| Login and registration issues |
Why can't I login?
Have you registered? You must register in order to login. Have you left the authority? If so, the main administrator of your old authority will have marked you as left and you will not be able to login. If you have registered, have not left the authority and you still cannot login then check and double check your username and password. Usually this is the problem - if not, then contact esd support.
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Why do I need to register at all?
Registration allows us to work out which forums you can see from your e-mail address - there are more forums available to local authority users and those who are registered with esd-suppliers. The registration process also helps avoid abuse of the forums.
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Why do I get logged off automatically?
For security reasons, if you have not visited a page in the last hour you will need to log in again.
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I've lost my password!
Don't panic! Visit the forgotten password page to have your password sent to you. If you do not receive your password after a few minutes contact esd support.
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I registered in the past, but cannot login anymore!
Have you left the authority? If so, the main administrator of your old authority will have marked you as left and you will not be able to login. If you have not left the authority and you still cannot login then check and double check your username and password. Usually this is the problem - if not, then contact esd support.
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| User preferences and settings |
How do I change my settings?
To alter your settings click the My Profile link (generally shown at the top of pages but this may not be the case). This will allow you to change all your settings
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How do I add or remove forums?
Go to the link at the top of the screen to My Profile - this will open a page which has the "Forum preferences" tab selected and will list all the forums. Next to each of the forums will be three checkboxes. Selecting the first checkbox will allow you to view the forum on that row, once "Update forum preferences" has been clicked.
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Have an interest in a forum?
Go to the link at the top of the screen to My Profile - this will open a page which has the "Forum preferences" tab selected and will list all the forums. Next to each of the forums will be three checkboxes. Selecting the second checkbox (only available once the first has been selected) will allow you to receive mailings regarding useful information related to the forum.
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Wish to receive new post notifications for a forum?
You can receive e-mail alerts whenever a new post is made in a forum. Go to the link at the top of the screen to My Profile - this will open a page which has the "Forum preferences" tab selected and will list all the forums. Find the forum, or forums, which you wish to receive updates from, and select the "Watch" on the row next to that forum. You will need to have selected that you wish to join the forum and have an interest in it (the first two checkboxes) before you will be able to watch it. It is worth ensuring that the e-mail address support@esd.org.uk is allowed by your spam filter, as occasionally these automated mails are blocked from reaching the receipients.
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Which forum should I use?
All forums have a short description which can be seen by either viewing the index page in the forums, or hovering your cursor over the relevant light bulb on the My Profile page. If you are still unsure, post in the forum which you think best suits the query - it can always be moved later.
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| Posting issues |
How do I make a new thread?
Visit the forum in question, and click the "new topic" button which is at the top left and bottom left of the list of topics. When a new topic is posted, it will be at the top of the list of topics, apart from any "Sticky" or "Announcement" posts which always stay at the top.
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How do I reply to a post?
Visit the topic in which you wish to reply and click the "post reply" button. After posting your reply will be added to the end of the topic.
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How do I make a reply which quotes another message?
Find the message which you wish to quote from. At the top right of the message will be a "quote" button. Click this and the screen will load, with text already in the message body. It will start with [quote="[UserEmail]xxx[/UserEmail]"] (where xxx is a number) and will end with [/quote]. The text in the middle of this is the quotation and can be edited as seen fit (for example if only replying to a certain part of the post it is best to only include the relevant sentence or sentences).
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How do I edit a post?
You can edit a post by clicking the "edit" button for the relevant post. If someone has already replied to the post you will find a small piece of text output below the post when you return to the topic, this lists the number of times you edited it - this will only appear if someone has replied.
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How do I add an attachment?
First choose how to post your message (either new topic, a reply or a reply with a quotation - see the FAQ items above for how to do this). Not all topics allow attachments, but if they do then the items shown in the image above will be shown on the message screen. First select the "Browse" button and find the file which you wish to attach. Then add any comments regarding the file you wish to add (this does not need to be completed). Then select the "Add Attachment" button to add the attachment to the post.
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How do I delete an attachment?
To delete attachments you will need to edit your post and click on the "Delete Attachment" next to the attachment you want to delete in the "Posted Attachments" box. The attachment will be deleted when you click "Submit" to add the edited post.
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Why am I not able to post a message?
You should be able to post messages in all forums except the "Development and Support News". If you are not able to post in a forum, please e-mail esd support.
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Who do I contact about abusive and/or legal matters related to this board?
You should contact esd support about any matters regarding to legal or abusive posts. All users sign up to a Discussion Forum Policy which must be adhered to.
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| Formatting and topic types |
What is BBCode?
BBCode is a special implementation of HTML. BBCode itself 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 information on BBCode see the guide which can be accessed from the posting page.
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Can I use HTML?
For security reasons only certain tags work. If you feel you need to use HTML which is not available, contact esd support.
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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, they can quickly render a post unreadable and a moderator may decide to edit them out or remove the post altogether
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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 images stored behind authentication mechanisms, for example Hotmail or Yahoo mailboxes, password protected sites, etc. To display the image use either the BBCode [img] tag or appropriate HTML.
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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. Whether or not you can post an announcement depends on the permissions required, these are set by the administrator.
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What are sticky topics?
Sticky topics appear below any announcements in the forum view and only on the first page. They are often quite important so you should read them where possible. As with announcements the board administrator determines what permissions are required to post sticky topics in each forum.
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What are locked topics?
Locked topics are set this way by either the forum moderator or board administrator. You cannot reply to locked topics and any poll it contained is automatically ended. Topics may be locked for many reasons.
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| User levels and groups |
What are administrators?
The esd support team are the administrators for the entire board. They can control all facets of board operation which includes setting permissions, banning users, creating usergroups or moderators, etc. They also have full moderator capabilities in all the forums.
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What are moderators?
Moderators are individuals (or groups of individuals) whose job it is to look after the running of the forums from day to day. They have the power to edit or delete posts and lock, unlock, move, delete and split topics in the forum they moderate. Moderators are there to provide guidance on the subject of the forum, prevent people going off-topic or posting abusive or offensive material.
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| Other issues |
I have a problem not covered above - can you help?
If you have any other problems, please e-mail esd support.
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Who wrote this bulletin board?
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