Wondering How Things Work Here?
If you're not familiar with how this forum works, you can ask about it here. If someone answers you about how to work a feature on this website, you can copy their helpful answer here too.
As we collect some of these responses, later they'll be assembled in the future into a more comprehensive (and easier to find) FAQ. But for now - ask away and someone else will come up with a helpful suggestion!
As we collect some of these responses, later they'll be assembled in the future into a more comprehensive (and easier to find) FAQ. But for now - ask away and someone else will come up with a helpful suggestion!
One of the first really useful things to change when you arrive here is a feature under "Settings." Have an email sent to you when someone replies to a thread you're interested in. This helps for remembering to return and participate further.
To do this, you go to "settings" (over on the upper right side of this page.) Then you'll be at a page where you can change your profile settings, like upload a picture of yourself, etc. The place to have yourself get an email is over on the left side list - "email" under the heading "My Settings". Then you'll see a list where you can choose in what situations you'd like to send yourself a notification email.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Franis on -
If you'd like to know how to post a link... Here's how to copy completely to the html tag on the post.
Type something. Then highlight it and hit the "link" button here on the post. It's a little thing that looks like a sideways figure eight. While this thing you just typed is highlighted. Then a dialog box will pop up that is asking for the real link to the place you want to go. Copy and past they the long link to the dialog box completely - hit OK and it makes a link to the demo.
Let's see if what I told you to do worked...
For instance, I typed the word: something Then I highlighted it, and hit the little "link" icon in the gray bar above the text box here. Then I inserted a http:// link in the dialog box that popped up. Then I hit "OK.' See how the word is green now? That's because it's a link now to the first page of this place.
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Permalink Reply by Franis on
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Another thing not very obvious involves one of the hidden "features" of NING. If someone decides to "leave the debobosociety," then ALL their writing is automatically deleted from this website, (including whole threads containing responses from others.) This is a design flaw of NING sites, in my humble opinion. But it does get rid of spammers and spamming expediently, which I believe why it continue to be a feature. (Well, that and the fact that someone's writing should be their property to leave as a contribution or withdraw when they want to take their toys and go away.)
The loss is shocking to those people who befriended you when it happens. So please be aware of what you are doing to the writers who responded to threads you started. Reflect on this fact BEFORE you decide to delete your membership. Merely abandoning your membership activity for awhile will leave your contributions in place.
There are a couple of ways to mitigate this feature that is based on prevention. One way is to repost their contributions. In this way, if you believe the person's contribution is valuable enough to repost or quote it, we can be "saving" complete deletion from happening. The other is to post your own contributions are blog posts of your own. Third, if you happen to "reply" to someone, quoting what you are replying to will save your reply from being a stab in the dark if or when someone does decide to delete their half of the conversation.
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Permalink Reply by Franis on
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The chat window is in the right lower side of the NING interface... hover and click on the little triangle pointing up to a line to open the chat window, (which can also be popped out.) If you turn up your sound, you'll hear a little ocarina sound each time a chat is posted. There is an icon of a person, usually with a green dot to indicate that you are "available." You may elect to 'go offline' - in that case the dot will be red.
Type in the box with the little smiley-face and hit "enter."
If you click on the smiley face, it will give you a limited number of smileys. (Click on them to select.)
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Permalink Reply by William Jack Jordan on -
How do I start a new discussion in the 'Creative Group' section (like the mobile phone thread)?
If I click on Add Discussion, I couldn't find Creative Group amongst the choices.
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Permalink Reply by Franis on
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The link that jumps to posting a discussion is quite small, so tiny that's why it's easy to miss.
To start another thread within a group, you must first be signed up to be in the group, (which you are.)
If you want to make a comment to the whole group, you can type a message into the comment wall.
But if you want to start a companion thread that explores facets of the question as William has asked - follow on...
Once you are a member, click on the view of the group where the postings can be read. (If there are comments on the main question.) Just above these comments is a list where companion threads will be listed.
In our example of the Creative Team group, there are already various "companion" threads that have been started. (For example, Mobile phone, Tool Shed, Improve the Wheel, etc.) Just below this list (where it says "Discussion Forum", there is a link that says "+ Start Discussion...View"
clicking on "Start Discussion" will put what you write in the same list - so this answers William's question.
There's another way to get there that is "better!" It's better because you may check to see if a discussion that you want to start already exists. You might want to look at this, because only the first four or five threads are viewed on the main page, but many more threads associated with an active group may exist. Discussions will sort themselves to the head of the list when someone comments to add to them. So rather than starting a new discussion, you might want to add to a discussion that has already been started.
If you follow the link by hitting the word "View" you will see a list of ALL the discussions, not just the first five visible on the previous page.
If you did hit "View," you'll see the "Start Discussion" link in the customary location.
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Permalink Reply by Franis on
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Here is how to change the picture of your icon: While on your own page (under "my page" on the upper navigation bar) hover the mouse over your own icon placeholder (or the photo you want to change.) You'll see the words: "Change photo." Click on that, and you'll be sent to a page called "My Settings." At the top of that page, you'll see a button called "Choose file" (next to the old pic or icon placeholder in the middle of the upper part.)
If you click on that button, it will open a dialog box of the file tree on your own computer. You must navigate to where your pictures are stored on your computer. Obviously, it helps to already know the file name of the picture you want to select. If possible, it's best to choose a picture that has already been reduced in size. (But it doesn't need to be as tiny as people's icons are, it can be as large as 10mg.) Back to selecting the picture on your computer... highlight the file you want to select, then hit "Open" ...and now the file is selected. Down at the bottom of right corner of the "My Settings" page you'll see the "SAVE" button - hit that...and your picture should now be your icon!
If it isn't, this means that the picture file was too large. You need to use a different image manipulation program to reduce the size of the picture file. Many picture viewing programs allow you to drag the mouse into a frame and select and crop a portion of the picture, saving it as a more suitable and smaller file.
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Permalink Reply by Franis on
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Easier version to change your green person Icon:
download or find a picture you want to use
go to "My Page" on the top navigation bar
"hover" your mouse over your green person icon (or the photo you want to change)
you will see the words: Change Picture
Click those words and another page will open
you will see: Upload a Photo (GIF, JPG or PNG; limit 10MB)
above that a button: Browse
This will open up your own computer. Find the picture you want to use.
click it - then it shows under "file" and then click "open"
Then at bottom right hand corner, hit the "Save" button
You're done!
If it didn't work, choose a smaller picture next time.
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Permalink Reply by LS on -
how about starting a forum or a group for youngsters. how young a member can become a member of this society and participate ?
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Permalink Reply by Franis on
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would you like me to create a "youngsters" group?
If you'd like to do it, it's simple:
To create a group - on the navigation bar choose: Groups
Then find your name on the right side. Next to it will be a little button:"Add"
Fill out the information, which includes a description of the group.
A picture is nice to have. Probably it isn't a good idea to allow messages to be sent to everyone in the group, and to make everyone be able to join without moderating if it's OK or not.
With kids, a discussion forum is cool to have, because any member can start a thread, ask a question, etc.
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Permalink Reply by Franis on
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It was LS's idea, actually to have a young thinkers group forum. Guess we should moderate it and not allow the grownups in there. All the old farts think they're young at heart. Maybe we could ask Shamir to moderate?
Graeme, would you be the one to find out if Ning has this feature? If you can point to it, would bemuch more likely that it would be made part of the site. Absolutely there's a need for it here, considering the number of non-English speakers who have already joined. An easy way to translate pages would be essential to have.
Right now if I want to translate something, I use an online translator such as babelfish. But it doesn't work so well.
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