Sticky HOW-TO USE THE FDMB: The Basics

Looking for the FDMB "Glossary" of pet health terms? Check here!

Welcome to the Feline Diabetes Message Board (FDMB). You are joining a community with an expansive knowledge base regarding feline diabetes (FD) and numerous members dedicated to helping each other.

Your first post should be on the Main Health Forum which is accessed here:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-welcome-main-forum.28/

The Main Health Forum is where you will learn the basics like general feline diabetes information, feeding your cat, hometesting (if you are not already doing so), and tracking your cat’s blood glucose levels.

We ask the subject line of your first post contain the date and “New Member” along with any other title you’d like to add so we can ensure your first post is addressed.

To further help you as you start out, we suggest you read the following posts:

How to Use the FDMB:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-use-the-fdmb-the-basics.130682/

New? How You Can Help Us Help You:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-how-you-can-help-us-help-you.216696/

Index, Health Links, and Frequently Asked FD Questions:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/index-health-links-faqs.194624/

Again, welcome! Ask questions and thank you for allowing us to join you and your kitty on your FD journey.

BELOW you will find information about our Forum SOFTWARE, and a few basics of how to use it, if you are not familiar with forums. Don't worry about "screwing up", someone will get you pointed in the right direction!

 

XenForo (this software) uses some terms that are slightly different from other forums. Here are some key ones to be aware of:

• Messages – aka "posts". Multiple "posts" make up a "thread".
  
• Alerts – aka "notifications". You’ll see an Alerts menu at the top right of the page when you’re signed in (next to your profile information). Here you’ll see notifications on threads and forums you’re watching, and you can manage your alert preferences from here.
• Conversations – These are private messages - aka "PM" or "DM" to some, that you have with other users.

How to Log in
The login/sign up button is at the top right (there’s also a larger, orange button a bit below the header). Input your username and password and make sure to check “Stay logged in” in case you don’t want to enter your password each time you start a new session.

How to View Threads
Click on any forum title to view the threads in that forum. You’ll see the name of each thread, who started that thread and when, the number of replies and views, and the name of the last contributor to the thread (and when that contribution occurred).

Click on the date below last message to be taken directly to the latest message in the thread.

Hover over the thread title to view the number of pages in the thread. You can then click on any of those page numbers to be taken directly to that page in the thread.

How to View New Posts/Activity
If you want to see what’s new across all forums, click on New Posts in the sub-menu under Forum in the main menu.

Here you’ll see a list of all threads with unread messages; somewhere on the list you’ll see a note that says “Threads below this have not been updated since your last visit but have unread messages.” This means that anything above this note is new since your last visit.

If you just want a straight list of the most recent posts, click “Recent Posts” at the top right on that New Posts page.

How to Start a Thread
To start your own thread, go to any forum and click the orange “Post New Thread” button.

You can then add a thread title and add content to the first post and click “Create Thread”. You can choose whether to watch a thread and receive email notifications when there are new responses.

How to Add A Post in a Thread
Adding a new post to a thread is very similar to creating a thread, except you don’t create a thread title first. Simply go down to the bottom of the thread and you’ll find a Post Reply input box. The “More Options” button allows you to Preview the post and sign up for thread notifications.

How to Format Your Posts
The toolbar includes any formatting you should need, including lists, smilies/emoticons, and code display.

Note: XenForo displays only BBcode (all old posts have been converted from HTML). You can find a list of relevant BBcode formatting in the help pages here: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/help/bb-codes

To add an image to your post, you have two options:

1. Insert from a URL. Click the image icon in the toolbar to insert an image directly from a the webpage URL.
2. Upload an image from your computer.

1. Click the orange “Upload a File” button below the post box. A window will pop up allowing you to navigate to the file on your computer.
2. Once you’ve selected the file, you will see it under the Attached Files section. You can then choose to insert it as either a thumbnail or a full-size image. (Note: If you see a blank image, you may need to refresh the page.)
3. Click either and the image should appear in your post (or BBcode for image insertion). If you already have an image code in mind, you can use the code to add it in.

To add video to your post, click the Media icon and add a video URL (YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Dailymotion, Liveleak, Metacafe) and click “Embed”.

How to Quote Other Users’ Posts
If you’re in a thread and want to reply specifically to another user’s post, use the “Reply” link at the bottom right of the post. This will start a new post with that user’s post quoted. You can then add any additional information you want and submit your reply.

How to Watch a Forum for New Threads
Want to know when new threads are created in a certain forum? Click the “Watch Forum” link at the top of any forum. You’ll then have the option to select the notifications you want to receive, and how – via email (notifications of new threads will come immediately after they are posted) or via alerts (alerts will update at the top right of the forum, next to your profile info and inbox).

How to Watch a Thread for New Posts
If you just want to know when a certain thread is updated, you can click “Watch Thread” at the top of that thread and choose whether you’ll receive email notifications or not (if not, notifications will be given to you as alerts). You can also sign up to watch a thread via the “More Options” button when making a post.

How to Start a Conversation with another member (or members)
If you want to have a private conversation with another member (or members), you can do it two ways:

Inbox menu

1. Hover over the Inbox menu at the top right of any page. Click the link that says “Start a Conversation”.
2. Add participants by typing their usernames – matching names will auto-populate as you type.
3. Create a conversation title (subject line) and your message. You’ll have access to the same tools as you have when creating posts. You can give conversation participants the ability to invite others, if that’s something you want (will be unchecked by default).

From a thread

1. Click on a user’s name within any thread.
2. On the resulting profile pop-up, click on “Start a Conversation”.

To follow existing conversations, check your Inbox.

You can change the settings for who can start a Conversation with you by going to your profile and then "Privacy" and scroll down to the "People Who May..." section.

How to Manage Alerts
Your Alerts menu is where you’ll find updates on recent activity from forums and threads you’re tracking. Hover over the Alerts menu at the top right of any page to see recent alerts.


Click on “Alert Preferences” to manage what activity triggers an alert.

How to Edit Your Profile and General Preferences
Hover over your username in the top right menu to find a number of options to update your profile and general preferences. This includes updating your avatar, add information and more.

Edit Your Privacy Settings
On any forum on the 'net, you should check out privacy settings. On the FDMB, just hover over your name at the top, and then select "Privacy". There you can do anythingi from showing your online status, to who can view your profile page. The FDMB will *never* sell your information, the only time you should be emailed is from other members, (if enabled), alerts, (if enabled), or important announcements from the FDMB.

How to Search
You can search for content using the Search bar at the very top right of any page. You can specify what user’s posts you’re looking for, or date parameters for your search.

You may search for members this way as well.

Following People
Want to keep an eye on what your friends are posting? No problem, just simply "follow" them. Click on their avatar to bring up their profile, and click on follow.

Tag a Person in a Post
When writing a post, you can "tag" someone in the post by typing the "@" symbol, followed by their name. (Such as @@Robert and Echo. This will send them an alert that they have been tagged, drawing their attention to that post. Use sparingly, but it is a useful tool!

Do you have any more questions?
No problem, post in our "Tech Support" forum.

Thank you from myself and the Moderator Team!

 

911 Posts

Periodically you may need help ASAP! We call those 911's. When you are posting, simply click to add the "911" prefix to your post to get extra attention. The prefix is found on the bar where you type in the title. Please, this is for 911 situations ONLY such as symptomatic hypos, very low numbers (below 30 on a human meter), and/or very sick cats potentially needing ER care. Do not tag questions as 911 that are not.

 

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