1. Introduction Hi and welcome to not606, the fastest growing sports forum in the UK. This guide concentrates on how to get you up and running and to provide you with some useful tips. If you need any further assistance, feel free to contact your forum moderator or raise a question on your forum. Your questions may be of interest to others in which case they will initially appear in Appendix 4 (Questions and Answers) and, where appropriate, incorporated into this user guide. 2. Overview Once acquainted with the site you will probably set up an icon on your desktop to go directly to your favourite view. However for the purpose of this guide we will start from the Home Page. If you enter the site via the site link not606.com you will encounter the Home Page which, by using the scroll bar, provides an index of all the forums (Fig 1). Note just above your Avatar on the left of the screen is an icon that you can use to Toggle the Sidebar Fig 1 We will look at sections of this screen in more detail, starting with the two important menu bars (Figs 2 and 3). These menus appear at the top of every screen you will encounter on this site. Fig 2 - Menu Bar 1 Fig 3 - Menu Bar 2 Menu Bar 1. Left to right you will see your avatar and user name, an envelope icon and a flag icon. Clicking the avatar/name will bring up Your Account where you can enter your personal details and set preferences (See Your Account) Clicking the envelope icon will enable you to list all conversations in which you are actively involved and to start a conversation with one or more other users (See Conversations). You will be alerted to any new messages by a number showing against the envelope Clicking the Flag icon will display all recent activities you are interested in and haven’t viewed. What is shown here depends on what Alert Preferences you set in Your Account. You will be alerted to any new activity by a number showing against the flag Your Account. Clicking your Avatar/Name in Menu Bar 1 brings up Your Account where you can enter/change your Personal Details and set your preferences. If you prefer to log out after a session this is where you Logout Your Avatar. You may customise your Avatar by uploading an image from your computer (simply click on the default Avatar, choose the file containing the image you want for your Avatar and click OK). Signature. You may set up a signature which will appear at the foot of all your posts. This may be text, image or hyperlink. Although, at present, there is currently no specified limit to the size of a signature, too large a signature does crowd the posts and, in fairness to others, is not recommended. For this reason including videos in signatures is discouraged and may be removed. Preferences. These are all preset. The main ones you will probably be interested in are the first and last options Alert Preferences. These determine the activities to which you will be alerted via the Flag icon in Menu Bar 1 Menu Bar 2. At the far left is the Home icon. Clicking this will take you the Home page in Fig 1. Then left to right we have: Forums Menu. This is effectively the Home Page default. With Forums selected you will see the Forums Sub Menu (Fig 5) Fig 5 - Forums Sub Menu The most useful items on this sub menu are Watched Forums and Watched Threads Watched Forums will list the forums you have chosen to watch (See Watched Forums). Watched Threads will list threads you have chosen to watch and haven’t yet read (See Forum Threads). You can also list all your watched threads and choose to no longer watch by selecting the thread(s) and clicking Unwatch Threads in the drop down list “With Selected” (Fig 6) Fig 6 Multiview. Selecting Multiview will display a screen (Fig 7) showing the most recent activity in the forums you have selected (See Forum Threads) Fig 7 Multiview Members Menu. Selecting Members provides an option to list all Registered Members, Current Visitors, Live Activity and New Profile Posts (Fig 8). At present the list of Members/Visitors is in order of most recent activity (hopefully there will be an option to list these alphabetically). The Notable Members List is meaningless – why is it there? Fig 8 Members Menu Live Activity. This is where you can watch all activity across the entire site. If you see anything interesting you can click on the thread/post to go directly to it. Prediction League. This is a site wide football competition where you can predict scores for upcoming matches. Many forums also run their own competitions Forum Threads. Under each forum is a list of all threads that have been created in that forum. Threads are ordered so as those with the most recent activity are listed first. However, your forum moderator(s) may choose to ensure some threads remain at the top. These are called “sticky” threads and are evident by the presence of a red tick. If you want you can change the order of the threads by clicking on the column headings. Also, if you click on a prefix, all threads bearing that prefix will be listed. Reading Individual Threads. You can go to the start of a thread by selecting the thread title or, if you wish to go to the most recent post in a thread, you can click on the date/time in the Last Message column. Threads containing posts you haven't read will be emboldened and will have a blue dot to the left of the thread. Clicking this blue dot will take you to the first unread post Watching Forums. At the top of each Forum there are options to Watch/Unwatch the Forum and/or to Add to/Remove from Multiview. Selecting Watch Forum will add it to the list of Watched Forums that may be selected from the Forums Sub Menu. Selecting Add to Multiview will ensure that any activity in that forum will be shown when you select Multiview. Creating a New Thread. To create a new thread simply click on Post New Thread at the top right of a forum, enter a suitable Thread Title, tab down to the text area and start typing. In the Thread Title there is an option to select one of the available Prefixes, if applicable. You can also insert, images, videos, hyperlinks, smileys and upload files from your computer (See Advanced Posting) Creating a Thread with a Poll. Whilst creating a thread, by scrolling down, there is an option to create a Poll with various options, including a restriction on the number of options that may be voted, expiry date etc) Watching Threads. At the top (right) of each thread there is an option to watch the thread. If you select that you will be alerted (via the Alert Flag) to any action on that thread. You can, in your Preferences, choose to be automatically alerted to any action on any thread you start or reply to. Adding a Comment to an Existing Thread. When viewing a thread, there is a space for you to add your own comment. As well as entering text, you can add images, videos, hyperlinks, smileys etc (See Advanced Posting). You can,set your Alert Preferences so that you are alerted if your post(s) are quoted or liked. Quoting a Post within a Thread. If you want to comment on a particular post or posts, clicking on the Reply for the post(s) will quote the post(s) in your comment. The upward arrow against the Quoted post is a direct link to the original post. To quote part or parts of post, or to quote a post from another thread, see Advanced Posting Conversations. When you start a conversation you may invite one or more participants to your conversation. If you want to enable the other participant(s) to invite others into the conversation you need to check the “Allow anyone in the conversation to invite others” box. If you just want to send a message and disable replies you need to check the “Lock conversation” box. At any stage you may close the conversation by “Leaving the conversation”. You may “Leave” multiple conversations from the “Show All” list by selecting conversations and, from the “Other Action..” drop down list, select Leave Conversations… Just as you may leave a conversation (or conversations) from an individual conversation and the list of all conversations, you may also “Star” conversation(s). All this does is to highlight the conversation by placing a gold star against it. If you decide later to bring others into a conversation already underway, you can do so using the Invite More option under Converation Participants. Only the person who initiated the conversation has this option. From the Show All list you may restrict the list to Starred Conversations or Conversations You Started.
Advanced Posting Inserting Images. You may insert an image into a newly started thread, a comment or a conversation. To insert an image from the internet right click the image and select “Copy image URL” then click the insert image icon in your post/conversation and paste the image URL (Ctrl+V) into the box provided. You can also select an image and copy it (Ctrl+C) and paste it directly into your post/conversation. In fact anything that can be selected can be copied and pasted directly into your post/conversation, included text articles containing images and hyperlinks. Any hyperlinks will be retained within your post (see Example in Appendix 1). You may capture parts of your screen (eg using the Snipper Tool or equivalent) and paste into a post (this can be very useful when trying to describe a problem) Inserting Videos. To insert a video from the internet into a newly started thread, a comment or a conversation, right click on the video and select “Get video URL”. Copy this (Ctrl+C). Click on the Media icon and “Enter media URL” (Ctrl+V) in the box provided. Inserting a Link to an Article on the Internet. Select the address of the article from the address bar at the top of the site article, copy it (Ctr+C). You can then either paste (Ctrl+V) the link into the post so the link is visible or you can select some text in your post, click the Link icon and paste the link into the box provided. To make it more obvious that the test contains a link you may wish to embolden/colour the text. Inserting a Link to other Posts. If you want to refer to a specific thread and post a link to that thread you can just go to the thread, select the address from address bar, copy it (Ctrl+C) and paste the link as described in “Inserting a link to an article on the internet”. To link to a specific post just right click on the post No#, copy link address and paste into your post Uploading Files from Computer. Certain file types may be uploaded from your computer (see Allowable File Types) in Appendix 2. Click on Upload a File. Locate the file on your computer and double click the file name Partially Quoting a Post within a Thread. If you just want to quote part of a post just click reply and edit out what you wish to exclude. If you want to reply separately to parts of previous post you can achieve this by replying to the thread and then editing it as shown in the example in Appendix 3. Quoting a Post from another Thread. If you want to quote a post in another thread you can either post a direct link to that post or click Reply on the post, copy the quotation (Ctrl+C), cancel the Reply and paste the quote into your own post. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix 1 Example of copying from the internet, an article containing image and hyperlinks My Timeform: Eye-catchers from Doncaster and Warwick please log in to view this image Share this article By Tony McFadden -- published 14th January 2015 Tony McFadden looks back on last week’s action, highlighting three horses that are worth following. Tried My Timeform yet? You can add detailed notes, keep your eye-catchers organised and decide when you receive e-mail alerts when your horses run. And best of all, it's FREE! Find out more HERE.." Our Kaempfer - Doncaster, Friday January 9 Our Kaempfer was a smart bumper performer, thought good enough to contest the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival, and he remains with plenty of potential to make an impact in valuable races over hurdles, especially if connections opt to go down the handicap route. Everything about Our Kaempfer, from his useful pedigree (brother to Clondaw Kaempfer) to his tall physique, suggests that he should excel over obstacles, and, following two encouraging in-frame efforts, he is likely to be allotted a handicap mark that underestimates his ability. Charlie Longsdon’s novice was simply too keen to do himself justice on his hurdling bow at Ascot, and he was again better than the bare result might indicate when finishing third at Doncaster on Friday. In an attempt to remedy his hard-pulling ways, Our Kaempfer was dropped right out, which, as things transpired, left him poorly placed when the tempo wound up. He appeals as the type likely to relish the end-to-end gallop a good-quality handicap tends to produce, and he is certainly one to keep on side. Some Buckle - Doncaster, Friday January 9 Roger Brookhouse and Tom George have enjoyed success this season with Stellar Notion and The Ould Lad, and Some Buckle could be the next one off the production line. Much like the other duo, we are only likely to see the best of Some Buckle when he tackles the larger obstacles, but he has shown enough promise in bumpers and over hurdles to suggest that he’s also of short-term interest. Some Buckle couldn’t quite follow up his impressive Southwell win, but, in pulling clear with another exciting prospect, he ran at least as well, deserving plenty of credit for putting so much distance between himself and the third in a slowly-run contest. He should benefit from the experience of such a hard-fought finish, and there’s certainly better to come down the line. Copper Kay - Warwick, Saturday January 10 Copper Kay boasts an impressive pedigree – she’s a half-sister to Copper Bleu and Cloudy Copper – and, based on her debut success at Warwick, she certainly looks like keeping up the family’s good name. An athletic type, Copper Kay was well backed in the market and she eventually justified that support, despite obvious signs of inexperience almost proving costly. Copper Kay looked to have matters in control when she quickened entering the straight, but she proved wayward under pressure, opening the door for Big Chief Benny – an exciting prospect in his own right – to hit the front. The manner in which Copper Kay picked up again once having a target to aim at was most pleasing, however, and she was good value for her one-and-a-half length win, the front duo crossing the line 18 lengths clear of the third. Copper Kay is evidently a useful prospect and looks a likely type for valuable mares’ events in the spring. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix 2 Allowable file types and limits for uploading The allowable file extensions are: zip txt pdf png jpg jpeg jpe gif Max size 2Mb --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix 3. Example of how to reply separately to sections of a post Standard Reply Quote [QUOTE="Ron, post: 7516369, member: 1000896"]Question is, could we survive in league 1? I think to get promoted and then face relegation all season would not be good for the club, in any sense. Will we have the funds to ensure we stay up (eg could we afford the increased wages we would have to pay to retain decent players)? My idea of success would be to stay in league football and to get on a sound financial footing so that that we can enjoy promotion and sustainable success in League 1[/QUOTE] You will notice that a quoted post is prefixed by the text highlighted in violet and suffixed by the text highlighted in red. If you wanted to reply to each section of the post separately, you can split the quote into two parts by copying the red text and placing it at the end of the first section and copying the violet text and placing it before the start of the second section. You may then insert your reply after each section, Eg This will then appear as --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix 4. Questions raised, together with answers will be published here and, where appropriate, incorporated into the User Guide.
Enquiries With experience on the Forum you will find that there is more than one way of looking things up. However, to keep things simple the following are the suggested routes to things you may want to find To find all the threads or post you have created. Click, or hover the mouse over, your Avatar/Name and click on Your Profile Page. Click on Information and select as required (See Fig S1) Fig S1 To find all threads/posts another member has created. The easiest way is to click on their Avatar, click Profile Page then Information (as above Fig S1). You can also view all posts of a member by clicking the No of Messages to the left of any of their posts To find all threads with a specified Prefix. Click on the coloured Prefix and all threads with that Prefix will be listed To search everywhere for certain words whether they be in a Thread Title or a Post In the Search box (See Fig S2) enter the text you want to search for and press the Enter key on your keypad. You can refine the search by entering further criteria in the box that appears as soon as you start to enter your text in the Search box and clicking Search (See Fig S3). Further refinement is available by clicking More and some Useful Searches are available by clicking the down arrow Fig S2 Fig S3
Nice effort Ron, this will help no end. Heaps of people (me included) struggle when it comes to this kind of stuff, so your efforts here will me much appreciated.
Cheers guys. For the time being, I'll leave it here as the Master copy. If Mick decides to change it or replace it with view to it going site-wide I'll place a notice on here. This does mean that, potentially, you could see some comments from non horsey members; but I'm not holding my breath
2011 when it finally closed wasn't it. And it's 5 yeas since we switched from the vBulletin platform to Xenforo
I remember a lot of us being around when Mon Mome won the National in 2009, and from memory we might have been on the BBC site for a couple of years before that. We've aged a heap since then.
Hi Ron, hope you are enjoying a good festive time! One problem I often have is in knowing how to delete a comment I have made or reply to a thread. The other minor issue is how to add just emoji faces in my reply to a comment. I click on the icons and they dont appear in my reply!
Good morning Southcoastoldgaffer Unfortunately Ron doesn't post on horse racing any more but allow me to try and help: 1. Only moderators can delete comments. If you want to delete a comment, the best thing to do is just edit it and remove all content except one character. You must leave 1 character in the comment otherwise the software will not accept the change. So leave a . or , or - or ! or $ and you will be fine. 2. To reply to a comment, simply hit the "Reply" button underneath the comment. Important is that you type your reply AFTER the last square bracket ] thus: 3. For emojis, just click on the smiley button at the top of your comment box Then click once on the emoji you want to insert - you should see it appear in your reply comment box. You can close the emoji tool box by clicking on the smiley button a second time. I hope this answers your questions, if not please let me know what device and browser you are using.
