Welcome To "How To Use A Forum"

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Throughout this lesson we will be using Big Marketing Forum as an example.

It is recommended that you open a new window or tab with http://BigMarketingForum.com/Forum so you can follow along with the guide.

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Making your first post. We are going to start with an introduction post. As you can see in the picture below we are in the General Category and the Introduction Thread. This is signified by the BLUE Arrow. When you are ready to introduce yourself to the forum, click on the NEW TOPIC button which the RED Arrow is pointing to.

After you have clicked on the RED Arrow in the picture above, you will see a picture similar to the picture below.

This is the screen you will see whenever you start a topic. The RED Arrow is pointing to the subject line. This is basically a short description of what your post will be about. The PINK Arrow is pointing to a drop down window that has different icons that you can choose to put beside your post like a smiley face, an exclamation point etc. The YELLOW Arrow is pointing to a group of icons that we will get to later in the guide. One thing I can tell you about the smiley faces you see, if you click on one of them it will be added to the post. The ORANGE arrow is pointing to where you want to type in your message or post. The BLUE Arrow is pointing to a minus sign beside Additional Options. When you first post you will see a + sign. I clicked on the plus sign already so I can show you the additional options. After you make your post, you can put a click in any of these options. The GREEN Arrow is pointing to the Preview button. If you click on this you will get to see a preview of what you post will look like before you put it on the board. After you are happy with what you have, click the Post button and your message will appear on the forum. Don't worry if you see something that you messed up after you click the Post button as later on I will show you how you can edit your posts also.

You can also reply to other posts that are made at the forum. The picture below is from a thread in the Introduction discussion. There are 2 ways to reply to a post. One is by clicking the Quote link which the RED Arrow is pointing to. This will open a page up like the picture you seen above, but it will have the post made by the member that you clicked Quote on. Each post has a Quote link and you can reply to each poster individually this way. The second way to Reply to a post is to click the Reply Button which is on the top and bottom of each thread. The GREEN Arrow is pointing to a list of buttons that are at the bottom of this particular thread. This menu bar is also at the top. Clicking on Reply will open up a blank page to enter your reply. The subject line will already be in the post and it will say Re: THE SUBJECT OF THE ORIGINAL POST. You can change this subject if you want though. As you can see the PURPLE Arrow is pointing to the subject of the reply. Also there are some other things you will see in the picture below. For instance in the same menu bar that the Reply button is on, you can be notified of replies to this thread by clicking on NOTIFY. You can click on MARK UNREAD so the post will still have the New icon beside on the main page (the first picture above). You can Send This Topic to a contact by clicking on the SEND THIS TOPIC link. And you can also print the topic by clicking on PRINT. The BLUE arrow is pointing to Previous And Next. Clicking on these will take you to the Post Before Or After this one.

In no time at all you will be posting like a seasoned veteran. On the next page I am going to show you how to start a blog on Big Marketing Forum, so you can share your thoughts with the world!