[pete]

This is a brief introduction to the discussion forums at CFD Online. More detailed information can be found in the Forum FAQ. The forums are free and open to everyone. All visitors can view and search for messages, but only registered users who are logged in can post messages. Logged in users also have some additional functionality available in the forums.

Browsing the Forums

When you visit a forum all threads are displayed in descending order based on the latest reply, starting from the most recently replied to thread. The forum will display the 40 most recently replied to threads on the first page. To see other threads you must use the thread page navigation tools in the right corner just above and just below the thread list. You can change the sort order and other details of the thread display in the Display Options panel below the thread list.

When you click on a thread the forum by default displays the thread in linear mode showing the original message at the top followed by all replies in chronological order below. If there are more than 20 replies you can find the later replies by moving to the following pages using the thread display navigation tools in the right corner just above and below the list of replies. You can switch to threaded or hybrid display mode using the Display Modes menu in the top right corner of the first message. If you find a thread that you are very interested in and want to receive an email notification if a reply is posted in that thread you can subscribe to the thread using the Subscribe function in the Thread Tools menu.

Registering, Confirming Email Address and Logging In

To register please click on the Register link. When you register you have to select a username and a password. Be careful when you select username since only administrators can change it afterwards and we do not want a forum where people change their usernames all the time.

When registering you also have to give your email address. Make sure to provide a valid email address since you have to confirm your registration via an email sent to the given address. Only registered users with a confirmed email address are allowed to post messages. The email address is confidential and will not be disclosed to anyone. Only one registered user per email address is allowed. For more information about privacy issues please see the privacy section below. Please note that several email provides reject emails from the forums, most notably Hotmail/Live/Outlook has a tendency to sometimes reject our emails and that can make it impossible to use these email providers on the forums. gmail seems to work better.

You are encouraged to provide your real name. People who disclose their real name are treated more seriously and it is good for the forum if most people do not hide behind an anonymous nick name. Your real name can always be removed later on if you change your mind. Some companies do not allow their employees to post on these forums and then it is perfectly okay to register anonymously without giving your real name.

Once registered you must login before you can post messages. To login enter your username and password in the form fields on the front page. When you login the "Remember me" option is on by default. If you login with this option active your login id will be stored in a cookie on the computer you are using so that you don't have to login the next time you return to the forum. If you are using a public computer, where you don't want your login id stored please de-select this option before you login.

User Settings

The forum will remember all your settings automatically. If you, for example, switch to threaded view the forum will automatically use threaded view the next time you return. There are also additional settings and data that can be changed in the User Panel. For example, you can add some information about yourself in the Your Details section or you can modify additional options in the Options section.

Posting Messages

To post a new message and start a new thread click on the button:

You can find this button to the left above and below the list of threads in a forum.

To reply to a message please click the button:

You can find this button to the right just below the message that you want to reply to. It is important to use this button when replying to a reply since some people browse the forum in threaded mode and then it is essential to show which message it is that you are replying to.

To reply to a message that starts a thread you can also click on the button:

You can find this button to the left both above and below the displayed thread. Please do not use this button if you are not replying to the original thread-starting message, but are replying to another reply.

When posting a message you can use BB-code to format your message. You can change fonts, make bullets, indentations, include links, source code and more. The posting editor can work in two different modes. By default it works in WYSIWYG mode so that the actual appearance of the message is visible and not the BB-codes. Sometimes you get better control of your message if you instead switch editor mode to show the BB-codes. To switch editor mode click on the button in the top-rigt corned of the editor panel that looks like this:

You can write mathematical equations in your message using LaTeX codes. For further information about this feature please see the LaTeX Guide

Subscriptions

You can subscribe via email to entire forums or to especially intersting threads. The system will automatically send you an email of new posts in the forums or threads that you are subscribed to.

When you post a message in a thread you will by default also be subscribed to that thread. To change this behaviour permanently you have to change your thread subscription mode in your options. You can also change this temporarily for the reply you are just submitting by switching to advanced mode and de-selecting the automatic subscription for this particular post.

Thread Ratings and User Reputations

To assist other users in finding especially interesting discussions you can help by submitting a rating of the threads you read. When you are viewing a thread you can submit a rating of it from the Rate Thread menu at the top of the first message. Available ratings range from one star (terrible) up to five stars (excellent).

You can also give credit to other users who you think are valuable and who are posting good messages. If you give positive credit to a user his reputation level will increase. A user's reputation level is shown in his posting bit. We are currently also testing the posibility to give negative reputation to a user, but please be carefull with this and only use it when there is a good reason. If we notice that this is being abused we will disable it. To submit positive or negative credit to a user click on the button:

Handling Problematic Posts and Users Who Misbehave

If you notice posts that break the Forum Rules or posts that you dissaprove of please report them to the moderators. To report a post click on the button:

When reporting a post your are also asked to provide a small message to indicate why you are reporting this post.

Users who misbehave and break the forum rules can be given infractions from forum moderators. Infractions are valid for a certain time limit. Users who have reached a certain number of infractions will be denied the possibility to post messages until the given infractions expire. Serious offences will lead to an immediate permanent ban of the offending user.

Rules and Regulations

The forum rules and regulations can be found here. In short, any form of advertising, both commercial and personal is forbidden and moderators will remove posts that they judge as innapropriate without any further notice. Please be nice and avoid flame-wars. Also please avoid inappropriate language. All forms of personal attacks are forbidden. Use smilies to indicate that you are making a joke.

Privacy

You can post anonymously using a nick-name in the forums. However, we do recommend everyone to state their real name when they register. People who do not hide behind anonymous names are treated more seriously. You have to submit a valid email address to register. However, we will not disclose your email address to anyone other than CFD Online moderators and administrators.

We do record IP addresses of all activity on CFD Online. However, we will only publicly disclose IP addresses and/or email addresses if we have to do that in order to handle people who repeatadly break the forum rules or intentionally disrupt the forums in a serious manner.

You can read more details in our full Privacy Policy.

[cavallo]

Great work, guys. Quick question:

Is there a way I can opt NOT to get an email every time someone replies to a thread to which I posted (and hence "subscribed")?

Thanks.

[cavallo]

I think I found it under the "options" you cited above.

[raorp]

Hi,
There is no info in this section regarding uploading images and files.

[wyldckat]

Greetings raorp,

Quoting Pete:

Originally Posted by pete

More detailed information can be found in the Forum FAQ.

Therefore, if you look at the FAQ page, you have this link: Reading and Posting Messages
From there, you have this link: Attachments and Images

Best regards,
Bruno

[aja1345]

Hi,

Is it possible that you change user name?

If there is no problem, I would like I change my user name.

Best regard,

Amir

[jola]

If you want to change your username please send an email to webmaster@cfd-online.com. Please also remember to tell us what username you want instead.

[Anand Ashish]

How can I delete a comment I made in a thread?

[jola]

You need to contact a forum administrator or moderator to get help to delete posts.