How to use the forum

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The following are instructions on how to complete things on the forums.

How to register an account
How to start a new topic
How to reply in a thread
How to edit your post
How to upload and change your avatar (picture)
How to turn on email notifications for different things
How to tag/mention other members
How to subscribe
How to report a post
Using as RSS feed

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Before contributing posts, you will need to register and make sure you are logged in.
Registration only takes a minute, in 4 easy steps:

1. Enter email and password.
2. Choose an anonymous username.
3. Answer 3 quick questions.
4. Click ‘Register’.

Rest assured that our service is completely confidential. Your information is safe and will be kept private, including the email address given.
You will need to accept our terms and conditions.

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To create your own thread:

• Go to the forum area you want to post in.
• Click on the ‘New Topic’ button along the top.
• Give your post a ‘subject’.
• Write your post into the large text box.
• Press ‘Submit’ underneath to post it.

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To reply within a thread:

• Select the ‘Post Reply’ button along the top of the thread page.
• Write your response in the large text box
• Press ‘Submit’ underneath to post it.

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You may wish to edit something that you’ve already posted.
This is possible by:

• Going to your post
• Clicking the ‘Edit’ button which sits on the top right of the post, with a pencil symbol
  (On some devices you may need to hover/press on the box where author's name is above post, or the stack symbol for the drop-down menu)
• Make your edits
• Select ‘Submit’ and the post will be updated.

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An avatar is a picture that appears beside your name when you post in the forum.
Your picture should be something that represents you, but remember that it’s important to stay anonymous, so not a photo of you.

You can upload one by:

• Clicking the ‘User Control Panel’ button at the top of each page.
• Select ‘Profile’
• Select ‘Edit avatar’
• Select ‘Choose file’ and select your saved image of choice
• Select ‘Submit’

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The notification centre sits in the top right corner of your screen. This will automatically alert you for the following:

• You are @mentioned by somebody
• There is a reply to your post
• There is a new post in your subscribed forum/thread
• There is a new post in your bookmarked forum/thread
• Someone 'thanks' you for a post

You can choose to be emailed these notifications by:

• Clicking your name on the top right.
• Entering the ‘User Control Panel’ through the drop-down menu
• Selecting ‘Board Preferences’ tab.
• Select ‘Edit notification settings’

Along the list, tick/untick the boxes for each item that you wish to be notified within the app (left column) and emailed (right column) about. Then 'Submit'

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Mentioning other community members will send them a notification. It is a way to bring their attention to a thread.

To do so:

• In the post dialogue box, type '@' and begin writing their username
• Select their username from the drop-down menu
• Continue to complete your post, and submit.

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You can use subscriptions to be notified about new posts in a thread or forum area you're interested in.

Simply select 'Subscribe forum' or 'Subscribe thread' at the bottom of the relevant page.

As well as receiving notifications, you can easily jump back into these areas by:

• Selecting your username in the top right corner
• Selecting 'User control panel'
• Select 'Manage subscriptions' on the left

Clicking titles on the list will take you to that forum or thread.

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Counselling Online Facilitators work behind the scenes to maintain a safe environment for all members.
If you see any content that is harmful or triggering, or you believe violates the Community Guidelines, you can use the 'Report this post' function with the '!' button of the post's top right.
(You may need to hover/press on the box where author's name is above post)
This will bring it to the team's attention for review.