What are discussion forums?

Forums (also known as message boards or bulletin boards) are like an online, virtual version of a notice board. You can read the messages that have been stuck on the board - 'posted' online - and then you can post up your own messages in reply, or on a brand new topic. They can be a great place to exchange opinions and ideas with others, or ask for help with a niggling query.

Introducing the ROOTS forums

To access the forum, just select the Forum links from within the password-protected area of the ROOTS web site. You'll find one along the top of the screen, fourth button in from the left, and another link in the navigation box on the left-hand side of the screen, third button down.

When you click on the Forum link, the ROOTS forum will open up in a brand new browser window of its own. It may block out the window you were using to view the ROOTS site. If you close the forum window, or shrink it out of the way, you'll be able to see the ROOTS site behind it. There's also a link at the bottom of every page within the forums that will let you quickly close the forum.

The first page briefly introduces the forums available. At present there are four: Worship, Children and young people, Web issues, and Official announcements. There's one forum for each of the magazines, a corresponding one for discussion of the web site, and the final forum is used for announcements from the ROOTS staff team about office closures, any issues with the web site, or changes to the magazines. The number of messages within each forum is listed, together with the date that the last new message was added. Choose the forum that interests you, and click on the link in order to see the messages it contains.

Reading messages (all users)

The messages are listed by title, and sorted into discussion topics or 'threads'. This just means that all replies to a message are listed with it, so that you can follow the flow, or thread, of conversation. The date and author of every message are listed.

The titles of all the messages in the list are underlined - they act as links to the text of the message itself. Select one of the links to open up that message, displayed within the context of its 'thread'. Once you're finished reading, scroll to the top of the page, and use one of the small links to 'Go to topic' (go back to the list of all messages in that thread) or to 'Go to top' (go back up a level - normally to the full list for that forum).

Replying to messages (subscribers only)

If one of the messages inspires you to join in the discussion, then, provided you're a subscriber, you can reply. To do this, you'll first need to log in to the forums - even though you have already logged in to the ROOTS site. There is a link at the top of the page, reading 'Log In', which will take you to the forum login form. Use the same username and password as for the main ROOTS site. (If you can't find the link, it probably means that you have logged in before, and forgotten to log out.)

Once you've logged in, you should be returned to the page of messages you were reading. Find the message to which you want to reply, and then hit the 'Reply to This Message' link, which will appear at the bottom of the message and is circled in red in the screenshot here.

You will then be taken to a form into which you type your reply. It's pretty straightforward - just edit the 'Subject' line if you want to, then type your message into the blank box, and when you've finished, select 'Post'. Your message will be transferred to the server, and after a short while you will see it appear onscreen.

Starting a new discussion topic

Starting off a new discussion topic is just as simple. You'll need to log in, as described above, if you haven't already. Then just hit the 'New Topic' link at the top of the screen (scroll up to find it if you can't see it). Then fill in the form and post your message, in the same way as you would with a reply. Remember to fill in a subject line that captures your topic in just a few words, as otherwise no one will know what your message is about. And messages without any subject line can't be opened!

Why doesn't my password let me access the forums?

If you are using the password that is printed inside the magazine, you will not be able to access the forums. This is because this user name and password is shared by a large number of readers - all those who do not subscribe. For a forum to work properly, each user must have individual login details, and at present we only able to provide individual logins for those users who have chosen to subscribe.

If you are a subscriber, and your password allows you to access the resources but not the forums, please contact us for assistance.