottom, find your image and select 'Thumbnail' or 'Full Image' and it will either place the full image into the reply box or a thumbnail to the image.

If you decided to click the thumbnail then it will place a small thumbnail size image within your editor. Once you submit your post and the thumbnail is on your post, folks can click it and it will invoke a lightbox and display your image within.

To include an image that is not uploaded as an attachment and is located on another website, you can do so by copying the full URL to the image, (not the page on which the image is located), and either pressing the 'Insert Image' icon or by typing after it, ensuring that you do not have any spaces before or after the URL of the image. You can insert photos from your albums in this way too.
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Smilies​

Smilies are icons that can be used in your posts to express emotions or feelings. You might wish to use these to show that you are happy, sad, joking, or embarrassed. For example, if you are telling a joke or being sarcastic you may wish to add a wink instead of writing 'this is a joke'.

The basic smilies are the same as what you would find on any instant messenger system. They are made up of a combination of characters which often show the basis of the resulting image. For example, :) is converted to a smiley face and :( to a sad face or frown. Tilt your head to the left to see this in action as these consist of two eyes and a mouth either smiling or frowning.​

Some smilies can be accessed from the 'New Post' or 'New Thread' pages if your administrator has enabled this function. Clicking them will automatically insert them into your message. You can also type the character combinations for the smilies directly. A full list of the smilies and their character combinations used on this forum can be found here.
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Here's a small taste of what our smilies look like.
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How do I Thank a post?
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The Post Ratings system allows you to Rate posts with one of a number of different ratings. These ratings include Thanks, Helpful Answer and Informative and provide an easy way for you to indicate how you feel about a particular post. Only one rating can be given per post.

Thanks - Thanks a post indicating that you liked what was posted.
Helpful Answer - Could be used if you asked a question and someone replied to it.
Informative - Could be used if someone replies to another users question but was not directed at you.

In order to rate posts, you must be an Hi-Def Ninja member. To rate a post, you must log in to the forums and mouse over the post in question. Once your mouse is over the post, the post ratings buttons will appear towards the bottom right of the post.
(On touch screen devices, the post rating buttons are always visible).

Click one of the ratings to rate the post. You can always undo your rating by clicking the Undo Rating link.

The ratings given to a particular post are shown below the post on the left.​

Here are our ratings.




Moderators and Administrators​

Moderators oversee specific forums. They generally have the ability to edit and delete posts, move threads, and perform other actions. Becoming a moderator for a specific forum is usually rewarded to users who are particularly helpful and knowledgeable in the subject of the forum they are moderating.

Administrators are the people who have overall control of everything that happens on the board. They oversee how the board is styled, what forums to create and how to organize them, what information to require from members and who to appoint as moderators.​

For Extensive help with the forum in case you need further help please visit THIS thread.​