|
Online discussion forums are places where
like-minded people can discuss, in an informal and non-threatening
way, issues which are of interest to
them.
Because the discussions are not 'live' it
is possible to post a question or comment to a forum and then
go back some time later to see how other people have
responded. This is called asynchronous communication,
and it has great benefits for those who want to join in with
discussions but who do not have access to the Internet all day
every day.
The NDPS forum has been set up so that
members and non-members alike can join in discussions on a
variety of photographically related topics. You might,
for example, have a question to ask about which printer is
best, or perhaps you want to tell people about a good photo
gallery you've discovered. Whatever it is, posting to the
forum will give you the opportunity to share your ideas, opinions
and expertise with other people in the photography world.
Hmm... sounds okay so far, can you tell
me more?
You can use the NDPS forum in several ways:
Firstly, you can visit the forum as a
'guest'. You do not need to register. You can read contributions as an anonymous
user but you cannot post to the Forum.
Secondly, and preferably, you can register
as a user. This way, everybody knows who it is who is
speaking, which makes the whole thing more friendly and less
intimidating. Your personal details are not used (but you can
choose to make your email address public if you so wish). You
give yourself a user name (which can be real or a pseudonym,
as you wish) and you can even upload a small image to define
yourself (known as an avatar) which can be great fun.
Thirdly, you can 'lurk'. People who lurk
can be registered or just guests. They read the forum messages
but don't contribute in any way. It is quite normal for
a new user to 'lurk' for a short time whilst getting to know
the forum and deciding whether or not to join, but perennial
Lurkers don't bring anything useful to the forum and are therefore
considered somewhat tiresome by regular contributors.
Okay, I'm convinced... how do I join?
When you have finished reading, click on
the link below
to go to the forum page.
The address of the Forum is:
http://ndps.co.uk/forum/
Notice - there is no www in this
address!
Click on Register.
Accept the Terms and Conditions (nothing
scary there, it just says you mustn't make defamatory remarks
and things like that) by stating that you are older (or
younger) than 13 years of age (!).
On the next page, you must fill in all the
boxes which have stars against them. You will need to think of
a username for yourself - your first name and last initial is
good, but you can give yourself a totally fictitious name if
you so wish.
You will need to give your email address
(which can remain private) and choose a password. This is used
to log you on to the forum.
You can ignore all the boxes in the next
section.
In the final section, it is recommended
that you say Yes to the following:
Always notify me of replies
Notify on new Private Message
Always attach my signature
Always allow BBCode
Always allow HTML
Always enable Smilies
When you have completed the boxes, click on
Submit to confirm your registration. Once you have
successfully registered, you can go to your Profile and make
any amendments you need to. Your Profile is also the place
where you add your avatar (a small image to portray yourself). If you have any problems doing
this, please send a private message to the Forum Administrator
from the Messages section.
One last thing: please read the FAQs
(Frequently Asked Questions) section if there is anything you
don't understand. If that doesn't solve your problem, email
the Forum Administrator for help.
(Back
to top)
|
