Frequently
Asked Questions
The following document
contains answers to questions that are asked frequently by intro.psych
(Psyco 105) Discussion users.
FAQ Index
What is intro.psych
(Psyco 105) Discussion?
intro.psych
(Psyco 105) Discussion is a moderated discussion board. Its purpose
is to provide an electronic discussion forum that is accessible to anyone
on the World Wide Web (WWW). Only users - registered students, the instructor
and the GTA - can contribute to conversations. Conversations are monitored
and organized by moderators - the instructor and GTA. intro.psych
(Psyco 105) Discussion is ideal for extending classroom discussions
to the WWW, conducting electronic conferences, and hosting public discussions.
How is intro.psych
(Psyco 105) Discussion organized?
intro.psych
(Psyco 105) Discussion is organized into topics; each topic may
have subtopics, and so on. The basic topic structure is set up by the board
administrator and the topic moderators. Within each subtopic are conversations
about an aspect of the topic and/or additional subtopics. Users can post
messages to these conversations and/or create new conversations within
the structure.
What can I do with intro.psych
(Psyco 105) Discussion?
-
Anyone with WWW access
can read any message in any area of intro.psych (Psyco
105) Discussion.
-
Users can add a message
to an existing conversation. If there is discussion about a subject
and you wish to contribute, you can use the "Add a Message" form at
the bottom of the conversation you are reading. Your message will then
be added to the bottom of that conversation.
Who may access intro.psych
(Psyco 105) Discussion?
Anyone with access to
the World Wide Web may access intro.psych (Psyco 105) Discussion
and read any of the posts on intro.psych (Psyco 105) Discussion.
Only users -registered students, the instructor and GTA - may post messages.
How do I post anonymously?
You may only post anonymously
to the general discussion group; you must include your user name to post
to your discussion group. If you do want to post anonymously, you can check
the Post message as "Anonymous" option at the bottom of the posting
form, in which case you will be referred to as "Anonymous" on the posting
screen. However, a log is kept of all posts, and the board administrator
or moderators can trace objectionable messages.
How do I format my post?
You can format your
post using a set of formatting tags. You do not have to know HTML to use
these formatting tags. A guide to using these formatting tags to format
messages is available on the formatting page, available from the main menu.
Why does clicking on
some topics or subjects take me away from topic pages?
Links to various World
Wide Web (WWW) documents can be included on topic pages. When you click
on a such link, you are brought away from intro.psych (Psyco
105) Discussion. To get back to intro.psych (Psyco
105) Discussion, either use your browser's back button or click
on the "intro.psych (Psyco 105) Discussion Topics" link
from the intro.psych (Psyco 105) Discussion main
menu. Please try to limit your use of links in your discussions.
Why do I see strange
characters in some posts?
Depending on your browser
and operating system, some special characters and formatting will not be
displayed correctly. This is especially noticable with browsers below Netscape
Navigator 3.0 and below Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0. Some fonts are
specific to the Windows operating system and will not be displayed correctly
on other platforms.
How do I contact intro.psych
(Psyco 105) Discussion moderators?
To contact moderators,
click on the "Contact" link from the main menu. You will be presented with
the name and e-mail address of the board administrator.
How do I change my user
profile (password, name, etc.)?
At the discretion of
the moderators, intro.psych (Psyco 105) Discussion
includes the ability for users to set up a "user profile." Users may specify
their e-mail address, full name, and whether or not they want to receive
e-mail notification of posts. Users may also change their passwords. To
access the user profile editor, click on "User Profile" from the main menu.
What is the most effective
way to search for new messages?
The most effective way
to use the new message reader is to perform your search, checking for new
messages since you last checked (by providing your username and password).
When the results are displayed, choose to open the link in a new browser
window. When you are finished reading the messages (and posting any replies),
close the new window and then continue down the list of new messages.
How does the keyword
search engine work?
The keyword search engine
searches the text of messages in those topics that you select and returns
the results based on the number of times that any of the keyword(s) appear
on the page, i.e., an "or" search. You can perform a "custom search" to
require or exclude words as follows:
-
To require a
word, precede the word with a +.
-
To exclude a
word, precede the word with a -.
-
To search for a phrase,
surround the phrase with "quotation marks".
Copyright
© 1998, Kevin W. Paulisse and William F. Polik, all rights reserved