How To GUIDE

There are a number of ways you can join a Forum. These include:

1. Via the Homepage - Click on a message that is listed in the Hottest Threads, Pictures or Videos on the Homepage. If you are not already a member a dialogue box will ask if you wish to join.
2. Via the Directory - Open the Directory and choose a category and then a forum. Click on Join Forum icon.
3. Via a Search result - Use Search to look for a subject you are interested in and clicking on one of the messages shown in the returned search result takes you to the relevant forum. If you are not already a member a dialogue box will ask if you wish to join.

NB. This facility is not available to Plus4 free account holders

To open a new Forum go to My Forum | Create a new forum | Create Forum or at the foot of the page click on Start Your Own Forum. Complete the Create New Forum table as required.

Forum Name: 14 characters lower case

Forum Type:

• Open means all in CIX can join and view
• Closed means it appears in the Directory but viewing and joining by permission of the Moderator.
• Private means it is not published in the Directory and membership is by invite only.

Category: Catagories in the Directory where you can place your new forum.

NB – If creating a Private forum select “private” in both the Category and Sub Category boxes

The Homepage Top threads page is being calculated by an algorithm to measure other people’s interest in its content.

(To navigate the discussion you can use your mouse and click or make use of the keystroke commands detailed at Keyboard shortcuts )

The Forums you join appear in the pull down menu on the left hand side of your screen (and on your My Forums page). Highlighting a Forum name takes you to that Forum and displays the Topics in that Forum.

Opening a Topic reveals the message threads in that Topic. Clicking on a message takes you to the next unread message in that thread.

CIX Forums messages display in a threaded window with the content of the highlighted messages displayed in the pane beneath.

The content pane shows the poster’s name, the date the message was posted and the Profile of the poster. If the message is a reply to a previous message, the previous message’s number is shown. Clicking on the number takes you to the message being answered.

To start a new thread choose, Start New Thread and type text in the comment box and then click Post Message.

To reply to a message choose Reply and type text in the comment box and then click Post Reply.

To attach a document to a message click on Attach File in the comment box. A dialogue box will open with instructions.

To embed a You Tube video or a Metacafe video into a message copy the relevant URL link from the You Tube or Metacafe site and paste it as a link into the CIX Forum’s comment box. When posted to CIX Forums it will appear in that message in an embedded player.

To embed a picture either just copy in the url of an existing image. Or click on the 'attach file' button in the message editor to upload a picture from your local machine.

To embed an mp3 file either just copy in the url of an existing mp3. Or click on the 'attach file' button in the message editor to upload an mp3 file from your local machine.

By copying and pasting the url for an eBay item into your message, it will cause an eBay widget to be embeded into your message.

You can embed a Poll Daddy widget into your message by copy and pasteing the link into a new message (Start New Thread) or a Reply.

Whilst creating your Poll, don't include media as this doesn't embed correctly into the CIX Forums message, instead, upload media by using the Attach button when editing the CIX Forums message. Once you have created your Poll, use the “Direct Link Method” on the right hand side, this should be a simple URL like http://www.polldaddy.com/p/12345679/.

You can choose to receive alerts to: A Message A Thread A Topic A Forum To do so choose Alerts when reading a message, complete the dialogue box as required and click Save. Alerts from then on will be sent to the email address detailed in your account Settings. To cancel an alert choose Alerts when in the relevant message and click Cancel.

How to create a Signature to appear at the end of a message? To create a signature open the comment box and open the Signature pull down menu and choose Edit/Add Signature, a dialogue box will open with instructions. Click Save to save signature

Our Help Desk can be reached by:

1. Clicking on the Help link at the foot of the page.
2. Through joining the support forum called cix.support. To do so open the Directory and enter “cix.support” in the Search box, join this Forum and then post your questions in the topic called 2support.