How to Use This Site
Discussion Forum
To use the forum, click on Discussion Forum. Then click on Register to set up your account. You must register for the forum and the SOC library separately.The forum is broken down into boards (major topics areas that the system administrator created, and threads (which are individual questions that users post within a board), and replies (which are individual replies to a thread, or question from a user).
- To read posts, first choose the board you are interested in. Then choose the post you want to read.
- To reply to that post, click the reply button.
- To start a new thread in that board, click the new thread link.
- To search the posts, click the search posts link. Then choose the board you want to search, and enter your search terms.
How to Get the Most Out of the SOC Discussion Forum
The SOC Discussion Forum has features that can let you get as much out of the forum as you want.
Check it out regularly. Posts in a thread are visible to registered users, and unregistered guests who want to keep abreast of SOC news, but don’t want to contribute to the discussion. As a registered member, you can post replies to other users, or you can start a thread in an existing board for a topic not currently being discussed.
Register. As a registered member, you can set up a profile that can include your email address, website, instant messenger addresses, and a small virtual avatar and signature. Members can also send email-like Private Messages if you don’t feel like your comment needs to be shared with the whole thread.
Keep up to date on what’s happening. In your Profile control panel, you can choose to receive email notification of: Private Messages, updates in threads you’ve posted in, or updates in threads you’ve marked as Favorites. If you want to know what is happening on threads of interest, remember to choose the appropriate e-mail notifications. We will be sending periodic updates to all registered users of the forum so you can learn about interesting threads and new additions to the SOC library.
Be Nice and Helpful. Remember to be civil. The perceived anonymity of the internet means that tempers can flare quickly, especially since the text of a post doesn’t convey tone of voice. Members who flame (i.e. insult others, start arguments) will be contacted by the site sponsor. Users who are repeatedly disrespectful will be banned. If banned members try to register with a different email address, their IP will be blocked.
Respect privacy. ASDC, as sponsor of this site, is committed to protecting the privacy of all who register for this forum. Personal information that you provide us (e.g. your e-mail address) will only be used to provide information regarding this site. If you don’t want other members to see your email address, or see when you are on the forum, you can hide that information in your Profile control panel.
No commercial use. Members cannot use this forum to promote products or services for direct financial benefits except if they are in direct response to another member’s question and all financial interest in recommendations should be disclosed. ASDC reserves the right to restrict the use of this site by any individual violating this or any policy. ASDC retains the right to restrict access to anyone not acting in the spirit of this site.
Help us improve it! Like many forums, active and involved the members are crucial in keeping the board going. Please post any suggestions on how to improve the forum or this site in the discussion forum “Getting Started and Suggestions” in the “Suggestions” thread.
Sense of Community Library
You must register for the forum and the SOC library separately.
When you enter the SOC Library, you have three choices: browse categories, keyword search, and upload files.
- Browse Categories is how you will navigate through the categories and subcategories to find the documents or files you wish to find. When you click on Browse Categories, you will see a list of all of the existing categories and subcategories with the number of documents in each. Click on a category or subcategory to see a list of documents. Then click on the document to view it.
- You may also perform a keyword search. Click
on Keyword Search and enter your search term or
phrase. You
can select to have the search feature a search all of your words,
any of your words, or the exact phrase.
When you have performed a search, the website will display a list of all search results, each of which will be clickable to the document you found.
- Finally, you can upload your own files or documents. Click
on Upload Files. If you are not yet registered,
you must sign up for a free account before you can upload. Simply
click on the "Click here to register" link and fill out your
e-mail address and your name, and choose a username and password. At
that time you will receive an e-mail asking you to activate your registration. As
soon as you have activated your registration, you can login to
the website and begin uploading files.
To upload a file, click on Upload Files. Choose the category where you would like your file to be published. You must give each file a title. We recommend that you also include the author of your file if there is one, and include any keywords relevant to this file. Including keywords will make your file be displayed when someone performs a keyword search with these keywords