Forum Instructions
Instructions — How To Use A Forum
Newbies: read this after reading the Terms & Rules
When you're new to a forum it can be confusing to learn what to click on to find the thread you want or to post the question you have. Let's see if the following questions can be answered clearly for you.
First, let's add some context to the terminology and hierarchy of forums in general.
A 'forum' is a topic.
A 'sub forum' is a sub topic, or a topic related to the main topic.
A 'post', as in "Post New Thread", is a discussion or the beginning of a new thread. Someone starts a post, as in a discussion along the line of a main topic, and others chime in along the same thread or idea with their reply messages.
A 'reply' is a contribution, answer or some kind of response along the line of (inside of) a discussion thread.
DM or PM means Direct Message or Private Message (both the same thing). In this forum we call it Conversations, and YES, they're private.
The following applies to our website and not necessarily to Tapatalk.
Check your Conversations Inbox — we just sent you a useful message with a link to this page for future reference. We also email a Welcome Letter to the email address you provide and there's a link to this Forum Instructions page.
- Where should I post my question or thoughts?
Inside of a discussion thread, you'll find several reply messages. This is where the actual discussion takes place. You can post your input or a question (a) as a part of a discussion thread, or (b) as the start of a new discussion thread.
If you've read the discussions and messages in a forum or sub-forum and didn't see an answer to your question, you can...
(a) If you're reading a discussion thread and have a question, you can click the Reply link at the end of someone's message (this will quote their message), or you can scroll to the bottom of the page and see there is a text area to complete and submit via the blue "Post Reply" button (this will not quote anyone's message).
(b) You can start a new thread that will be all about your thought or question if you have clicked on a forum topic and then click the blue button that says, "Post New Thread".
- How can I post a new thread?
From a forum's page or a sub-forum's page, you can scroll to the bottom of the page(s) and if you didn't see your thought or question has already been expressed, then there is a blue button at the bottom that says, "Post New Thread".
- How can I reply to a thread?
If you're reading a discussion thread and have a question, you can click the Reply link at the end of someone's message (this will quote their message), or you can scroll to the bottom of the page and see there is a text area to complete and submit via the blue "Post Reply" button (this will not quote anyone's message).
- How can I start a private conversation with another member?
To send a direct message to someone (or multiple people), on a big screen device, you need to click your username in the top right corner, and then click the link that says, "Start a New Conversation". The Participants field will auto-complete with suggestions as you type the beginning letters of usernames if they exist. You can also start a direct message to a user by clicking on their username and then clicking, "Start a Conversation" in their profile card that pops up. You can also send a user a direct message from their profile page if you find the blue "Start a Conversation" button in the left column.
To send a direct message to someone (or multiple people) while using a small screen device, you need to touch your username, then touch Conversations, then touch the blue button that says, "Start a New Conversation" at the bottom of the page. Alternatively, you can find the username you want in a post somewhere, then touch that username, and then touch the blue link that says, "Start a Conversation" in their user profile card that pops up.
- How will I know when somebody has started a private conversation with me?
In the top right corner, beside your username, there's a link to Inbox. That's where direct messages arrive. The Inbox link will have a red circle displaying the number of unread messages you have received.
- Why can’t I post in the Classified Ads section?
If you see ("You have insufficient privileges to post here.)" instead of a Post New Thread button, you can send a direct message to @Mastermind stating what you want. You can reply to existing ads already though.
Due to an increasing number of scammers, users must have a min of 100 posts to access this section. This can only be overridden by @Mastermind.