TAWARNOLDS WWW MESSAGE BOARD (TWMB) FAQs & THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW!
| I. FAQs 1. Do I have to
register? *** *** *** *** 1. Do I have to register? A: It's up to you and depending on the setting by Administrator. If you have no intention to visit this board frequently (and/or just a silent reader), then it is a good idea not to register (you may save us some server's space :)>. If you're anything to the opposite, being a registered member could prove your experience on this board more pleasant. Registered members can use HTML tags to enhance the appearance of their post and have a persistent identity on the board. 2. What is the best browser to use for this board? A: Although T.M.B. is optimized for the two most popular browsers, MS Internet Explorer and Netscape, you can practically use any HTML-compliant browser. If possible, use MS Internet Explorer (please read Things You Should Know below). 3. Why T.M.B. does not allow users to re-edit messages posted earlier? A: This is rather a nettiquette issue than software. When you are engaged in a discussion, you should not go back to change your word that already has a written reply by someone else. The author does not imply all users are tempted to do so, but leaving this function short is not a bad idea. If you really want to modify your post in due reasons, ask a level 2 member or higher for help. In any case, any clarification from you should be performed on your next message. 4. How do I insert those funny icons? A: There are instructions as well as codes for using those icons in the 'Help' page. 5. How can I view the board without frames so I can have more viewable space for large posts? A: Point your mouse to the message's link and right-click, then select 'Open in New Window' from the popup menu. 6. Is this board 100% HTML compatible? A: Yes and No. It is true that you can use almost all basic HTML tags, however, it is not recommended to use tags that insert objects, applets, large picture and animation files which can slow down everyone's downloading time. Warning, when composing an HTML-enhanced message, do not use <html>, <head>, <title>, <style> and <body> tags, using those tags will affect the layout of other messages, thus, will not be accepted by strict moderators. 7. How do I upgrade to a higher level membership? A: This takes time and your showing of good faith, also, depends on the need for help of moderating by the Administrator. Sometimes, the Administrator can pick out a level 1 user and upgrade to level 2 or higher, but most of the time, it only happens within the staff circle. 8. What does the message "Your session with another application has ended to avoid conflict!" mean? A: This is a security function to address the Session object problem with browsers other than MSIE 5.0 or higher, please refer below. 9. Can I still use the board without saving cookies? A: Yes, you can still read all the posts, in fact, everything will be the same except that TWMB will not be able to keep track of your last visiting date to display the status of any new messages. 10. What is the difference between MID and RID on the message header? A: They are the unique IDs that TWMB uses to identify each post and its relation; MID is the ID number of the message which you're reading, and RID is the ID number of the [original] message that which the MID post is responding to. The ID Jump function uses MIDs, in fact, there are only MIDs and only one exists for each post, the RID is just a reference number to help TWMB grouping related posts in one single thread. If you still don't get it, don't lose any sleep over it, just focus on the MIDs and you'll be fine :)>
Browser Technicalities: - TWMB. runs on the Windows NT/2000 (MS IIS 4.x) server with dozens of ASP files, it uses a Session object to temporary store every user's information for a period of time (usually for 20 minutes by default). In order for the server to identify all users who are going through the website, it sends a unique number to each user's browser to save it as a cookie, so any of the user's next command on the message board is traceable by the specified Session object. - MSIE (Microsoft Internet Explorer) 5.0 or higher treats each of its instance as a unique session [only and only if you launch each of those instance separately], which means you can launch as many copies of MSIE 5.0 as you want, and for each, the browser will set aside a different cookie ID for it. This is useful if you have multiple accounts on the same website (not necessarily the same TWMB.). However, two copies of MSIE 5.0 can still share the same cookie ID if one of them is launched from within another, that is either by choosing the 'New' command from the 'File' menu or by selecting 'Open in New Window' from the popup menu. - Older versions of MSIE such as 3.x or 4.x and Netscape 4.x do not treat each of their instances as a unique session, hence, you can not use one of those browsers to login to more than one account onto the same website that uses IIS 4's Session objects. If you must use those browsers, to avoid any possible errors, please properly click on the 'End Session' (or log off) command in your 'Administration Panel' before logging in as another user (or account). In any case, MSIE 4.x or higher is the recommended browser, you'll see there are many subtle but cool effects for it. - For security reasons, if you move from the current application (or message board) to another application on the same website, and if your browser does not support multiple cookie IDs as described above, your current session will be destroyed; hence, the message, "Your session with another application has ended to avoid conflict!" User Nettiquette: - Your post will likely to be a target of removal if you.. ...use an HTML tag that leads to a large file which can slow down the board. |