02-23-2007, 03:11 PM
Navigating the Board
The Paradise Café Discussions forums have proven to be a wonderful resource. It is designed slightly different from other forums. Many forums have a “Portal page†as their homepage, and many are familiar with this form of navigation through forums. However the Paradise Café is designed to give instant access to the content upon arriving at the site.
Since this is a different approach, we feel a Navigational guide would be helpful in assisting ones on how to use the site to the greatest possible advantage.
Consistent features
At the top of every page you will find a pretty picture, or header graphic. This picture is linked to the Index page, so no matter where you are on the site, you may click this picture to bring you back to the index page. Below the header graphic is a “portal†box that will also be on every page you visit. This box contains options for Logging in and out, accessing the User CP (control panel), Private Messages, Viewing new posts (since last login), Viewing Today’s posts, Shoutbox and your Buddy list.
Also at the very bottom of every page is a box with options for e-mailing the Administrator, returning to the index, returning to the very top of the page, returning to the beginning of the content for the page, lite (archive) mode, RSS Syndication, and donations.
The Index Page
The Index Page is the first page one comes to when visiting the site. Special site announcements may appear above the Forum list. The Index page is a listing of all the first and second level forums the user can view. In the forum list are the various categories which forums are divided into, i.e. Site Announcements, Biblical Topics, etc. You will see little bibles next to each of the sub forums in the list of sub forums for each Category. An open bible shows you whether there are any new posts in the sub forums themselves [but only if you're logged in]. If the bible is closed, this means that there is no new posts in that sub forum.In the next column is the Sub forum name and a brief description. Clicking this will take you to a list of threads under this Sub forum. It also allows you to see how many users are viewing this sub forum. The next column will show you the number of threads in the sub forum. The next column shows the number of individual posts. The last column shows the last post made in this sub forum, giving the author’s name and when the post was submitted. Clicking the Post title will take you to the page this post is found. Clicking the Author’s name will take you to their profile.
At the bottom of the forum list, there is a small information box containing a Who Is Online list, and Board Statistics. Clicking on a name will take you to the user’s profile. You also have an option in this box for viewing a complete list of Who is Online. This shows you a list of members online and where they are at on the site.
In addition, there will be miscellaneous links:
Mark All Forums Read
This will mark all new threads and forums with the status of 'read' as opposed to 'unread.'
Forum Team
This will link you to a list of the forum facilitator’s for the site.
Forum Statistics
This will link you to a detailed statistics page.
Sub forum List
Clicking on one of the sub forums will take you to a list displaying all the threads in this sub forum. On the Sub forum page, a directory is shown [at the top], allowing you to go up one or two levels.
Example: Paradise Café Discussions/Site Announcements/Paradise Café Discussions Welcome Wagon!
The first page listed is the Index page, the second is the Sub forum list, the third is the page you are currently viewing. This directory is linked to every page shown. So if you wish to return to the Sub forum list, clicking on that link will take you there. Clicking the first link will take you back to the Index.
Thread List
At the top is a New Thread button, and if there are multiple pages in the forum, a list of pages will appear before the thread list.
Thread Status
The first column of the thread list indicates the status of the thread, and whether or not you have posted in that thread[marked by an asterisk]. It will also show if a thread is "hot" and if it has new replies that you have not read yet. If the thread has been locked [or moved], the icon will show this as well.
Thread
This is the thread name. Clicking on the thread name will let you view the thread.
Author
This is the author of the thread. If you click on the username, you will be taken to the user's profile.
Replies
This is the number of replies made to the thread. If you click on the number, a window will pop up with a listing of the users who replied to the thread, and the number of posts they made individually.
Views
This is the number of times people have viewed the thread. (Note this does not count the number of people who have viewed the thread, but the total number of times this thread was viewed)
Last Post
This gives you the date, and author of the last post. By clicking on the "Last Post" link before the author's name, you will be shown the last post directly. By clicking on the author's name, you will be taken to the author's profile.
Searching
If you wish to find something quick and easily, you can use the search tool. If you wish to search the whole forums and use other advanced options, you first need to click on the "Search" link at the top of each page. On this page, you can enter details such as keyword, username, search by forum(s), and more. Then all you have to do is click on the "Search" button at the bottom of the page, and you will be taken to the search page.