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The #1 question | how do I register? The #2 question | what do I do if I lose my UserName or password? Tip | To search this page, select Find from your browser's Edit menu. |
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A discussion at Ground Zero Bistro is a sequence of messages. A thread of messages has a title called a topic. A number of topics, even one, makes up a forum. Finally, the forums are grouped into categories. The underlying software (Perl script and Apache server) should be able to handle thousands of all four.
For reading messages, you'll find three types of screens: the forums grouped into categories, the list of topics within a forum, and the thread of messages. Depending on the width of your browser window and on what's happened since you last visited the Bistro, the screen shots below will have different formatting and content, but the structure and the look and feel will be the same.
Tip | If the information on one of these screens seems out of date, click your browser's refresh or reload button.
The page shown below is the one to bookmark. Go there and press CTRL-D.
http://RicciStreet.net/cgi-bin/bistro/Ultimate.cgi
Underneath the list of Lobby services, you'll see the time you last visited and the number of registered Bistro members. I haven't a clue why the 01-01-100 follows the time. If you know how to get it out of my Perl script, I'd appreciate hearing from you.
On the table below -- but only if you are using Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser -- the first column has an unlit bulb if that forum has no new messages since you last visited. The lit bulb for new messages is yellow.
On both screen shots above, Medaille College Faculty Brown Bag is the name of a category. Teaching Methods is the name of a forum. It has two topics containing a total of eight messages. The most recent posting to taking the screen shot was January 13, 2000. At that time, it did not have a host.
Clicking on one of the red forums will take you to a list of topics.
The top-right link to the Lobby has been replaced by the path that will get you back to the list of forums. The Lobby services are all still available, as is the opportunity to start a new topic.
The title of the forum, in this case Teaching Methods, is repeated on the left above the host's name. This forum had no host at the time of the screen shot.
Sometimes when you visit, this table will look empty. No topics will be listed. That's why I emphasized the default value of 10 days. Each message is a separate computer file. The Bistro assembles them for you, but the more messages it has to assemble, the longer it will take for them to display. Continuing to display messages you've already read and don't need to read again will slow you down. On the other hand, if you visit infrequently, you might want to change the default preferences.
The information about New Topics and Replies are the way most forums will be set: open to everyone. However, hosts may restrict access to forums in a number of ways and those restrictions would be stated here.
On the table, the first column informs you which topics have new messages since the last time you visited. The icon in the bottom left corner of the screen shot is a padlock, indicating a closed thread. None of these threads is closed. The icon in the second column was chosen by the person who started the topic. For an active forum, this list of topics can get very long. Clicking on the red topic name will take you to the thread of messages.
From the bottom of the screen, you can hop directly to the topic list of another forum by selecting it from the pull-down menu.
The messages appear on this screen in chronological order. At
the top right, the path back is one level deeper. The test topic within
the Teaching Methods forum.
In addition to being able to start a new topic, you can also post a reply to one of the messages in this thread.
You also have the option of sending this page to a friend. It will go as unformatted email
A thread of messages will usually exceed a screen's length, so many options are repeated at the bottom, including the ability to move chronologically through the topics in this forum by clicking "newest" and "oldest". The pull-down menu at the bottom right lets you hop among the forums.
On the table, the author's UserName and member status are in the left column. The author chose the yellow and blue message icons. The middle one depicting a printed piece of paper is the default. To the right of the date are icons for viewing the author's profile, sending the author an email, and editing the message, which only the message's author, that forum's host, or a Bistro proprietor can do.
For help with replying to a message or with starting a new topic, see the faq page on posting messages.
The UserName is next to the message. Click on profile icon 
to see
whether the user has supplied more information.
You may search for specific messages based on a word or words found in the messages, user name, date, and particular forum(s). Click search here or on any Bistro page where you see it on the upper right. See the Bistro Lobby for more help.
Note: announcements are not included in the search returns.
One-way communications from either a forum's host or one of the
Bistro proprietors. No one may post replies to announcements, nor are they
searchable. If you want to discuss specific announcements, please start a new
topic in the appropriate forum. Announcements are signified by:
and 
.
report a problem, a glitch,
or an offensive message
ask questions not on this FAQ
suggest ways to improve the Bistro's
navigation? a forum's content? this FAQ?
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