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| PBS Discussions Discussion Forums on pbs.org
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Log in| PBS Discussions Forum Index |
| Login and Registration Issues |
| Why can't I log in? Have you registered? Seriously, you must register in order to log in. Have you been banned from posting on the board? (A message will be displayed if you have.) If so, you should contact the moderator to find out why. If you have registered and are not banned, and you still cannot log in, then check and double-check the spelling of your username and password. Usually this is the problem; if not, contact the board moderator. Back to top |
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| Why do I need to register at all? You do not need to register in order to read the messages, but you must register in order to post or reply to a message, or to vote in a poll. It only takes a few minutes to register, so it is recommended that you do so. Back to top |
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| Why do I get logged off automatically? If you do not check the "Log me in automatically" box when you log in, the board will only keep you logged in for 30 minutes at a time. This prevents misuse of your account by anyone else if you access the board from a shared computer, e.g. library, internet cafe, university cluster, etc. Back to top |
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| I've lost my password! Don't panic! While your password cannot be retrieved it can be reset. To do this go to the login page and click I've forgotten my password. Follow the instructions and you should be back online in no time. Back to top |
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| I registered for the old board. Can I still use my old username? If you registered on the old board, your username is still in the database. If you forgot the password associated with that username, please click on the I've forgotten my password link on the login page to reset your password. You will need your old username and the e-mail address you used to register on the old board. Back to top |
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| I registered but cannot log in! When you registered, you were sent an e-mail at the e-mail address you registered. Please check for an e-mail from discussions@pbs.org, and follow the instructions to activate your account. If you did not receive the email, then check that your email address was entered correctly. If you are sure the email address you used is valid, or if you didn't receive an activation e-mail, then please contact the board administrator. Back to top |
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| User Preferences and settings |
| How do I change my settings? All your settings (if you are registered) are stored in the database. To alter them click the Profile link. This will allow you to change all your settings. Back to top |
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| The times are not correct! This board displays Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) by default. You can change your timezone setting in your Profile to match your particular area, e.g. Eastern (GMT -4), Central (GMT -5), Mountain (GMT -6) + Pacific (GMT -7), etc. Please note that changing the timezone, like most settings, can only be done by registered users. A useful site for looking up your local time in relation to GMT is http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/. Back to top |
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| Another user is being abusive. What can I do? You can choose to ignore users whose messages you don't wish to read. To do this, click the "Ignore" button which is at the top right of the message. To stop ignoring a user, click on Ignore List at the top of each page, and then click the "Delete" button by the user's name. Back to top |
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| Posting Issues |
| How do I post a topic in a forum? You will need to register before you can post a message. Click the "New Topic" button on either the forum or topic screens. The facilities available to you are listed at the bottom of the forum and topic screens (the You can post new topics, You can vote in polls, etc. list). Back to top |
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| How do I edit or delete a post? You can only edit or delete your own posts. You can edit a post (for only the first five minutes after it was made) by clicking the "Edit" button for the relevant post. If someone has already replied to the post, you will see a small piece of text below the post when you return to the topic that lists when and how many times you edited it. This will not appear if no one has replied; it also will not appear if moderators or administrators edited the post. Please note that you cannot delete a post once someone has replied to it. Back to top |
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| How do I add a signature to my post? To add a signature to a post you must first create one; this is done via your profile. Once created, you can check the "Add Signature" box on the posting form to add your signature. You can also add a signature by default to all your posts by checking the "Always attach my signature" option in your profile. You can still prevent a signature being added to your individual posts by un-checking the "Add Signature" box on the posting form. Please note that board moderators and administrators may block your signature from appearing if it is deemed offensive. Back to top |
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| How do I create a poll? Only administrators and moderators can create polls. Back to top |
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| Why can't I vote in polls? You need to register and/or log in before you can vote in a poll. Only registered users can vote in polls so as to prevent spoofing of results. Back to top |
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| Formatting and Topic Types |
| What is BBCode? BBCode is a special implementation of HTML. BBCode is similar in style to HTML: tags are enclosed in square braces [ and ] rather than < and > and it offers greater control over what and how something is displayed. For more detailed information about using BBCode, see the guide which can be accessed from the posting page. Back to top |
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| Can I use HTML? No. This is to prevent rogue users from adding malicious code to their posts. Back to top |
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| What are Smileys? Smileys, or Emoticons, are small graphical images which can be used to express some feeling using a short code, e.g. :) means happy, :( means sad. The full list of emoticons can be seen via the posting form. Try not to overuse smileys, though, as they can quickly render a post unreadable and a moderator may decide to edit them out or remove the post altogether. Back to top |
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| Can I post Images? Images can indeed be shown in your posts. However, there is no facility at present for uploading images directly to this board. Therefore you must link to an image stored on a publicly accessible web server, e.g. http://www.some-unknown-place.net/my-picture.gif. You cannot link to pictures stored on your own PC (unless it is a publicly accessible server) nor to images stored behind authentication mechanisms such as Hotmail or Yahoo mailboxes, password-protected sites, etc. To display the image, use the BBCode [img] tag. Back to top |
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| What are Announcements? Announcements often contain important information and you should read them as soon as possible. Announcements appear at the top of every page in the forum to which they are posted. Only moderators or administrators may post Announcements. Back to top |
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| What are Sticky topics? Sticky topics are often quite important so you should read them whenever possible. Sticky topics will appear only on the first page of a forum, and below any announcements. As with announcements, only moderators or administrators may post sticky topics in each forum. Back to top |
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| What are Locked topics? Locked topics are set this way by either the forum moderator or board administrator, who will post a reason why the topic has been locked. You may read a locked topic, but you cannot reply, and any poll contained inside is automatically ended. Back to top |
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| Other Issues |
| I have received a spamming or abusive email from someone on this board! We are sorry to hear that. The email form feature of this board includes safeguards to try to track users who send such posts. You should email the board moderator with a full copy of the email you received - it is very important this include the headers (these list details of the user that sent the email). They can then take action. Back to top |
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| phpBB 2 Issues |
| Who wrote this bulletin board? This software (in its unmodified form) is produced, released and is copyrighted phpBB Group. It is made available under the GNU General Public License and may be freely distributed; see link for more details Back to top |
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| Why isn't X feature available? This software was written by and licensed through phpBB Group. If you believe a feature needs to be added then please visit the phpbb.com website and see what the phpBB Group has to say. Please do not post feature requests to the board at phpbb.com, as the Group uses sourceforge to handle tasking of new features. Please read through the forums and see what, if any, our position may already be for features and then follow the procedure given there. Back to top |
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| Whom do I contact about abusive and/or legal matters related to this board? You should contact the moderator of the forum where the issue has arisen. This information can be found directly below the title of the forum. Please note that phpBB Group has absolutely no control and cannot in any way be held liable over how, where or by whom this board is used. It is absolutely pointless contacting phpBB Group in relation to any legal (cease and desist, liable, defamatory comment, etc.) matter not directly related to the phpbb.com website or the discrete software of phpBB itself. If you do email phpBB Group about any third party use of this software, then you should expect a terse response or no response at all. Back to top |
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