How to make Stafford Forum easier for newbies?

[Withnail]

As a bit of a newbie;
I didnt know what an avatar was, never mind how to display one.[/qoute]
Says a 'newbie' with one.

I also dont know how to quote people.

Bottom right - Reply - remember you can delete the bits you don't wish to 'reply' to

I never click on anything which says "more options" in case i break something. (does it show I dont have much computer experience?)

I have absolutely no idea how a four-stroke engine works, however i am reasonably competent behind the steering wheel of a car.

on the upside I was able to post comments, open new threads and search items, which is about as much as i need to know so far.

Come on in, the metaphorical water is fine.

 

[Withnail]

Although you might have to live your life in italics.

Personally i'd say that that was a small price to pay.

 

[peggy]

didnt, do now!

 

[peggy]

lmao, thought i had managed to quote you!made my bum wiggle look unnecessary, towel thrown in, head down. Anyway I like italics.

 

[Gramaisc]

I didnt know what an avatar was, never mind how to display one.

You do now.

I also dont know how to quote people.

To quote people, click 'Reply' in the post that you want to quote - it will then appear in the reply box and you can reduce it to just the bit that you want, if it 's not all directly relevant, by deleting things.

If you want to insert another quote, then put the cursor where you want it to be and click 'Reply' in that post.

 

[proactive]

I never click on anything which says "more options" incase i break something.

As with 99% of technology related things, there's little harm you can do that can't be solved by either closing down your browser and reopening it, or by restarting your computer.

Unless you take it apart with a screwdriver and mess with the internals, of course

 

[Admin]

I just found the coffee break style

Ah, you spotted that, eh?

It's a work in progress (as I'm sure you can tell), hence me not mentioning it.

As a bit of a newbie;
I didnt know what an avatar was, never mind how to display one.

A lot of forum newbies aren't familiar with the term "avatar", so you're not alone! I tried to make this one as painless as possible, by displaying the following notice to everyone until they set an avatar:

{username}, why not give yourself an Avatar? An avatar is the little picture that appears next to your name every time you make a post. Personalise your messages by setting an avatar here: Click here to set your Avatar picture. This notice will disappear as soon as you have set one! ​

If anyone has suggestions for alternative wording to make it clearer, by all means please let me know.

 

[Glam]

A lot of forum newbies aren't familiar with the term "avatar", so you're not alone! I tried to make this one as painless as possible, by displaying the following notice to everyone until they set an avatar:

{username}, why not give yourself an Avatar? An avatar is the little picture that appears next to your name every time you make a post. Personalise your messages by setting an avatar here: Click here to set your Avatar picture. This notice will disappear as soon as you have set one! ​

If anyone has suggestions for alternative wording to make it clearer, by all means please let me know.

PLEASE don't alter anything, I have enough problems as it is. Thank you x

 

[Jonah]

Edited to this as the answer I gave has already been given.​

​

Note to self: read the whole thread before replying ​

 

[Withnail]

...thought i had managed to quote you!

How odd - i had an 'alert' to say that you had quoted me but you appear not to have.

Which reminds me to say that quoting (or 'replying' to) someone has the advantage that it will generate an 'alert' - assuming the someone in question hasn't noodled about with their settings too much. This is useful if it is something you wish them to 'reply' to in turn, as it makes it more likely they will see what you have said.

 

[peggy]

How odd - i had an 'alert' to say that you had quoted me but you appear not to have.

Which reminds me to say that quoting (or 'replying' to) someone has the advantage that it will generate an 'alert' - assuming the someone in question hasn't noodled about with their settings too much. This is useful if it is something you wish them to 'reply' to in turn, as it makes it more likely they will see what you have said.

 

[db]

i don't think i will ever get tired of seeing that banana dance lol

 

[Ecker]

Very good point, and one that I am constantly aware of.
If anyone has any suggestions for how we can make life easier for newbies, and encourage them to register & get stuck in, please let me know in this thread.
If there are any specific questions about The Forum, please feel free to ask them in here as well. I will then answer them all in a "What is Stafford Forum all about?" style thread, which I will make a sticky, and point newbies in the direction of as soon as they sign-up.

I would be only too happy to help with this perhaps by producing Quicktime movies showing how to accomplish something. An area which
springs to mind is: "Adding an image to a message". I was unaware of how to do this because the option was not displayed because there wasn't enough screen space to display it...totally understandable but not obvious to someone who does not know.

If I can be of any help, please don't hesitate to contact me...Cheers!!....Ecker

 

[Admin]

I would be only too happy to help with this perhaps by producing Quicktime movies showing how to accomplish something. An area which
springs to mind is: "Adding an image to a message". I was unaware of how to do this because the option was not displayed because there wasn't enough screen space to display it...totally understandable but not obvious to someone who does not know.

If I can be of any help, please don't hesitate to contact me...Cheers!!....Ecker

That would be fantastic! I wouldn't even know how to make a start, but if you're au fait with such things and want to produce something, by all means go ahead.

As John Marwood hinted at earlier in the thread, I am working on a new style, so you might want to wait until that is unveiled, otherwise your instructional videos won't match the default Forum skin.

For those of you who don't like change: Don't worry, it's just a re-colour of the existing style, in a less brash, more laid back colour scheme. All the functionality will remain the same (i.e. buttons in the same place, etc.), but everything will be less white! And even if you don't like it, this one you're using right now will remain as an option, and be supported in tandem with the new one (since, as I say, they're essentially the same style just with different colours).

 

[Ecker]

That would be fantastic! I wouldn't even know how to make a start, but if you're au fait with such things and want to produce something, by all means go ahead.

As John Marwood hinted at earlier in the thread, I am working on a new style, so you might want to wait until that is unveiled, otherwise your instructional videos won't match the default Forum skin.

For those of you who don't like change: Don't worry, it's just a re-colour of the existing style, in a less brash, more laid back colour scheme. All the functionality will remain the same (i.e. buttons in the same place, etc.), but everything will be less white! And even if you don't like it, this one you're using right now will remain as an option, and be supported in tandem with the new one (since, as I say, they're essentially the same style just with different colours).

I am working on the story board now, would someone please tell
me the maximum size allowed for an uploaded file. Cheers...Ecker

 

[Admin]

I am working on the story board now, would someone please tell
me the maximum size allowed for an uploaded file. Cheers...Ecker

The file upload facility is really only intended for attaching small to medium pictures, so the maximum file size is 200KB.

If you do happen to produce any videos/screencasts, and they are relevant to The Forum, I will be happy to upload them to the official Stafford Forum YouTube channel (assuming you want me to, of course).

 

[Ecker]

The file upload facility is really only intended for attaching small to medium pictures, so the maximum file size is 200KB.

If you do happen to produce any videos/screencasts, and they are relevant to The Forum, I will be happy to upload them to the official Stafford Forum YouTube channel (assuming you want me to, of course).

Many thanks for that. I will publish anything I do to youtube and wait for group critical analysis. When you are happy with the results, please feel free to upload them to the Forum's channel.

Cheers....Ecker