For our New Members - Democratic Underground

SoCalDem

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Tue Aug-26-03 04:05 PM
Original message

For our New Members

Edited on Tue Aug-26-03 04:07 PM by SoCalDem

Tips Especially the newly minted DUers

Here's a quick primer on how the forums work..

1. Everything that you post as a new thread is "linked" to the front page and/or Latest page
(One exception...Lounge posts show up on Latest, but not the Home page)

2. Before you start a new thread, please check the front page and latest to see if someone has beaten you to it.. It really looks goofy to see the same title 4 or 5 times on the Latest or Front Page.. Remember, too, that the subject line is "out there" for everyone to see.. Swear words inside a thread are not too objectionable, but if we want DU to be a "news source" for the masses, some words might be a turn-off before they even explore what we have to offer..

3. Post it in ONLY ONE forum... If it is less than well-recieved and you feel it would be better in a different forum, just hit alert and ask the mod to move it for you.. You may also use the DU mail for any mod or the administrators..

4. ACTIVATE YOUR DU MAILBOX...For those of you who don't even know you HAVE a DU mailbox...go to lobby....user....modify profile..look for DU mailbox deactivated?..Make sure the "deactivate" is OFF.. I know this seems backwards, but that's the way it works... :)

5. Speaking for myself (SoCalDem)(when I was a Moderator), I usually sent a message in your DU mailbox to alert you if I planned to remove or move a post, but if your mailbox is inactive, there is no way to let you know..

6. Forums...:
...............LBN....Latest Breaking News.. All the particulars are in the FAQ

... Briefly, though, The news must be NEW...Bear in mind that this is primarily a political message board, so the news should be political in LBN.. If someone dies, and is not a political figure, that post would be best suited to GD... Please use the actual headline for the subject line.. The post MUST contain a link to the story.. Look before you post, someone may have beaten you to the punch.. If that is the case, just post your new information to THAT one...

...............Editorial... Please post opinion pieces here.. They can be YOUR opinion pieces that you have written or from columnists.. Please provide links and be aware of copyright issues.. Three or four paragraphs is plenty..

..............General Discussion.... This is the place for threads that call for a lot of commentary and input. These still need to be "linked" if it is in reference to a specific news story..

..............The Lounge.... This is the place to "cut loose" and be silly..Most "rules" are checked at the door. :evilgrin:.. Be aware though, that we do have several young posters here and totally tasteless or poprnographic stuff WILL be deleted.. Violators may be spanked, verbally ,at least:evilgrin:

..............Most of the other forums are pretty self- explanatory, but if you ever have a question, please post it to "Ask the Admin" (at the bottom of the forum list)

.............Helpful hints..... Use your "mark" button

when you finish in a forum.. This will make all the folders show up as "read"..

It will automatically put you back in the lobby so you can check your DU mail if you have any... When there are new responses to the forum you just "marked" , the little folder icon on the left will be yellow.....

...

...........Start reading DU from the bottom, up... All the forums have good "stuff" (to quote fearless leader) in them.. This way you will know if that article you are dying to post has already been posted , too..( We all hate Ann Coulter, but do we really NEED 10 threads all about her??:evilgrin: )

~~~~~~~~~~~Feel free to post YOUR tips and suggestions, too...... I was here for months before I even knew what the "bookmark" feature was all about.. :(