What is a message board?

A message board is a way of having a conversation with other people on the Internet. The converstaion is made up of messages that are 'posted' on the board by visitors to the website. Each conversation is called a 'Discussion' or 'Thread'. Once someone starts a new discussion, other visitors to the site can join in that discussion by posting their own messages. A converstion like this can often go on for months.

Why use a message board?

A message board has many advantages over other forms of communication.

• When you post a message, you can be talking to thousands of people, so if you have a question to ask, there's a better chance of someone knowing the answer.
• The conversations you have can help many people - your discussions may help people who read them later on. Likewise, you may find answers to your questions in other people's conversations.
• Using a message board is a great way to make new friends! Over time, you will get to know other people that use the message boards.
• Message boards are anonymous. If you don't register, your messages will show as being from 'Guest'. If you are a registered user, only your Username will appear with your message (remember not to use your real name).

The disadvantages of using a message board are that it can take a while to get a reply to your message, and that your conversations take place in public - remember not to disclose personal information!

Using these message boards is very easy. Just follow these simple instructions.

Read the Rules and Guidelines
These simple rules and guidelines are there to help you get the most from the message boards, so please be sure to read them.

Choose a board
On the left of each page in this section you'll find a list of all the current message boards with descriptions. They also show how many postings it has and when a new post was last made on it. To view a boad, just click on its title.

View and join in a discussion
After choosing a board, you should now see a list of discussions. You can also see who started each discussion and when a new post was last added to it. The nearer the top of the list a discussion is, the more recently it has been added to.
To view the discussion, click on its description. You can now see the original message, and all its replies. At the bottom of the page you'll see a reply form that allows you to join in the discussion. If you're a registered user, you can choose to be notified by email when someone else joins in. Once you have written your reply, click on 'Preview' to see what it will look like when it's posted. If you're happy with it, click on 'OK', or else 'Cancel' to go back.

Start a new discussion
At the bottom of the first page of each board, you'll see a form for starting a new discussion. Give a brief description of your discussion in the first box, and your full message in the second. Once you have written your message, click on 'Preview' to see what it will look like when it's posted. If you're happy with it, click on 'OK', or else 'Cancel' to go back.