New Members New members should
start with the links below:
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Browsing the Forums | How to Post | How to Send a Private Message | Using the Inbox
A Useful Tool
The PSO forums are an incredibly useful tool for all PokerSchool Online members. In the forums, you can ask and read about anything on the PSO Site and in poker in general. Not only that, but the forum is a great place to meet other PSO members and form real friendships.
The PokerSchool forum section is actually made of up several forums. These forums include:
- The General Forum
This forum is used by both members and PSO staff to make up-to-date announcements about poker going-ons. Also used for general discussion about poker and things that interest our members.
- The Welcome New Members Forum
Ask your questions and get some answers about PSO. Don't be shy, remember that many other members may have the same questions.
- The Beginner's Forum
Al Spath hosts this forum and answers questions for those new to poker.
- Other Forums
There are many other forums besides just these. In fact, new forums are added all of the time.
For the complete list of forums, click here and it will open in a new window.
Access a Forum
To access a forum, click the forum's name thats underlined in blue. When you want to return to the list of forums, scroll to the top of the forum and click on the words 'All Forums' or 'main index'.
What is a Thread?
Once you choose a forum to visit, you will see a list of topics created by PSO members. These topics are also called threads. Some threads are labled as 'Announcement'. Announcements can only be made by PSO staff members and they stay at the top of the forum. Make sure that you read all of the announcements. They are there to help keep members up to date on many kinds of issues regarding PSO. Other threads are labled as a 'sticky'. They also stay at the top but sit beneath the announcements. These are threads that are generally made by PSO members. If the thread is very important, a staff member will then make it a sticky.
Thread Stats
To the right of every thread (also called topic), you will see three boxes that lists the threads stats.
- Replies
This lists how many people have actually replied to the thread.
- Author
This shows who started the thread.
- Views
This shows how many times people have read the thread.
- Last Post
Shows the name of the member that last replied to the thread and the date it was replied to.
What is a Post?
Posts are what threads are comprised of. The first message in a thread is called a post. Replies to that post are also called posts. So a thread is a string of posts. To view a thread, all you have to do is click on the topic you want to read. If there are more posts than will fit on a single page, below the last post you will see the option to go to the next page.
Browsing the Forums | How to Post | How to Send a Private Message | Using the Inbox
To start a topic (also called thread), first find the right forum to post under. In our sample, we are going to use the new member's forum. Click here to open it in a new window.
Find the New Topic Button
The create new topic button can be found on upper left hand side of the forum. Clicking this button will start a new topic in this forum. See pic below.
Typing Your Post
Once you click the New Topic button, a new screen will appear. This screen is where you type in the subject and body of your post.
- In the Subject field, type a brief sentence about what the topic is about.
- In the Body Field, type your complete post.
- Emoticons If you want to convey your feelings with a smiley face, click on one of the Emoticons or click 'see more Emoticons' to see even more of them to use. Just click on as many as you want and their 'code' will appear in the body of your post. Once you click 'submit' or 'preview', you will be able to see how it looks to everyone else.
- Formatting If you want to bold any of your text, take your mouse and drag it over the text you want bold until it is all highlighted. Then, click the 'B' in the grey formatting section. The program will put the code in that will make that text bold. The same works for italicizing text (the letter, i), underlining (u), Quote (puts in a quote box), font color (choose from dropdown menu) and font size (choose from dropdown menu).
- Making a Link If you want to make a a word or two link to another page on PSO, first type the words you want to be the link. For example 'Click Here'. Then highlight those words and then click the button above called 'URL'. You'll then have code that looks like this:
[URL]Click Here[/URL]
In the part that looks like this [URL], type an equal sign (=) after letters URL and then paste the url in after the equal sign. Now your link will look something like this:
[URL=http://www.pokerschoolonline.com]Click Here[/URL]
This will help prevent posts that break out of the frame work of the site as well as prevent horizontal scrolling which can irritate other users.
- Other Options Below the field for your body text, you can find a list of other options. The last two options enable you to attach a special signature in your post which you can create in your forum profile and the very last one will contact you by email if someone should respond to your post.
Previewing Your Post
You can preview your post by clicking 'Preview' at the bottom of your posting window. Or if you feel confident that all is well, you can click 'Submit'. Everyone will then be able to read and respond to what you have to say.
Replying to a post
First you must click on a topic in a forum. Reply to a post by clicking the Post Reply button next to the New Topic button. This will give you the same window as described above.
Quoting Someone
If you want to quote someone in your reply, click the Quote button at the top of their post. This will give you the same window as described above, only this time their information will already be in your text field in quote format.
Browsing the Forums | How to Post | How to Send a Private Message | Using the Inbox
Members can send private messages back and forth to each other through the forum software. It helps members get to know each other better and also keeps members from cluttering up the boards with posts that don't mean much to the entire school.
How to Send One
Click the PM button at the bottom of any post. The poster doesn't necessarily have to be the person you want to send the private message to. If you know most of the member's username, you will be able to search for it.
After clicking the PM button, you will be taken to a new webpage. It will look almost exactly like the page you use to make a new post (above).
The difference is, the name of the user the message will be sent to is in the very top field.
If you know the username, type it in over the username that is already in the username field. If you know only part of the username, click on the Find a UserName button.
Once you click the Find a UserName button, a small window will open.
You will see only one field at first. In this field type as much of the username that you know is right, and then type * (shift + 8). So your search will look something like this: wildbill*. If you know how the name ends but not how it begins, type something like this: *bill41. You can even type: *bill*.
Next click search. A pulldown menu will appear below the search field. Choose the member you want to send a Private Message to from that menu and click select. The little window will close and the right username will be in the username box.
Fill out the rest of the form as you would on a normal post and click send.
How to tell if your message has been read
Messages are sent instantly, but sometimes it takes awhile for members to log on and read their private messages. Members are notified of new private messages through a link sent in an email and a pop-up window in the forum. To tell if someone has read their message, you can go to your inbox.
Browsing the Forums | How to Post | How to Send a Private Message | Using the Inbox
The link to your inbox is at the top of all pages on the forums. It will either say "You Have New Messages" or "You Have No New Messages". Click on that link. You will be taken to your inbox.
Your inbox will have 4 new buttons across the top.
- Inbox
Displays messages sent to you
- Sentbox
Displays messages that you have sent and have been read by the recipient.
- Outbox
Displays messages that you have sent and have not been read yet by the recipient.
- Savebox
Displays messages that you recieved or sent and put into your saved box.
By clicking these buttons, you will go to each of the different sections. Each section looks something like this:
This will allow you to read, delete or save old messages. You are also able to create new messages by clicking the 'New Post' button.
To delete or save a message, mark the checkbox to the far right of the message title. Then click either the Delete Marked button or the Save Marked button at the bottom.
When you get a new email message, you will be notified by email and pop-up window. Go to your inbox and your new message will be displayed there.
Browsing the Forums | How to Post | How to Send a Private Message | Using the Inbox
Enjoy the Forums!
Be sure to visit:
The New Members Forum
The New Member's forum is a place for New Members to ask questions and find answers. Do not be afraid to post a question or concern...that is why we are here!
As you navigate the site, you will certainly stumble upon things that you need help with. Ask, because I bet someone else also has the same question! -NewJane
The Beginner's Forum
This forum is hosted by Al Spath. Ask any question you have about Beginning poker in this forum.
Browsing the Forums | How to Post | How to Send a Private Message | Using the Inbox
