DIY Message Boards: User Guide

Introduction -- Welcome to the DIY Message Boards (OpenTopic™) What's an online community? Think of it as the modern version of the city marketplace, with people gathering to talk about their projects, goods that they've purchase, recommend things to friends, ask questions and compare notes. And just as in the city market, each vendor has the chance to make his/her display unique! Members have the ability to:

  • Create new topics or polls
  • Reply to topics posted by others
  • Edit or delete his/her own messages
  • E-mail topics to others
  • Search for relevant messages
  • Subscribe to forums or topics
Your Privacy & Security -- The DIY Message Board OpenTopic™ application is hosted by Infopop at a secure facility. The information you provide during your participation in this community is only accessible to the group of members as the board administrator directs. Infopop itself does not access or redistribute your information or messages for any reason. If you have further questions, please read DIY's Privacy Policy before providing any personal information.

Registration -- DIY's Message Board community requires that you register, using a valid email address, before you can post messages, although you are able to read all messages without registering. Completing the user registration form will grant you access to read messages, start topics, and post replies.

Your Profile -- At any point, you can click on the 'My Space' tab and chose 'Profile' to change the information you provided at registration. This is useful if your e-mail address has changed, or you wish to change your login password, for example. Most of the profile information is visible to all members of the community to which you are registered, so don't enter any information you're uncomfortable with sharing. However, you have the choice to post your email address for public viewing. There are two separate fields for the registration email (required and hidden) and the displayed email address (optional).

How to Contact the Admin or Moderator -- We hope you enjoy your DIY community experience. If you encounter difficulties, you can first contact the forum moderator or administrator through the 'Webmaster' link at the bottom of the page.

Helpful Definitions The following is an overview of some of the most common terms used in the DIY Message Boards OpenTopic™ application interface.

Category: A group of forums that have been grouped and given a name. Categories are the 'organizers' of the Message Board application's top-level structure.

Board/Forum: An area created by the board administrator in which members can start conversations on various subjects (topics). You'll find a board/forum name and description that tell you what general subjects should be discussed in that area.

Topic: A conversational 'thread', with an initial message kicking off the conversation, followed by a series of replies. It's polite to make sure your new topic fits the subject area of the forum in which you're posting.

Message or Post: A piece of information you wish to share with the rest of the community. A new message can be the start of a new topic, or it can be a reply to an existing topic that someone else created. You have a chance to edit and/or delete your message within three hours, if you make a mistake.

Reply: A message posted in response to a topic started by another member.

FAQ: Frequently asked questions is a compilation of helpful answers to commonly asked questions about the OpenTopic™ application. If you get lost, the FAQ link is a good place to start looking for an answer.

Profile: This is your personal information, entered when you first registered for this community. You can modify this information at any time, by clicking on the My Space tab and choosing 'Profile' from the dropdown menu.

How Do I? These are some of the most commonly used features…

Post a New Topic/Post: Look for the button labeled 'New.' Click it or choose 'Topic' from the dropdown menu. Use the resulting screen to enter a topic title and message. You can also include a posting icon if you wish to convey a mood with your message. When you are finished, click 'Post Now' to complete the process. You will then be returned to your completed message.

Post a Poll: You can create a new topic that consists of a poll question and answers. Other members will be able to vote in your poll, and you'll see results generated automatically. Use the same method as above, except choose 'Poll' from the dropdown. And then enter a subject, a question and up to five possible responses. Click 'Post Now' to complete the process.

Post a Reply: Look for the tab or button labeled 'Reply.' Click it, and use the resulting screen to add your message. Your message will be appended to the end of the topic in which you clicked the 'post reply' button. To include a quote from the previous message, click the double quotes icon rather than the 'Reply' button. You will see a posting screen with the previous message already quoted for you.

Edit my Message: Click the little icon of the folder with the pencil to edit or delete a post. If it's your own message, you can use this icon for three hours from posting; if it's another member's post, only the author of the post and moderators/admins have permission to edit/delete.

View Recent Messages: Click on the My Space tab and choose 'What's New' to view latest posts for which you've requested notification.

Subscribe to a Forum or Topic: Use this tool to keep in touch with what's new in the community. You can request immediate email notification, daily or weekly email digests, or online notification in your My Space section.


What can I track using the Notification tool?
  • New Topics in a Forum—find out when a new topic has started.
  • Replies to Topics—track topic replies
What Delivery Options can I Request?—The options include:
  • My Profile—new posts since your last visit are updated online in My Profile section. After you visit the old posts will automatically be removed from the list so that you always have a fresh list of what's new.
  • Immediate Notification—email automatically sent to you when there is an update.
  • Daily Email Digest—a summary of all of your notifications sent once a day.
  • Weekly Email Digest—a summary of all of your notifications sent once a week.
Modify or Cancel a Notification Click on the My Profile tab. Go to 'Notifications' to view all of your current notification requests. Click the 'edit' link to change delivery options or delete the request entirely. You can also edit your preferences directly from the email you receive from the DIY Message Boards.

Add Members to my Contact List: Click this link if you wish to add a member to your contact list. This list is handy for composing invitation lists when you create private topics. To view your contact list, click this icon on any page.

Search for Information: The DIY Message Boards have a powerful search function to help you find what you need quickly. Click the 'Find' tab to search by keyword. Use can click the 'Advanced Search' link to search for forum, date or author name. Once you've narrowed the search, the database will return links to all results matching your query.

Print a Topic: Within any topic, you will see a tab labeled 'Tools.' Choose the 'Printer Friendly Format.' Click the icon to see a printer-friendly version of the topic. Use your browser's print button to send it to your printer. You may also 'Email a friend' from this menu.

Add an Emoticon (Graemlin) to my Message: When you click the 'New' or 'Reply' buttons, you enter the primary message screen. You'll see a colorful icon (smilie) on a tab. Click this icons to see all available. Click on the one you like to add automatic emoticons within your message. Note that the icon will appear at the end of any text you have typed in the box. The icon will appear as typeface within this screen, but will be converted to the graphic icon once the message appears on the board. (These emoticons are called 'Graemlins' in tribute to the person who first suggested them as a feature.)

Add Formatting to my Message: When you click the 'New' or 'Reply' buttons, you enter the primary message screen. You'll see a series of buttons across the top of the message field that allows bold, italic, quotes, etc. UBBCode™ is a simplified form of HTML that allows you to format your message with basic options, such as bold, italics, or including an image. Click these buttons to add the option you desire. Like Instant Graemlins, Instant UBBCode™ is inserted at the end of any text you have already typed. You'll notice that the code inside your message box resembles raw HTML code; it is converted when you click 'Post Now'. To add an image, click on the tab with the paperclip on it. You'll be given the ability to search your computer for the under 100k-sized image that you want to add.

Include a Signature with my Message: Whenever you post a new topic or a reply, you have the opportunity to include a standard signature. If you check the 'show signature' box, your signature will be appended to your message. Your signature is part of the information included in your Profile, which you can change at any time by clicking the My Space link.

Create a Private Topic: Click the My Space link, and then choose 'Private Topics.' Click the 'Post New Topic' button, and you will see a screen to select other members to invite into your topic. Only those people you invite will be able to see or participate in your Private Topic; you can remove any member from the Private Topic at any time. Use the 'Add' and 'Remove' buttons to create your invitation list from your Contacts list, and then click 'Invite These Members.' Next, confirm your participants. Create a subject and message for the Private Topic, and click 'Post Private Topic Now.' Your invitees will receive an email invitation to participate. To see your open Private Topics, you can either use the My Space link to access the Private Topics tab, or you can use the Notification feature to have new responses emailed to you.

Attach an Image: All message boards allow registered users to attach images to their posts. Just click on the tab with the paperclip icon on it. You'll be given a window to search your hard drive for the image to attach. It is limited to a 100kb size.