How do I participate in discussions?
There are several ways you can participate in forum discussions, either online or via email.
Online
* Go to my groups > [group name] > forums or go to your group's "buzz" page to view recent topics.
* You can also view forum topics for your group(s) on your "my bigtent" page, where you land when you log in to BigTent. The forum topics (or titles) are links, and you can view the contents of a forum topic by clicking on the title.Titles of messages that have been read are purple, while unread messages have blue titles.
* When viewing any discussion, scroll to the bottom to enter your comment. Please note: You will not be able to edit it later.
* To start a new topic, go to the forums tab and click "Start a topic." Or you can choose "Start a Topic" from the "Quicklinks" drop-down.
Via Email
* Choose to receive every topic and comment, every topic, or a daily digest of forum messages in your email inbox.
* To configure these settings, go to settings > email options > forums and check the boxes next to the forums you'd like to receive via email. Then choose "Email every topic and comment" from the drop-down menu and click "Save."
* To post a topic to your group's discussion forum(s), send an email to your group's forum email address(es). You can find this address by going to my groups > [your group] > forums and click on "View forum email address(es)."
* To post a comment to an existing discussion topic, just hit "Reply" to the topic in your email inbox, enter your message, and hit "Send." The topic will appear in your forum (or be sent to the author, depending on your group's forum configuration).
Can I search the forums?
You can search the forums for posts by particular members, during specified date ranges, or with certain keywords.
To search the forums:
* Choose a forum from the drop-down menu to narrow results by a particular forum.
* Type your search terms or tags in the "Keywords" search box.
* Filter by message type ("Topics only" or "Topics and comments").
* Enter a member's name or screenname to search by author.
* Specify a date range, if desired.
* Click "Search."
Make sure to clear your search when you're done by clicking "reset."
Can I be notified of new forum discussions via email?
You have several different options for how you can be updated about new forum discussions and comments. To change your settings, go to settings > email options > forums and check the box next to the forum you wish to change. Then choose one of the following options from the drop-down menu and save your changes. The options are:
* "Email every message and comment" - Get one email per forum topic or comment posted.
* "Email every topic (comments Web-only)" - Get one email per topic. You'll have to go online to see comments.
* "Email daily message digest (topics and comments) - Get one per 25 topics and/or comments posted. If your group has fewer than 25 posts in one day, you'll get a digest at the end of the day with all the topics and comments posted that day.
* "Email daily message digest (topics only) - Get one email per 25 topics. Comments are excluded. This option is ideal for members of groups that have a high volume of messages and who only want a few emails a day. If your group has fewer than 25 topics in one day, you'll get a digest at the end of the day.
* "Include in Blink" - The Blink is a weekly newsletter summarizing updates in your group. Go to settings > email options > BigTent Blink to elect to receive a Blink.
* "Web-Only" - No emails. Choose this if you'd rather read all of your forum messages online.
* "None, hidden" - No emails. Choosing this option will hide the entire forum from your view online.
