General Instructions for the AFANA BBS

The AFANA Footy Bulletin Board is a user customizable threaded messaging system that allows users to view messages in varying formats.  Navigating through the messages is easy once you know a few of the basics.

Help Topics:
Introduction and Purpose of the BBS
The Message Index
Reading messages
Following a thread
Sending email to a poster
Posting Messages
Replying to Messages
Message Content or What You Can Say
Customizing your display or Set Preferences
Subscribing to the BBS
Search
Top 25
View User Profiles and Edit Your Profile
HTML style special effects and Smileys
Statistics
Home
Linking to the BBS
Rules of the BBS
Privacy
About those cookies
Have more Questions?
Copyright and Limitations

Introduction and Purpose of the BBS

The Bulletin Board Service (or BBS) was created to provide a forum for discussion of Australian football (or "Aussie Rules") by fans of the sport.  It is open to footy fans wherever they live and whatever their ages.  Our goal is to provide for interaction between fans on footy in a civil and fun environment without "flames" or other obnoxious messages.  We welcome questions about footy (who, what, where, why, how, rules, etc.) , television coverage, goings on in the sport, footy outside Australia, this web site, and more. 

The Message Index

The opening page of the BBS is the Message Index. This is a listing of all messages posted that match your listing criteria.  Messages can be displayed in a variety of formats. See the Customizing section for how to set the display format. 

Reading messages:

To read a message simply click on the subject of the message you wish to read.  Once the message is displayed, responses to messages are listed under the original message (indented) in a threaded list.  To read responses click on the response subject.  If there is a link clicking on that link will display the entire thread in "guestbook style".  By default, the threads containing the most recent postings appear at the top of the list (a thread is a message and all the replies to it).  Important messages from the BBS Administrator are flagged by the symbol: and we recommend you read them as soon as possible.   If you want to go back to the main index at any time clicking on the Return to Index button will take you there.   When you log on for a second or subsequent time, threads containing messages that have been posted since your previous logged on to the BBS will be marked with a symbol.

Following a thread:

To follow a thread you can use the View Thread link on the menu to see all of the messages in that particular thread as an indexed listing or Expand Thread to display all of the messages on one page "Guestbook Style", and you may  click on the individual messages one at a time.   Clicking on Read prev msg and Read next msg will take you to the preceding and following message in that thread respectively.

Sending email to a poster:

You can send email to a poster by clicking on the e-mail address <Send E-mail> next to the poster's name in the message header, if they choose to provide a working address.  

Posting Messages:

To post a new message (new thread) click the Post New Msg link and fill in the form or use the window near the bottom of the index screen.  To post a message you must provide your name and a subject and then enter anything you wish to say.  Remember, this is a footy board.  If you want to talk curling or cooking or soccer, you're in the wrong place.  Completely off-topic postings will be deleted by the BBS Administrator.  Just about anything related to footy is acceptable.  If you enter e-mail addresses or html URL's then the BBS will automatically turn those into working links for you.  Other HTML will be stripped out by the BBS and ignored.  However you can get some of the same effects as HTML and use smileys... see here. 

Before posting your message you are encourage to click on Preview Message to make sure it looks and reads just how you want it to.  When you are finished click on the Post Message button.   After posting you will receive a confirmation screen then be taken back to the main Message Index.  If, at any point when composing your message, you decide not to post it after all, you can click on the Return to Index tag at the top or bottom of the page, and your draft message will be deleted.  Post New Msg should not be used to reply to earlier postings. Use the Post Response button under the message, as explained below.

At the bottom of the screen, you can enter a link (Optional Link URL) and the name of a site (Optional Link Title) you wish to have linked at the bottom of your message.   If you want to be able to delete your message later you must provide a password in the Password box otherwise only the BBS Administrator can delete the message for you.    

Several additional features of message posting that you will want to know about are:  

Check Spelling:  (Currently Unavailable) Clicking on this button will launch a smaller window in your browser where you can spell check, grammar check, or check punctuation of your message.  (Note: this may not work on all browsers).  This feature works similarly to other spell checkers you may have used.  

Preview Message:  If you use special formatting features (see below) you will probably want to preview the message to make sure it will look like you want it to.  

Post  Message:  When you are done composing your message click this button to post your message to the Footy BBS.  

HTML Special Effects:  see below for ways you can add smileys or html style formatting to your messages.

E-mail Notification:  If you leave the √ set in the small box at the lower right of the message window and you have provided a valid e-mail address, you will receive an e-mail should someone reply to your posting.   E-mail addresses entered here are "hidden" by the BBS and only a <Send E-mail> link appears above the message when displayed. 

Link:  You can provide a linked web address from your message.  This will put a  symbol along side the title of the message and insert an active html link at the below the text of the message.  It allows you to link to any page you wish to bring to the attention of readers.

Password or Deleting or Removing a Message:  If you provide a password you can delete any of your own postings.  If you have forgotten the password or didn't provide one then  please e-mail the BBS Administrator.  This request must come from the e-mail address that you used when posting or it will be ignored.

Replying to Messages:

The process of replying to messages works very similarly to posting new messages.  Click on the message you wish to reply to and then scroll down to the bottom of the page.  You will see a Post Response window.  Then you can enter a message just as described above.  The subject will already be filled in, but you can change it if you like.  One additional feature is that as with many e-mail systems, the message your are replying to is quoted for you in the Message: box before you start.  These lines are marked by a ">" symbol and a blank space.  You can then insert your reply above, below, or following these lines.  To make it easier for other readers we strongly suggest you delete any portion of the quoted lines no longer relevant to your reply.  

Message Content or What You Can Say

You are asked to keep the content of your messages consistent with "netiquette": e.g. respect for other people's copyright (don't post something from somewhere else without proper credit or permission), no heated messages ("flames"), no personal abuse, make your subject lines relevant and informative about the content, use mixed case in your postings (ALL UPPER CASE LOOKS AS IF YOU'RE SHOUTING), etc.  Any string of more than 15 consecutive upper case letters will cause your message to be held for approval.   That approval may not be granted and the message deleted based on the content.  

The message board administrator may remove or amend, without warning or notification, any material that may be considered abusive, significantly off-topic or otherwise disruptive of the purposes of this BBS.  Users must comply with the Rules of the BBS. 

Advertising of products, services, or another web site is considering off-topic and will be removed.  If you wish to link to anther web site please do so using the "Link" feature at the bottom of the new message page (see Posting Messages for help).  "Spam" is absolutely prohibited and repeated offenders will be banned from the BBS. 

The BBS has software routines in operation to guard against breaches of netiquette, which may, on occasion, mean that a posting by a user will have to be approved before it appears.  The right to post messages without approval can be taken away from users who persistently breach netiquette.

For minor infringements of "netiquette" (e.g. an uninformative subject line or a posting being placed within the wrong thread) the BBS Administrator will make a correction. If you think a correction has been wrongly made, please feel free to e-mail the BBS Administrator using the link at the bottom of almost every page of the BBS and state your case.

Customizing your display or Set Preferences:

To customize how the messages are displayed click the Set Preferences link at the top of the screen. This will bring up the Message Index Display Configuration Page. The first part of the page is where you chose the listing type you want. Click the list box to choose from the various listing types.  The terms you will see are:  

Chronological:  displays show messages simply in the order in which they were posted; 

Alphabetical: lists arrange messages, logically enough, in alphabetical order by their subjects; 

Threaded:  displays show messages in indented lists, with responses directly beneath their parent messages. 

In each of those style, a normal list puts the newest messages at the bottom, while a reversed list, obviously, does the reverse. 

Reversed threaded: display, though somewhat awkward, is the "default" index style of many Web-based bulletin boards including AFANA's, and is the style with which many users are most familiar. 

Mixed threaded:  display is a bit of a half-breed; it arranges primary messages with the newest at the top, thus tending to keep newer messages toward the top of the page, but arranges responses with the newest at the bottom, thus preserving a more "intuitive" threading structure. 

Compressed: displays show on the main index page only the first message of each thread; responses are available only by going to the primary message's page. This keeps the index page a bit smaller and speeds up the loading of the index page  Of course, this makes the responses a bit more difficult to access. 

Guestbook-style:  displays show the full text of messages on the main index page in a strict chronological manner; This will cause the index to take very long time to load.  

Threaded guestbook-style:  displays show an index page very similar to that of the "compressed" displays, but show the full text of all messages in a thread on a single page.  This is also slow to load. 

Collapse List / Expand List:  provides a quick and easy way to switch between expanded and condensed listings of messages.   Just press on the button above the message index. 

Vertical Frames / Horizontal Frames / Remove Frames: The default for the BBS is "No Frames" but some readers prefer to have the screen split into two halves:  one with the index listing and one with the current message being viewed.   You can toggle between the various options by clicking on the appropriate button at the top of the screen. 

After making your selection press the Set Preferences button and whatever style you choose will be remembered from visit to visit so long as your web browser accepts cookies.    

You can also select how many messages are displayed at one time. You can display messages posted within whatever number of Days, Weeks, or Months you prefer by choosing the appropriate choice in the drop down menu beside the Go button or on the Preferences screen.   Selecting a shorter time limit speeds up the loading of the BBS.   The default is six months.  If you wish to see only the messages which are "New" since your last visit click on the List New button.

Subscribing to the BBS:

BBS Users can click on (un)Subscribe on the menu and enter an e-mail address on the next screen you see.  This way you can have copies of every message posted on the BBS sent to your e-mail address.   Individual replies to just your posts can be received by checking the box that follows the words: "If you'd like e-mail notification of responses, please check this box: " on the screen before posting your message.   If you wish to unsubscribe you may also do so at any time.  If mail to the address you provide bounces at least twice in a two week period you will be unsubscribed by the AFANA BBS Administrator.   You cannot reply by e-mail to any e-mailed copy of a message at this time.  You must go to the BBS itself to post your reply. 

Search

The current file of messages may be searched by clicking on the word Search on the menu.   You may search by a range of dates, the most recent hours, days, weeks or months, the poster, or by keywords.  Messages may also be searched as part of the Search function for the entire web site. 

Top 25

The Top 25 menu item will show you the most frequent posters, how many messages they have posted, and their most recent post. 

View User Profiles and Edit (Your) Profile

BBS users may set up their own profile by clicking on the menu item Edit Profile.   This is actually a "message" which other users can read by clicking on View User Profiles.  This is a great way to tell other users something about yourself.  Note:  the "message" is not posted on the main BBS.  If you click on View User Profiles you will see a list of all of the users who have left profiles and click on any that you wish to read.   We encourage all visitors to set up a profile.   You can amend or change your profile at any time.   You should treat a profile however as a public notice about yourself.   The profile can be removed at any time by you or by the BBS Administrator upon request. 

HTML style special effects and Smileys

To add special effects to your messages following the instructions here:  More BBS Help or use the easy "click on" smileys and special effects alongside the window for posting your message. 

Statistics

For a detailed graphical view of who and how many messages have been posted by BBS users click on Statistics.   This provides lots of historical information about the frequency, length, and number of reads for any message or poster. 

Home

Home will take you to the home page of AFANA at any time.

Linking to the BBS

The URL for the message board as a whole, is: 
http://www.afana.com/cgi-bin/footybbs/index.cgi.

It is also possible to link to a specific thread or message.  Go to the main index and click on the posting you want to link to. When the message is displayed, your browser will also display a URL of the form
http://www.afana.com/cgi-bin/footybbs/webbbs_config.pl/frames=n/read/1108
What varies is the final number, which is the sequential number of the posting on the message board. You create a link to the post simply by copying this reported URL into the appropriate part of your web page code or message.

Rules of the BBS

Users are expected to treat others with respect and keep the discussion appropriate for a public forum for fans of all ages and types.  Please limit your topics to Australian football, TV coverage, and related matters.  Discussions of other sports and footy vs. soccer, etc. will be deleted.  We want everyone to enjoy the forum and engage in fair dinkum discussion.  We will delete inappropriate, offensive, or libelous messages.  Repeated offenses or inappropriate language may result in us banning offenders from the BBS.   Harassment of anyone on the BBS will result in the offender being banned. If you e-mail somebody from the BBS, you should be aware that your e-mail address and IP number may be disclosed.  If you disclose personal information about another individual that posting will be immediately deleted and you will be banned from further use of the BBS. 

Any posting of advertising, whether of a product, service, or another web site, is subject to immediate deletion by the BBS Administrator.   Do not post advertisements or spam on the BBS.  Repeated offenses may result in the user being banned.   If you wish to advertise on the BBS or any other part of the web site see our advertising guidelines:  http://www.afana.com/af_advert.shtml

Privacy

Our server logs your "IP address", i.e. the place on the web you are located.  It is our practice to keep that information strictly private however should it be necessary it will be used to ban users who violate the policies of the BBS.   Please be aware that this BBS is publicly accessible on the web and via some search engines.  Any personal information included in a message may therefore be disclosed to other persons or entities.  We do not disclose the e-mail addresses of anyone who posts on this BBS to outside organizations or persons.    

If you want an e-mail address to be made available to readers of the message board, then please include it in the body of your message or on a web page linked from your message.  However, we strongly discourage posting of any address to which you don't want to receive unsolicited e-mail as it is possible, though not likely, that spammers could get any address posted openly in the body of a message.  E-mail addresses entered as part of the header of messages are hidden by design.  You are asked not to include the addresses of third parties without their permission, either expressed or implied.  Public posting of e-mail or other addresses is entirely at the discretion of the poster, and AFANA accepts no liability in regard to this.

About those Cookies:

If you have set your browser to allow cookies the BBS will send a cookie to your computer.  Cookies are just text files stored on your computer.  What this cookie contains is the date of the last time you visited the board and any preferences you have set on the preferences screen.  This is used to let you know how many messages have been posted since your last visit and to put the marker in front of those messages.  No personal information about you is stored. 

Have More Questions?:

If after consulting the relevant parts of the help pages you still cannot work out how to do what you want to do then please contact us at the e-mail address below.  Likewise, this BBS has been improved by a number of suggestions made by those who have used it.  We're sure there are further improvements that could be made.  We also welcome suggestions for changes to this help page in order to remove errors, to make it clearer or to address aspects of using the BBS not already explained.  
 
For any questions concerning the AFANA Footy BBS, please e-mail the BBS Admin at   

Copyright and Limitations

Users of the BBS agree to our Copyright and Distribution Limitations:  All rights reserved by AFANA, Inc.. Redistribution of any posting or web site material is not allowed except by prior permission except for limited quotes for journalistic purposes only and with proper credit. You cannot forward any posting to a mailing list, another BBS, or a listserv without prior permission. You must ask our permission before re-posting BBS information elsewhere on the web or distributing it via other means. Any other use, in whole or in part, without prior permission, is prohibited. All trademarks acknowledged.   All materials on the BBS copyright © 1997 - 2004 Australian Football Association of North America, Inc.