Inside a conference

• Conference banner
• Topic list
• Topic status
• Browsing topics
• Sorting topics
• Reading a topic
• Reading new responses
• Creating a topic
• Add to My List
• Remove from My List

A conference is a discussion area maintained by a host. Typically, a conference is organized around a specific subject of discussion such as movies or cooking. Some conferences are organized around a group of people with common interests, as well, such as genx.

Conference banner

When you enter a conference, its banner will appear at the top of your screen. Click the banner to bring up the Conference Information page, which provides the names of the hosts, as well as any other information the hosts may have added to the page. If you click Statistics at the top of the page, you’ll see a list of conference participants.

Topic list

Topics for discussion are listed below the conference banner. To read or contribute to a topic, click on its name.

Topic Status

Some topic titles may be preceded by an icon to indicate a unique status:

	New indicates that responses have been posted since your last visit
	Frozen indicates the topic is read-only.
	Full indicates the topic is full and effectively frozen.
	Linked indicates the topic appears in more than one conference.
	Retired indicates the conference host previously withdrew the topic from the main list.
	Forgotten indicates that you previously withdrew the topic from the main list.

Browsing topics

Located above the topic list, the Browse Bar controls which topics you see. From the Browse Bar you may choose:

• Recent topics with new discussion items listed first. “Recent” is the default browsing method.
• All available topics, except those retired by the host or forgotten by you.
• Forgotten topics that you previously withdrew from the main list.
• Retired topics withdrawn from the main list by the host of the conference.

Sorting topics

Topics may be sorted by clicking any column title. You may sort by:

• Topic number, to list topics chronologically by date of creation.
• Topic title, to list topics in alphabetical order.
• Last post, to list topics in reverse chronological order by date of last posted response.
• New, to list topics by number of new responses, from most to least.
• Total, to list topics by total number of responses, from most to least.

Reading a topic

To read a topic, click on its name. To read responses that are not currently displayed, use the scrolling links or jump box above the first displayed response. See also: Reading and responding.

Reading new responses

When you return to a conference, topics with responses posted since your last visit will be flagged as New. To read all of the new items, click See all New at the top of the page. To read one topics new items, click on the New flag located next to the topic’s title.

If you want to remove the New flags and treat the topics as if you have read all their posts, click Mark all as if seen at the top of the page.

If you want to remove the entire conference from your Conference List, click Remove from My List. 

Creating a topic

Conference participants may create a new topic for discussion at any time. To create a new topic for discussion:

1. Select Create topic located above the topic list.
2. Enter a title for the topic.
3. Compose an opening comment in the space provided.
4. Click Spellcheck, if desired.
5. Click Post when you are satisfied with your wording.

At the time you click Post, your topic will be assigned a number and added to the topic list. Your introductory comment will appear as Response 0, and the topic will be displayed to you to confirm it has been created successfully. You may also add another response at this time.

Tip: The opening comment should be brief, describing what you want to discuss in broad terms. If you want to add a longer response setting forth your opinion or ideas about the matter, first create the topic and brief introduction. Then post additional material as Response 1.

Add to My List

Click Add to My List at the top of the page if you are visiting this conference, and you want to add it to your Conference List.

Remove from My List

Click Remove from My List at the top of the page to remove this conference from your Conference List.