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CNET Forums FAQ

Welcome to the CNET Forums! We are proud to present these message boards for you to ask and answer questions and to voice your opinion on today's important high-tech issues. We have put together this list of frequently asked questions to help you use these forums to their fullest potential. Happy posting and enjoy!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Registration

1. Register to join
2. Logging in

Navigation help and tips for using the CNET forums

1. Moving from one forum to another
2. Moving between messages
3. Getting back to the Main List while reading a message
4. Referring to another message in your comment
5. Adding a new message
6. Adding a reply to another member's message
7. Adding an emoticon to your message
8. Alerting our moderators of an offensive message
9. Subscribing to a discussion topic
10. Tracking what I have and haven't read in the forums
11. Editing my forum profile

Maximum thread layers

1. How many layers deep can I post comments?

Deleting Posts

1. Can I delete or edit my discussion postings?

Using HTML codes

1. Can I use HTML codes in my discussion postings?

Who's who?

1. What is the red M next to some members' names?
2. What is the icon next to some members' names?

What is the red New! message about?

1. What is the New! next to a post?

What is the icon next to a thread about?

1. What is the icon next to a thread?

What does (NT) stand for?

1. What does the (NT) stand for next to some of the subject lines?

How do I get to know more about the members who have posted in the forums?

1. Member profile

How can I contact a forum member directly without posting a message in the forums?

1. Contacting a member a member directly

Tips/Tricks by the veterans

1. Adding a new message pertaining to computer help
2. Using a text editor for long comments

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Registration

1. Register to join
2. Logging in

1. How to register

Membership is free. You are welcome to browse the boards as a guest. To post a message or start a discussion of your own, you must complete a one-time registration. To register, simply click on the "Join now" link located on the left hand navigation bar under the "Member login" tab and fill out the necessary information required. For security purposes, we require e-mail confirmation of your registration. Please provide a valid e-mail address that you can check immediately. When you register, you must choose a unique username or "handle" and you must provide a unique and valid email address. Duplicate usernames and email addresses are not allowed, so if the name or address you enter is already in use, you will be prompted to choose another one. Once your e-mail address has been confirmed, you are ready to participate.

Your registered e-mail address will never be visible to other forum members, though your e-mail address will be visible only to the forum administrators and moderators in case they need to contact you for any reason. Those who are in read-only mode will see a "Login" link at the left hand navigation bar of the forum page, which will disappear once you have logged in.

2. Logging in

Each time you enter the forums, you are viewing messages in "read-only" mode. To log in, simply click on the "Login" link located on the left hand navigation bar. Enter your registered e-mail address and password and the click on the "Login" button. That's it! At anytime, you can choose to log out by clicking on the "Log out" link.

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Navigation help and tips for using the CNET forum

1. Moving from one forum to another
2. Moving between messages
3. Getting back to the Main List while reading a message
4. Referring to another message in your comment
5. Adding a new message
6. Adding a reply to another member's message
7. Adding an emoticon to your message
8. Alerting our moderators of an offensive message
9. Subscribing to a discussion
10. Tracking what I have and haven't read in the forums
11. Editing my forum profile
1. Moving from one forum to another

Once you're in a forum, you can move among forums by clicking on the "Back to: CNET forums" link, which is located near the top of browser just above the forum name header. This link will take you to the list of all the forums.

2. Moving between messages

To move between messages, you may use:

The Main Thread List
The Main thread list will display all the current messages in a Collapsed View (Collapsed View will show the very first message in a Thread). When using this method to move between messages, you need only to scroll through the message titles, clicking on the ones you wish to read.

Next/Previous Links
While reading a message, you may click on the Previous message or Next message links to either take you to the next/previous message. The Next/Previous links are located above and below the message you are currently reading.

*Tip - Right click on each message you wish to read (or click and hold on a Mac), and choose "Open in New Window." Once you are done reading the new message, you can simply close the new window, leaving the main tree list as you left it. Or you can click and drag other message links from the main forum page into the new window to view them in the target window.

Mini Tree
Below each message you are currently reading is a Mini Tree, which contains the entire thread in an expanded view. You may hop between messages by just clicking on the next one you wish to read. A bolded-out subject line with no hyperlinks indicates which message you are currently viewing in that thread.

3. Getting back to the Main List while reading a message

To get back to the Main thread list while reading a message, use the "Back to: ***** Forum" link, which is located on the left-hand side, above the message you are currently reading. Or to return back to main forums list page, click on "Back to: CNET forums" which is directly next to the "Back to: ***** Forum" link.

4. Referring to another message in your comment

When referring in your comment to another message that is located in the forums there are two things that you can do: One is to copy the entire URL including the "http://" and simply paste it into the content of the message. Iurl t will automatically make the URL an active link. Or you can you use this BBS code to make any URL active: [url]URL link here[/url]. All links will open in a new browser window. "A HREF" HTML tags will not work in these forums. For more text stylizer and URL hyperlinking BBS codes please click here.

5. Adding a new message

To add a new message to a forum board, click on the "Create new discussion" button, which is located under the forum name header. You will then be presented with a window in which you can add your subject (what your question or comment is about), and a box in which to type your comment.

When you are ready to submit your comment, scroll to the bottom of this window, and click on the "Preview" button. You will now be presented with your comment. You can either chose to "Edit" or "Submit."

If you are not satisfied with the way your comment appears, click on the "Edit" button, to correct anything you wish to change.

At any point during the process of composing your comment, if you change your mind about posting a comment, click on the "Cancel" button, and your comment will not be posted. You will be taken back to where you had left off before initiating the post.

If you are satisfied with the way your message appears, click on the "Submit" button. You will be taken to a confirmation page, indicating that your message has been submitted to the forum for public viewing. On the confirmation page, you will be presented with four links: "Return to Discussion," which will take you back to the thread you've just contributed to; "Bookmark your submission," which will let you add your submission to your browser bookmarks; "Read more posts," which will take you back to the forum you just posted in; and "Update your profile," so you can share a little bit about yourself with the CNET Community.

*Note: In order to post a message, you must enter a "Subject Title". Without a subject title the system will not let you continue with a post and will loop you back to the submission page asking you fill out the subject title.

If you choose not to fill in the "Message Body" the system will automatically add the text "NT" (which means "No Text") next to your subject title. "NT" will indicate to your readers that you only filled out the subject line with no text in the body following it.

6. Adding a reply to another member's message

Replying to another member's message is very similar to adding a new message, except that this time it is replying to another member's post.

To add a reply to another member's message that you are currently reading, click on the "Reply to this message" button, which is located on the left-hand side below the message you are currently reading.

Once you have clicked on the "Reply to this message" button, you will be presented with a window in which you can add a subject title to correspond with your response and a box in which to type your comment. Note that the message you are replying to will be displayed below the comment box so that you can reference its contents and cut-and-paste some or all of it into your message.

When you are ready to submit your comment, scroll to the bottom of the "Message body" window, and click on the "Preview" button. You will now be presented with your comment. You can either chose to "Edit" or "Submit".

If you are not satisfied with the way your comment appears, click on the "Edit" button, to correct anything you wish to change.

At any point during the process of replying to a member's message, if you change your mind about posting a comment, click on "Cancel," and your comment will not be posted. You will be taken back to where you left off before initiating the post.

If you are satisfied with the way your message appears, click on the "Submit" button. You will be taken to a confirmation page, indicating that your message has been submitted to the forum for public viewing. On the confirmation page, you will be presented with four links: "Return to Discussion," which will take you back to the thread you've just contributed to; "Bookmark your submission," which will let you add your submission to your browser bookmarks; "Read more posts," which will take you back to the forum you just posted in; and "Update your profile," so you can share a little bit about yourself with the CNET Community.

*Note: In order to post a message, you must enter a "Subject Title". Without a subject title the system will not let you continue with a post and will loop you back to the submission page asking you fill out the subject title.

If you choose not to fill in the "Message Body" the system will automatically add the text "NT" (which means "No Text") next to your subject title. "NT" will indicate to your readers that you only filled out the subject line with no text in the body following it.

*Hints: If you add a reply to somebody else's thread, quote the individual's message to which you are specifically replying, and place that person's name in the Subject line. Otherwise, the person may not know your comments are addressing him/her and may not read it.

7. Adding an emoticon to your message

The following emoticons may be added to any part of your message. To have an emoticon appear in the body of your message, type the keystrokes directly into your message. The following table illustrates what keystrokes are required to produce a particular emoticon, and what it means.



Meaning	Keystroke	Emoticon
Happy	:) or :-)
Sad	:( or :-(
Grin	:D
Love	:x
Mischief	;\
Cool	B-)
Devil	]:)
Silly	:p
Angry	X-(
Laugh	:^O
Wink	;) or ;-)
Blush	:8}
Cry	:_|
Confused	?:|
Shocked	:O
Plain	:|



8. Alerting our moderators of an offensive message

If you read a particular message in the forums that contains spam or other offensive content which violates our usage policy, we encourage you to notify our moderators by clicking the Report offensive post link below the message. You will be prompted to notify the moderator by simply clicking on the "Submit" button (there is no need to enter a comment). If you wish to make a comment about this message to the moderator, feel free to enter something into the comment field. Our moderators will be notified of the message and act accordingly.

9. Subscribing to a discussion topic

How can I receive a notice that there is activity on a discussion?
It is easy to be notified of activities on a particular discussion topic. Follow these steps to subscribe to a discussion topic:

Click on the discussion topic you are interested in. When viewing the posting, click on the "Track this discussion" button directly beneath the discussion posting. We'll send you periodic e-mail updates about new activity on your subscriptions. If you are currently already subscribed to a discussion, a "Tracked" button will appear in place of the "Track this discussion" button.

How can I review which discussions I am subscribed to?
Click on the My tracked discussions link in the left-hand column below the Forum Information heading. The "My tracked discussions" page contains a list of all the discussions to which you are subscribed.

How can I unsubscribe from a discussion?
To unsubscribe from a discussion, click on the My tracked discussions link in the left-hand column below the Forum Information heading. The "My tracked discussions" page contains a list of all the discussions to which you are subscribed to. Check the boxes next to the discussion thread(s) that you do not want to participate in and click on the "Unsubscribe" button.

10. Tracking what I have and haven't read in the forums

Read tracking lets you know what discussions/posts you have read and not yet read. In order for the read tracking feature to work, you must be logged into the forums for it to take effect. Once you have logged in, at-a-glance, you will be able you differentiate which messages/discussions have been read and unread by you through the use of different icon indicators.

Read tracking on the Forum Page (e.g. Windows XP forum): On the forum page you will be presented with 3 different icons (arrow in yellow ball, arrow in gray ball, or red ball), each located next to the discussion's subject line. Depending on the icon, it will indicate to you whether that particular discussion has been read or unread. The different icons are defined as follows:

    (arrow in yellow ball) Indicates that this entire discussion has never been read
    (arrow in gray ball) Indicates that this discussion has been read
    (red circle) Indicates that this discussion has been updated with new messages.

Once you have opened a discussion marked with a yellow ball ( ), whether you have read through the discussion in its entirety or not, it will be marked with a gray ball ( ) indicating that you have read the discussion. Only in the discussion tree (explained below) will you be able to tell which messages you have read or not read. However, if someone posts a new message to that discussion, it will be marked with a red circle ( ) to indicate that a new message is present in that discussion.

Read tracking within a discussion thread: On the discussion thread page, you will be presented with 2 different icons (a yellow ball and a gray ball, both with an arrow inside). These icons will be present next to the subject lines in the discussion tree to indicate whether that particular message has been read or unread. The different colors are defined as follows:

    (arrow in yellow ball) Indicates that this message has never been read
    (arrow in gray ball) Indicates that this message has been read

Once you have clicked a message indicated with a yellow ball ( ) and proceed to navigate on to the another message, that previous message icon will turn gray ( )ARROW IN GRAY BALL, indicating that it has been read.

Additonal navigation through Unread messages: For ease of reading through unread messages within a threaded discussion, we have added an additional navigation button, Next unread message, which will allow you to navigate through only the messages that you haven't read. This feature will only be available if you are logged in.

11. Editing/updating my forum profile

To edit your forum profile you must first log in. Once you have logged in, on any given forum page, on the left hand column click on the "Edit profile" link located below the CNET FORUMS heading. Once you've click on the link, you will be presented with your profile page in which you can edit any of the profile fields provided. Once you have completed updating/editing your profile, click on the Update my profile button located at the bottom of the page. You will then be taken to your profile page.

(Note: Please exercise your best judgment when revealing personal information about yourself when filling out your profile. You are responsible for the content provided on your profile page. All forum usage policies and CNET Network's Terms of Use will be applied to your profile page.)

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Maximum thread layers

1. How many layers deep can I post comments?
1. How many layers deep can I post comments?

When you are trying to reply to another person's post, you may receive the note: "Due to the depth of this discussion thread, no additional replies can be accepted. If you have comments to make, please reply to the original post at the beginning of this thread." This means that you have reached the maximun layers of threads allowed. The forum discussion thread technology is limited to 12 layers beyond the original post. If you get involved in a discussion that reaches that limit, you can just post a new second-level reply to the main discussion thread to continue your conversation.

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Deleting Posts

1. Can I delete or edit my discussion posting?
1. Can I delete or edit my discussion posting?

No, once the discussion is posted, it cannot be edited or deleted by the member. If you have a posting that you wish to have removed from the site all together, please use the Report offensive post link and give an explanation of why you would like your post removed. Note: When you are requesting a removal of your own post, please make sure that you are logged in so that we can confirm that you are in fact the owner of the post. Removal request will not be considered if you are not logged in.

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Using HTML codes

1. Can I use HTML codes in my discussion postings?
1. Can I use HTML codes in my discussion postings?

Unfortunately the answer is "no". We recently had to disable the use of HTML codes in forums. It was discovered that allowing HTML codes in the forums can pose a great threat to our forums and our users. We apologize for this. We will find ways around the system to offer you the use of HTML codes in the future without these risk factors involved. For now, here are a few BBS codes that are available for use:



Styling	Codes	Will appear as
Bold fonts	[b]your text here[/b]	your text here
Italic fonts	[i]your text here[/i]	your text here
Underline fonts	[u]your text here[/u]	your text here
Hyperlinking text	[url=http://www.help.com]your text here[/url]	your text here



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Who's who?

1. What is the M next to some members' names?
2. What is the next to some members' names?
1. What is the red M next to some members' names?

The M designates the Moderator(s) of each specific board. A Moderator is a person who oversees a particular message board. This is the person who answers questions from members, ensures that everyone is adhering to our polices and standards, and basically serves as the main contact point for members of each specific board.

2. What is the icon next to some members' names?

The icon designates a CNET Editor/employee. From time to time, you will see editors or writers from our channels that will start threads, linking them to a column or article for discussion. So join in the fun and discuss.

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What's the red New! message about?

1. What is the red New! next to a post?
1. What is the New! next to a post?

The New! text next to a posted message indicates a new message that has been submitted within the last 12 hours. The New! text is automated and will expire after a 12 hour period from the time the submission was made.

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What is the icon next to a thread about?

1. What is the icon next to a thread about?
1. What is the icon next to a thread about?

The icon next to a thread indicates that this discussion has been locked by our forum moderator or administrator and no further post or replies will be allowed.

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What does (NT) stand for?

1. What does the (NT) stand for next to some of the subject lines?
1. What does the (NT) stand for next to some of the subject lines?

The text (NT) stands for "No Text". The (NT) next to some of the subject lines are indicators to let you know that those post have no content in the message body other than the subject line.

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How do I get to know more about the members who have posted in the forums?

1. Member profile
1. Member profile

In any given threaded discussion, each member's username is hyperlinked to his profile page. Simply click on a hyperlinked username to display what the member has opted in to reveal about himself.

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How can I contact a forum member directly without posting a message in the forums?

1. Contacting a member directly
1. Contacting a member directly

At any time, you may contact a member of the forums directly via email. However you must be a registered member of the forums and logged in to do so.

To send a message directly to a forum member, click on the member's hyperlinked username (which only appears in the threaded tree of a discussion, or when reading one's post). Once you have clicked on the username you will be presented with the member's profile page. On this page you will find an "Email this member" button which will initiate a form for you to fill out. However, if the button is unavailable on their profile page, the member has opted not to receive any emails from other community members and you will not be able to contact them. Once you have fill out the form as desired, click on the Submit button. You will be brought to a confirmation page notifying you that your message was sent. Note: The emails sent to other members using this feature will not disclose any personal identifiable information of yours, except for your forum username. Please exercise judgment when revealing personal information about yourself when you send a message.

Also note that all forum policies apply to emails sent to members. Offensive content, harassment, etc& WILL NOT be tolerated and users will be subject to termination of service if policies are disregarded. Our policy specifically states:

CNET Networks members are not permitted to harass or "flame" other members. Please do not post or transmit any unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, profane, hateful, racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable material of any kind, including, but not limited to, any material which encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, violate the rights of others, or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, national or international law.

For further inquires please refer to our Forum usage policies and CNET Networks's Term of Use.

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Tips and Tricks

In this section you will find Tips and Tricks on using the message boards, from the veterans of our boards. If you have a tip or trick you'd like to submit, please e-mail it to Lee Koo.


1. Adding a new message pertaining to computer help
2. Using a text editor for long comments
1. Adding a new message pertaining to computer help

When adding a new message that pertains to a computer related problem you are experiencing, always include the OS used on your computer and the program/application name and where/when the error occurs.

Submitted by Bill Gaston

2. Using a text editor for long comments

If you plan to write a fairly long message, compose it in Word Pad or SimpleText first, saving periodically, then cut and paste into the forum editor. That way you won't lose all your work in case of a dropped connection, or system crash on either end.

Submitted by Dave Konkel

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