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Pl@za Help Discussion Groups

The Discussion Groups service is a forum where community members can exchange views on topics of common interest. To use discussion groups, you must first subscribe to the Discussion Groups service. Discussions are conducted by posting messages to discussion groups for other people to read and reply to. The system resembles sending an e-mail message, but here the messages you send are public and can be read by other members of the community. Discussions are divided into discussion groups: each group can have several topics, and each topic can contain one or more messages.

Index

Viewing Discussion Groups

The main index to the Discussion Groups service shows the groups you have selected with the number of current messages in each group. The number in the New column indicates the number of unread messages, which have been posted within last 24 hours or since your last log out (messages posted by you are not counted). The Unread column displays the number of messages you have not read. The All column indicates the total number of messages in the group. Clicking a group description shows topics using the current mode, which you can change by clicking the (New, Unread, All) buttons.

Clicking the number in the All column shows all the topics in the group. To see only topics that have recent or unread messages in them, click the number in the respective column.

You can choose how to sort topics by clicking the (alphabetic, ascending date, descending date) buttons.

You can change the way messages are displayed by clicking the (single, multiple, threaded) buttons.

Page Index

Viewing Topics

The list of topics in the topic view is similar to the list of groups in the main index. Clicking a number next to a topic shows messages in that topic using the respective mode (New, Unread, All). Clicking a topic name shows messages using the current mode.

To start a new topic in the discussion group, click the button (which is repeated at the bottom of the list).

You can restrict the contents of lists of topics or messages by clicking the (new, unread, all) buttons.

Note  Your selection will be overridden when you click on a number in the New, Unread or All column.

You can mark all messages in a group as read by clicking the button.

You can choose how to sort topics by clicking the (alphabetic, ascending date, descending date) buttons.

You can change the way messages are displayed by clicking the (single, multiple, threaded) buttons.

If a group contains more than 20 topics, or a topic contains more than 20 messages, they are displayed in groups of 20. You can see more topics or more messages by using the buttons at the top and bottom of the list.

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Reading Messages

You can view messages in three modes: single message mode, multiple message mode and threaded message mode. You can change the mode by clicking the (single, multiple, threaded) buttons.

In single message mode, you can see only one message at a time. In this mode clicking a topic displays a list of messages. You can then view a message by clicking its subject.

In multiple message mode, clicking the topic name opens all the messages in that topic. At the head of each message there are navigation buttons:

  • takes you to the top of the page;

  • takes you to the previous message.;

  • takes you to the following message;

  • means there is no next (or previous) message.

In threaded message mode, you see a structured list of the messages in the topic. You can open a message by clicking its subject; any previously open message will be closed and the message will be opened in place. An open message can be closed by clicking the (close) button at the head or foot of the open message.

You can delete your own messages by clicking the (delete) button. You cannot delete messages posted by other members (no delete button is shown).

There are several buttons which can be used to post a new message:

  • (at the head of a list of messages) allows you to start a new topic;

  • (at the head of a list of messages, or at the head of an individual message) allows you to add a message to a topic;

  • (at the head of an individual message) allows you to reply to a specific message.

The button fetches a modified version of the page, optimised for printing. Depending on the position of the button (at the head of a list of messages, or at the head of an individual message) the modified page may include a list of messages or a single message. The modified page is displayed in a new window, which you should dismiss when you have finished with it.

You can restrict the contents of lists of topics or messages by clicking the (new, unread, all) buttons.

You can mark all messages in a group as read by clicking the button.

You can change the way messages are displayed by clicking the (single, multiple, threaded) buttons.

If a topic contains more than 20 messages, they are displayed in groups of 20. (In multiple message view, there may be fewer messages in a group to limit the total size of the page.) You can see more messages by using the buttons at the top and bottom of the list.

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Selecting which Messages are Displayed

You can restrict the contents of lists of topics or messages by clicking the (new, unread, all) buttons:

  • restricts lists of messages or topics so that only new messages, or topics with new messages, are shown;

  • restricts lists of messages or topics so that only unread messages, or topics with unread messages, are shown;

  • removes any restriction so all messages or topics will be listed.

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Sorting Topics

You can choose how to sort topics by clicking the (alphabetic, ascending date, descending date) buttons:

  • sorts topics in alphabetical order from A to Z;

  • sorts topics by date in ascending order;

  • sorts topics by date in descending order.

Page Index

Displaying Messages

You can change the way messages are displayed by clicking the (single, multiple, threaded) buttons:

  • displays a list of messages in a topic: clicking on the subject of a message then displays that message on its own;

  • displays all the messages in a topic;

  • displays a structured list of messages in a topic: clicking on the subject of a message then displays that message in the middle of the list (and closes any previously displayed message).

Page Index

Scrolling Topics

If a group contains more than 20 topics, they are displayed in groups of 20. You can see more topics by using the buttons at the top and bottom of the list. One button takes you to previous topics:

  • takes you to previous topics in this discussion group;

  • takes you to topics in the previous discussion group;

  • means there are no previous topics in this or any previous discussion group.

and a second button takes you to following topics:

  • takes you to more topics in this discussion group;

  • takes you to topics in the following discussion group;

  • means there are no more topics in this or any following discussion group.

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Scrolling Messages

If a topic contains more than 20 messages, they are displayed in groups of 20. You can see more messages by using the buttons at the top and bottom of the list. One button takes you to previous messages:

  • takes you to previous messages in this topic;

  • takes you to messages in the previous topic;

  • takes you to topics in the previous discussion group;

  • means there are no previous messages in this or any previous discussion group.

and a second button takes you to following messages:

  • takes you to more messages in this topic;

  • takes you to messages in the following topic;

  • takes you to topics in the following discussion group;

  • means there are no more messages in this or any following discussion group.

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