Wondering what's going on with the new-look Youngcarers.net discussion boards? Can't figure out how to do something? Have a look through and see if you can find the answer below. You can click on a question to jump straight to the answer, or just have a read through. If you can't find what you need, post your message in a new thread and see if we (or someone else) can answer it for you!
What's changed, and why
Registration & logging in
User settings
- What is my profile?
- What is an avatar?
- How do I set my avatar?
Privacy and security
- Who can read my discussion messages?
- How do I change my password?
- How do I change my email address?
- How do I change my username?
- What if I don't want my name displayed in the member lists?
Reading & writing messages
- What is a forum?
- What is a thread?
- How can I search for a particular discussion?
- How do I start a new conversation/thread?
- How do I reply to an existing post?
- What does Quick Reply do?
- What are the tags about?
- How do I use tags on my messages?
- What does the "change view" button mean?
- Why does it take a while for my discussion message to appear on the boards?
- I posted a message on the discussion boards but I can't find it now - what's happened?
- When I look at a forum I can't see any messages - what's going on?
- What is a locked thread?
Blogs
- What are the blogs? Who writes them?
- How do I read the blogs?
- What are comments?
- How do I leave a comment?
- I've left a comment on a blog - why can't I see it?
- I'd like to write a blog!
What’s changed, and why
Why have the discussion boards all changed? What was wrong with the way they were before?
Well, now that we’ve got quite a big and lively community here on Youngcarers.net, we decided it was about time our website reflected this! The old discussion boards worked fine, but there was lots that you couldn’t do with them. Our new software means you can now use lots of the features that you’d expect to find on other websites – there are different areas for different kinds of discussion, you can search for different users, you can put “tags” on your messages so that other people know what you’re writing about, and much more. When you get used to it, we think you’ll agree it’s an improvement!
Where are all the discussion messages I wrote a few weeks/months ago?
Unfortunately, it hasn’t been possible to move the messages over from the previous discussion board. For the first couple of weeks you’ll still be able to read them by clicking on Old Forum (underneath the list of discussion boards) , but you’ll need to come back here if you want to write a message. We’re sorry if it’s inconvenient for you – you’ll just have to make sure you start lots of interesting discussions here!
Why are there several different discussion boards?
Since there can be lots of different discussions going on at the same time, it can be difficult to find the conversation you’re looking for. To make this a bit easier, we’ve separated the discussion boards into different sections, called ‘forums’, for different things. So, there’s one forum that’s to help new people get to know everyone; there’s another forum for talking about the person you look after and what it’s like being a carer; there’s another forum just for fun stuff, and so on. The best thing is just to have a look around and see what’s there – you’ll soon get the idea.
Registration & logging in
Why do I need to register?
Anybody is welcome to read the information on YCNet, and read the discussion board messages. However, we ask you to register and become a member of our community if you want to take part in interactive things like writing discussion board messages and joining webchats. This is for two reasons - firstly, it helps us to make sure that YCNet is a safe place for you and that only young carers are using the service. But secondly, it makes the place more fun, as you can see who's writing what, make friends and keep in touch with people.
How do I register?
It's easy to register for an account with us - just click Register on the left hand side. You'll need to choose yourself a username (and remember not to include your surname in it), and tell us some other details like your name and email address. You'll also need to choose yourself a password, and remember it! When you've done that, you will be sent an email with an "activation code" to confirm that your address works - so check your inbox and follow the instructions there.
I have never received my activation code - what's happened?
The most common reason for this is that you made a mistake when you typed in your email address. So, the first thing you should try is to go back to our registration page and fill in the form again. If that doesn't work, it may be that the message we sent you has been put into your "junk", "bulk" or "spam" folder by mistake, so you could try looking. (We've written some instructions for how to make sure this doesn't happen - go to http://www.youngcarers.net/interactive/whitelist.asp to read them.) If neither of these solves the problem, email us at youngcarers@carers.org and we'll try to help.
I have a username and password - how do I use them?
Just go to http://www.youngcarers.net/interactive/ and click on "Log in". When you've typed in your email address and password, you will be able to use all of our features. Remember, though - you will need to type your email address, not the username you chose.
I've already logged in - why do I get logged out automatically?
When logging in, if you don't select the Remember Me option you will be automatically logged off (usually after 20 minutes). To stop this happening, select the 'Remember Me' option when you next log in.
I've forgotten my username and/or password - what should I do?
Remember, you don't need your actual username to log into our service - just your email address and password. If you've forgotten your password, just go to the login page and click on Forgotten your password and type in your email address. You'll be sent a new password by email - you then just need to log in and change your password to something you'll remember.
I still can't log in!
In that case, the best thing we can suggest is to send us an email and we'll try to sort it out for you. Write to youngcarers@carers.org and let us know the username you chose, and we'll see what we can do.
User settings
What is my profile?
Your profile is the place where all the settings about you are stored - things like your username, your email address and so on. You can look at yours, and change it, by clicking on your name on the left hand side after you've logged in. Remember - although you can see your email address in there, it is never shared with any other users or displayed on the website.
What is an avatar?
Your avatar is a little picture that you choose to be displayed next to your discussion board messages. It can be anything you like, but it needs to fit our normal safety rules - so, you can't use a personal photograph of yourself or someone you know, and it can't be anything that might offend other people. Other than that, it's up to you!
How do I set my avatar?
Find a picture you'd like and send it to us at youngcarers@carers.org, and we'll set it up for you within a day or so. Avatars are displayed at 80x80 pixels, but don't worry too much about that as we can change the size for you if necessary.
Privacy & Security
Who can read my discussion messages?
Just like before, the discussion boards can be read by anyone on the internet. That’s one reason why it’s so important not to put any of your contact details there. However, the only people who can write messages, or reply to ones that are already there, are members and staff of the Youngcarers.net community.
How do I change my password?
After you've logged in with your old password, click on your name on the left hand side. This will bring up your profile page, and you can change your password from there.
How do I change my email address?
After you've logged in with your old email address, click on your name on the left hand side. This will bring up your profile page, and you can change your address from there.
How do I change my username?
You cannot change you username yourself; however, if you really need to change it for some reason, email us on youngcarers@carers.org and let us know.
What if I don’t want my name displayed in the member lists?
The website shows various lists of users - for example, who is online at the moment, and who are the newest members. If you'd rather your name wasn't included in these, click on your name on the left hand side, then choose Site options and select No next to Display in members list.
Reading & writing messages
What is a forum?
A forum is a set of discussions that are all about similar subjects. So, on our website, we have a ‘Chat and chill’ forum, a ‘Welcome newbies’ forum, and so on.
What is a thread?
A thread is a group of related messages. So, if one person writes a message and then a few people reply to that message, they are all collected together into one thread. You can think of a thread as a specific conversation.
How can I search for a particular discussion?
Just go to any page on our website and look at the top right hand side. There, you can type in the word or phrase you want to search for. Remember to type it into the Search boards box if you’re looking for discussion messages.
How do I start a new conversation/thread?
When you’re looking at one of the forums, click the button that says Start a new discussion. If you’re already logged in, you will be taken straight to the page where you can write your message; if you’re not logged in, you’ll be asked to do that first.
How do I reply to an existing post?
You can reply to an existing post by clicking Reply or Quote. The only difference is that Quote will include a bit at the top of your message that shows everybody exactly what you’re replying to (so, it will include the message you’ve just read).
What does Quick Reply do?
When you click quick reply, a box appears that allows you to write a really quick reply to the message you’re reading. To make things faster, it doesn’t show you all the usual options (like smileys and tags). If you want to use things like that, you’ll need to use the normal reply method instead.
What are the tags about?
Tags are a really useful way to see what everybody’s talking about on Youngcarers.net, and to find messages that interest you. Basically, they’re a list of keywords that tell people what your message is about. So, if someone writes a message about caring for their mum who has diabetes, they might choose ‘diabetes’ and ‘mum’ as two of their message tags. When you go to the discussion board front page, on the right hand side you’ll see a list of the most popular tags at the moment – the bigger they are, the more people are using them!
How do I use tags on my messages?
When you’re writing your message, click on the Select tags button at the bottom. You’ll see a list of all the tags that are currently being used on the discussion boards. Place a tick next to any of them that apply to your message, then scroll across and click OK. Or, if you’d like to use a tag that nobody else has used before, simply type it into the box underneath your message. (You can type more than one if you like – just put a comma between them.)
What does the ‘change view’ button mean?
This allows you to choose between two different ways of seeing all the messages in a thread. Flat view is the most straightforward – it shows you all the messages in a list, as you might expect. Threaded view groups them together into chunks, according to which messages are replies to which other ones. It’s a little difficult to explain, but if you find it confusing we’d recommend you just stick to flat view!
Why does it take a while for my discussion message to appear on the boards?
Every message is checked by a member of the Youngcarers.net team before it appears on the discussion boards. This is so that we can make sure our community stays a safe and friendly one – for example, we make sure that people aren’t giving out any details that might be unsafe for them, and we make sure things don’t go up there that might upset other people too much. We check the messages several times a day, 365 days a year, so they usually get through pretty quickly.
I posted a message on the discussion boards but I can’t find it now – what’s happened?
There are a few things that might have happened:
- If you wrote it within the last few hours, it might not have been approved yet (see “Why does it take a while for my discussion message to appear on the boards”, above). If that’s the problem, then it should appear soon!
- It might have been moved into a different section. There are different discussion boards for different kinds of chat (see “Why are there several different discussion boards?” above). So, for example, if you posted a joke in the ‘Who do you care for?’ board, we might have moved it into the ‘Chat and chill’ area.
- Very occasionally, we don’t allow messages through because they’re not appropriate for our boards. This might be, for example, messages that are very upsetting, messages that are not from young carers, or messages where people try to give out their email address. If this has happened, we’ll send an email to let you know.
When I look at a forum I can’t see any messages – what’s going on?
This might be for a couple of reasons. Firstly, perhaps nobody has written any yet – in which case, feel free to write a message yourself! Or, perhaps you’ve used a “search” or “filter” – for example, you might have searched for all messages that are less than one day old, or everything written by a particular user. If there aren’t any messages that match what you’ve searched for, you won’t see anything.
What is a locked thread?
A locked thread is a special post that does not allow replies. You can still read what’s there, but you can’t add any more messages to it.
Blogs
What are the blogs? Who writes them?
Blogs are a bit like an online diary, but they're written for everyone to see. Somebody might write about anything at all in their blog - what they've been doing that day, something they've been thinking about, a message they'd like to give to everyone, questions they'd like answered - pretty much anything at all. On YCNet there are blogs written by some of the staff here, and we'll also be having blogs by "guest writers" - you, our members!
How do I read the blogs?
Once you're in the Interactive section of our website (and if you're reading this, you are!) just click on Blogs on the left hand side. There you'll see a list of all the most recent blog posts, with the most recent one at the top. Just click on a post's title to read it.
What are comments?
Our blog system allows you to leave a comment about what you've read. Then, other people can read your comment and leave their comments too, so you can start a conversation about what you've read in a blog. Try it - it's fun!
How do I leave a comment?
When you're reading a blog post, just click in the Comments section underneath it. Type your message and click Submit - it will be sent to the moderators to check and you'll see it online within the next day.
I've left a comment on a blog - why can't I see it?
Just like the discussion board posts, all comments are checked by us before they get published, just to make sure everything's safe and there's nothing too upsetting in there. (We'll let you know if there was a problem with your comment so that we can fix it together.) So, if your comment hasn't appeared yet, it probably hasn't been checked yet - but it will be soon!
I'd like to write a blog!
We're afraid you can't write a blog straight away - the way it works is that we have one "invited blogger" at a time. When they've written a few posts, it will be someone else's turn - so if you fancy being considered for it in the future, let us know!