Questions List
- What is the correct terminology for the boards?
- CAN I USE ALL CAPS IN MY TITLES?
- Can I use HTML in my posts? How can I make my messages look pretty?
- Should I identify myself in my postings?
- I want to put an image in my post. How can I do that?
- Can I add a new discussion thread?
- What is the posting policy for the discussion forums?
- I find some of the content on the bboards offensive. What can I do?
- None of the forums are right for my discussion. Can I add a new one?
- What is "posts per page"?
Questions and Answers
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Q: What is the correct terminology for the boards?
A: The system is arranged as bboard -> forum -> thread
The discussion forum is known as the "bboard," categories are "forums," and listings of messages are known as "threads." People can reply to others and use blockquote to put a portion of the original message, this is known as "quoting." The title of your post is the "subject" and the name/date/time stamp is your "signature."
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Q: CAN I USE ALL CAPS IN MY TITLES?
A: In general, it is best to avoid using ALL CAPS, as this is considered SHOUTING. The best way to draw attention to threads is not by using all caps, but by making the thread interesting, getting other people to post, and thus getting it displayed on the home page.
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Q: Can I use HTML in my posts? How can I make my messages look pretty?
A: A subset of HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is supported by the bboards. You can use the following commands:
<a href="http://www.mysite.com">MySite</a>
will make a link using the anchor tag.
<b>Bolded Text</b>
will make your text strong using the bold tag.
<i>Emphasised Text</i>
will make your text emphasised using the italic tag.
<blockquote>MySite</blockquote>
will indent your text (good for quoting someone else) using the blockquote tag.
<br>a line break paragraph
will break one line using the break tag.
<p>a new paragraph</p>
will break two lines using the paragraph tag.
<ol>
<li>numbered list
<li>item 2
</ol>
<ul>
<li>bulleted list
<li>item 2
</ul>
use <ol> or <ul> at the start of the list <li> before each item in the list and </ol> or </ul> at the end of the list
- item one
- item two
Please note you are only able to use the above tags, all other tags like <html> and <body> will be rejected.
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Q: Should I identify myself in my postings?
A: At the top of your message is a subject followed by your name, the date, and time. This is your signature. You do not need to identify yourself except to add additional information, such as your department. If you would like to change your name you may do so here.
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Q: I want to put an image in my post. How can I do that?
A: Some forums have image posting enabled. You can simply fill out a comment as usual and, when the confirmation page comes up, go down to the part of the form that allows you to upload a file. Your posting will be saved along with an image and caption of your choice.
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Q: Can I add a new discussion thread?
A: By all means! If your comment or question doesn't already have an appropriate thread, feel free to create a new one. Go to the forum you'd like to use and click the "Add A Question" link on top of the page. Before you do this it is recommended that you run a search and look for similar threads. It is usually best to add on to an existing thread, unless it is wildly out of date.
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Q: What is the posting policy for the discussion forums?
A: Moderated forums are used for more "official" discussion, such as Technical Support. Messages can be modifed at any time in these forums. Posts should remain on topic and free of material others may deem offensive.
Unmoderated forums are open to the entire community. Posts will only be removed from these forums under the following circumstances:
- Post is in violation of local, state, or national law.
- Post is in violation of Brandeis Rights and Responsibilities.
- Post violates copyright.
- Post is considered threatening to a member of the community or can be construed as a threat.
Of course these definitions are broad, but be assured that our goal is to allow free discussion, not to stifle it. We have no desire to police the boards and will only remove or modify posts under extenuating circumstances. Modified posts will always be marked as such.
Private Forums are open to one group and are not visible to the general community. Or that is how it is supposed to work. Currently Private Forums are open to everyone due to the setup of the bboard software. However, private forums are meant to contribute to the discussion of a group. Therefore they are considered in the same league as Moderated Forums, if not held to a higher standard of conduct.
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Q: I find some of the content on the bboards offensive. What can I do?
A: If you believe a post violates local, state, or federal law, or violates the Brandeis Rights and Responsibilities, you can report it to us for review.
If you are offended by an opinion, the words someone uses, or the content of a discussion, we cannot help you. These forums are free to all members of the community. A person is free to post what they like, and you are free to respond, or to simply ignore a thread.
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Q: None of the forums are right for my discussion. Can I add a new one?
A: We encourage you to look for relevent boards before creating a new one. If you cannot find a relevent forum, you should next consider the following questions:
- Will adding this new forum help to increase communication at Brandeis?
- Will a new forum generate enough traffic (new threads) to justify its existance?
- Are you sure you can't fit your thread somewhere else?
If after all of this you still want to make a new forum, a forum you feel is needed, a forum you feel will be used, and a forum that you feel does not duplicate the purpose of another forum, you can go to the bottom of the main Forums page and click "Add New Topic."
Note: We frequently "hide" forums that are not active. While a forum is never deleted, a hidden forum cannot be seen from the main bboard pages. If you are about to create a new board, first think about the possibility that someone else already has, no one used it, and it was hidden.
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Q: What is "posts per page"?
A: Posts per page is the number of responses you wish to be displayed per page. For example, if you choose 10 posts, each page will have 10 posts on it (the first page will have posts 1-10, the second 11-21, third 22-32 and so on as long as there are posts).
This preference is stored in your myBrandeis user preferences and will be used anytime you are logged in to myBrandeis. If you aren't logged in, the default number of posts per page (20) will be used.
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