Navigating the TSF Forum

 Navigating the TSF Forum

This article will help you get used to the little bits and pieces of the Tech Support Forum and hopefully make your stay here more enjoyable.

Let's get started then.

New Posts:
When you first log on to the site, you will notice on the home page that certain forums have a blue 'light' next to their names. This indicates that that particular forum has new and unread posts.


Fig 1. Blue Lights


There is a legend to indicate this at the bottom of the home page, but it sometimes goes unnoticed.

Fig 2: Legend.

Once you open a particular forum with new posts, you will notice that certain threads have bold titles. This is the indication that these threads have unread posts.


Fig 3: New and No new posts.

Posts will not be automatically marked as read if you sign out. They can only be marked as such either by reading the new post, marking the whole forum read or by double clicking the blue 'light' next to the title of the forum. This will mark all the new posts in that particular forum as read and will only work if you have subscribed to the forum itself (more on this in a bit).

Keeping track of Threads (Subscribing)
Once you create a thread or find a thread of interest, the easiest way to keep track of it is to subscribe to it so that you are notified of any replies. Subscribing is an easy, two step process.

Firstly, select Subscribe to this thread found under Thread Tools.

Fig 4: Thread tools

Secondly, set your options as to how you would like to be notified of replies and click the Add Subscriptions button.


Fig 5: Subscription notification

Regardless of which option you choose, if a reply is received, you will be notified in your User Control Panel (CP)which you can access by clicking the button marked User CP.

If however you find this a rather tedious task and wish for a more automated process, then you may set your options so that you are automatically subscribed to any thread you post in. This is the default setting of your CP.

Access your User CP, then find and click Edit Options.



Fig 6: Default Thread Subscription Mode

If you choose any option except 'Do not subscribe', you will be notified of any replies in threads you've posted in or created.

Subscribing to forums
If you find that you frequent a particular forum and would like to be notified of any posts in that forum without visiting the home page every time, you can subscribe to that particular forum.

The process is very similar to subscribing to threads. However, you need to use Forum Tools instead of Thread Tools. As with a thread, this is located on the title bar.




Marking forums read:
As mentioned earlier, you can, if you so wish, mark particular forums or the whole forum read. For particular forums, all you need do is open the forum tools and select "Mark This Forum Read" and it'll be done instantly.


Fig 8: Marking Forum Read

To mark all the forums read, simply scroll down to the end of the home page and select "Mark Forums Read"
 
Fig 8: Marking ALL forums read.

Another 'method' is described in the UserCP section for forums you have subscribed to.

The final method is a bit complicated to explain but here's an attempt. On the home page, you'll notice that forums are grouped together into smaller 'sections' such as the 'Security Center', 'Microsoft Support', 'Alternative Computing' etc. If you click on any of these names, it'll take you to its collection of the forums. I.e. If you click on 'Security Center' you see a collection of 4 forums: 'HijackThis Log Help', 'Resolved HJT Threads', '  
General Computer Security ' and 'Computer Security News' which will also have the blue 'light' next to them if they have unread posts. Double clicking these blue lights will also mark the posts read. 

User CP
Now that you've got a basic idea of how to keep track of things, we'll take a little tour of the User Control Panel (User CP). A link to your User CP is located near the top left of every page. This is your portal into your settings and subscriptions.

The very first page you come to when you visit the User CP is a list of your subscribed threads and forums.


Fig 9: Subscribed Threads and Forums.

The New Subscribed Threads section lets you know of new posts in subscribed threads. Once you've read the new post/posts, that thread will automatically be removed from this section; your subscription however will not be.

The Subscribed Forums section keeps a list of all the forums you have subscribed to and uses the same concept as mentioned previously to notify you of new posts. If you wish to mark a subscribed forum read, all you need do is double click on the blue 'light' as mentioned previously. 

User CP - Menu Items
To the left of the page, you will notice a few links to various settings. They are pretty self explanatory. Here is a brief run down of the important ones however.

Edit Signature - Options to edit and format your signature. Your signature accompanies every post you make and may contain text and pictures. Signature rules and permissions can be found here. If for some reason you do not wish to show your signature in a particular post or thread, all you need to do is uncheck the "Show your signature" check box.


Fig 10: Show or no show signature

Edit Email & Password - If you wish to change your email and password, this is where to go. Keeping your email up to date helps you get notifications of threads you've subscribed to and messages from Moderators and Administrators if they wish to communicate with you.

Edit Profile - Your profile contains things such as your date of birth, your location, instant messaging addresses and ID's, etc. Perhaps the most important aspect of this section is your location. Should you require assistance with purchasing certain components, your location can help TSF give you the appropriate locations/websites to purchase from. You can of course let us know in the thread if you do not wish to disclose this information.

Edit Options - This lets you set up certain aspects of the forum to your liking.

Edit Avatar - The avatar is the little picture under your user name. More information about avatar permissions can be found here.

Edit Profile Picture - Your profile picture is the picture people see when they click your user name (It is displayed along with your avatar).

Private Message(PM) - PM's are inter forum communication devices . They can be used to communicate with other members of the site. Most people prefer if you post in the forums though, if you have a problem rather than PM'ing someone for help.

That's it. Happy posting.

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