Welcome to the Cal Poly Report help file. Here we will try to answer some of your questions so you don't have to go far to look for an answer. If you can't find an answer here, ask your question in the forum or check out ezBoard's help system.
REGISTRATION:
Covered in the starter's guide found here.
LOGIN:
For the first-timers, covered in the "What now?" section here.
POSTING A NEW MESSAGE:
Posting a new message is pretty straightforward. New topics post in the forum you are viewing when you click on the "New Topic" button. Currently, anyone can post a topic. After clicking on "New Topic" the new topic screen will come up. All the available fields (User Name, Password, Subject and Comment), must be filled in to post. If you are already logged in, you won't have to enter your user name and password. Click "Add post" and you will be redirected to the forum you posted in and your new post will be shown (if you have the preview box checked, you'll have to click "add post" again in the preview window to complete the post).
REPLYING TO A MESSAGE:
To reply to a particular message click the "reply" link shown below the name of post's author on the left side of the screen. This will make your reply show in the threaded view correctly and allow threads to form in the correct order. It is possible to reply using the "Add Reply" button, but that will almost always add your reply to the WRONG message. It will reply to the message that you clicked on and often you want to respond to a message that you've read further down the thread (since all following messages in a thread shows when you click on a post).
In short, click the reply link under the person's name to the left of the specific post you want to reply to and then fill out the following screen.
POSTING A POLL:
You can post polls to gauge peoples opinions. Posting a poll is very similar to posting a new message. Polls post in the forum you are viewing when you click on the "New Poll" button. Currently, anyone can post a poll. After clicking on "New Poll" the new topic screen will come up. All the available topic fields (User Name, Password, Subject and Comment) and at least 2 choices must be filled in to post. Click "Add poll" and you will be redirected to the forum you posted in and your new poll will be shown (if you have the preview box checked, you'll have to click "add poll" again in the preview window to complete the poll).
USING ezCODES:
ezCodes are an easy (surprise) way of adding basic formatting to your posts. You will be able to add links, images and do basic "html" formatting without knowing any html. In order to use ezCodes you must first make sure the ezCodes button directly above the "New Post" or "Reply" text field is selected, which is should be by default if you are logged in. If you are not logged in the ezCodes button may be selectred but you won't see the options. This seems to be due to a bug in the system. To overcome this select the "Plain Text" button and then switch back to "ezCodes." The ezCode options should now be available.
To use ezCodes, check out this how-to guide. Feel free to test post in this forum. Just add "delete" to your test post and we'll remove it. If you have more questions or problems with ezCodes, ask away!
USING HTML:
You can use HTML formatting by clicking the "html" button above the text area you type in (next to the ezCodes button).
USING LIVE CHAT:
Registered users will have a link to "Join Live Chat" at the top of their page. Click it and a new chat window will appear (you may have to login to actually get in the chat room). Using the buttons in the chat room, you can toggle from text to graphic chat mode, and change the color and style of your chat text (while in graphic chat mode). This could be a good place to hang out for those of you not able to make the game.
CAN I PREVENT MY NICKNAME FROM SHOWING UP IN THE "WHO'S ONLINE" BOX?
Yes! Just inform the admins that you want to be "invisible" and we'll set it up. You can do this by posting a message in the help forum, by writing "zzzza" or "bmfarley" through the ezBoard email system or by emailing us at sbzzzza@hotmail.com.
WHAT IS ezSUPPORTER?
ezSupporter is another way for you to support the board. Your dollars actually buy more hits when you donate to the community chest, but purchasing ezSupporter also helps out. In addition, it provides you with additional tools for your ezBoard account such as the ability to be anonymous online, link up to 5 global ezBoard accounts, create your own profile and more.
So how does it help us? When you are logged into your ezSupporter-enable account and visit this board, the page views you accumulate will not count towards the hits we are billed for. In essence, you are making it cheaper to operate the board (although we will still need help since every hit isn't generated by an ezSupporter). For another $12 per year, you can really help out and get some extra features though.
Follow this link for more info on ezSupporter.
COMMUNITY CHEST:
This board needs your support to exist. We pay a fee depending on how make hits we get. A rough estimate for the cost of a year of service is $70-90. Once the board gets going, we'll get a more accurate picture and will report back. To put things in perspective, if everyone donated one day's worth of "lunch money" per year, we'd be set. In order to raise funds, ezBoard has a feature called the Community Chest. Here, it is located at the bottom of the front page (unless we have reached our goal and turned it off till next year). This allows you to donate money to this specific board in several ways--credit card, Pay Pal, check or by accepting an offer from an affiliate company (more on that later). To donate money, click on the "Direct Payment" link and follow the instructions. Be aware that this is a secure transaction between you and ezBoard--the admins of this board never have access to your information and can only use your donated money to purchase services for this board out of the Community Chest.
The "Accept Offers" link allows you to get apply for a credit card (for instance) and earn money for our Community Chest. Check it out, as the donations go up to $32 and you won't have to spend a dime.
--The Admins
REGISTRATION:
Covered in the starter's guide found here.
LOGIN:
For the first-timers, covered in the "What now?" section here.
POSTING A NEW MESSAGE:
Posting a new message is pretty straightforward. New topics post in the forum you are viewing when you click on the "New Topic" button. Currently, anyone can post a topic. After clicking on "New Topic" the new topic screen will come up. All the available fields (User Name, Password, Subject and Comment), must be filled in to post. If you are already logged in, you won't have to enter your user name and password. Click "Add post" and you will be redirected to the forum you posted in and your new post will be shown (if you have the preview box checked, you'll have to click "add post" again in the preview window to complete the post).
REPLYING TO A MESSAGE:
To reply to a particular message click the "reply" link shown below the name of post's author on the left side of the screen. This will make your reply show in the threaded view correctly and allow threads to form in the correct order. It is possible to reply using the "Add Reply" button, but that will almost always add your reply to the WRONG message. It will reply to the message that you clicked on and often you want to respond to a message that you've read further down the thread (since all following messages in a thread shows when you click on a post).
In short, click the reply link under the person's name to the left of the specific post you want to reply to and then fill out the following screen.
POSTING A POLL:
You can post polls to gauge peoples opinions. Posting a poll is very similar to posting a new message. Polls post in the forum you are viewing when you click on the "New Poll" button. Currently, anyone can post a poll. After clicking on "New Poll" the new topic screen will come up. All the available topic fields (User Name, Password, Subject and Comment) and at least 2 choices must be filled in to post. Click "Add poll" and you will be redirected to the forum you posted in and your new poll will be shown (if you have the preview box checked, you'll have to click "add poll" again in the preview window to complete the poll).
USING ezCODES:
ezCodes are an easy (surprise) way of adding basic formatting to your posts. You will be able to add links, images and do basic "html" formatting without knowing any html. In order to use ezCodes you must first make sure the ezCodes button directly above the "New Post" or "Reply" text field is selected, which is should be by default if you are logged in. If you are not logged in the ezCodes button may be selectred but you won't see the options. This seems to be due to a bug in the system. To overcome this select the "Plain Text" button and then switch back to "ezCodes." The ezCode options should now be available.
To use ezCodes, check out this how-to guide. Feel free to test post in this forum. Just add "delete" to your test post and we'll remove it. If you have more questions or problems with ezCodes, ask away!
USING HTML:
You can use HTML formatting by clicking the "html" button above the text area you type in (next to the ezCodes button).
USING LIVE CHAT:
Registered users will have a link to "Join Live Chat" at the top of their page. Click it and a new chat window will appear (you may have to login to actually get in the chat room). Using the buttons in the chat room, you can toggle from text to graphic chat mode, and change the color and style of your chat text (while in graphic chat mode). This could be a good place to hang out for those of you not able to make the game.
CAN I PREVENT MY NICKNAME FROM SHOWING UP IN THE "WHO'S ONLINE" BOX?
Yes! Just inform the admins that you want to be "invisible" and we'll set it up. You can do this by posting a message in the help forum, by writing "zzzza" or "bmfarley" through the ezBoard email system or by emailing us at sbzzzza@hotmail.com.
WHAT IS ezSUPPORTER?
ezSupporter is another way for you to support the board. Your dollars actually buy more hits when you donate to the community chest, but purchasing ezSupporter also helps out. In addition, it provides you with additional tools for your ezBoard account such as the ability to be anonymous online, link up to 5 global ezBoard accounts, create your own profile and more.
So how does it help us? When you are logged into your ezSupporter-enable account and visit this board, the page views you accumulate will not count towards the hits we are billed for. In essence, you are making it cheaper to operate the board (although we will still need help since every hit isn't generated by an ezSupporter). For another $12 per year, you can really help out and get some extra features though.
Follow this link for more info on ezSupporter.
COMMUNITY CHEST:
This board needs your support to exist. We pay a fee depending on how make hits we get. A rough estimate for the cost of a year of service is $70-90. Once the board gets going, we'll get a more accurate picture and will report back. To put things in perspective, if everyone donated one day's worth of "lunch money" per year, we'd be set. In order to raise funds, ezBoard has a feature called the Community Chest. Here, it is located at the bottom of the front page (unless we have reached our goal and turned it off till next year). This allows you to donate money to this specific board in several ways--credit card, Pay Pal, check or by accepting an offer from an affiliate company (more on that later). To donate money, click on the "Direct Payment" link and follow the instructions. Be aware that this is a secure transaction between you and ezBoard--the admins of this board never have access to your information and can only use your donated money to purchase services for this board out of the Community Chest.
The "Accept Offers" link allows you to get apply for a credit card (for instance) and earn money for our Community Chest. Check it out, as the donations go up to $32 and you won't have to spend a dime.
--The Admins
