Louisville History & Issues - Forum Index 
Louisville History & Issues
An open, nonpartisan public space for metropolitan Louisville (including outlying suburbs in Kentucky and Southern Indiana) where concerned citizens discuss the area's rich local history as well as current political/community issues
 
View frequently asked questions
Login and Registration Issues
Why can't I log in?
Why do I need to register at all?
Why do I get logged off automatically?
I've lost my password!
I registered but cannot log in!
I registered in the past but cannot log in anymore!
I am unable to stay logged in as I move from page to page!

Citizen Preferences and settings
How do I change my settings?
The times are not correct!
How do I show an image below my citizen username?
How do I change my rank?
When I click the e-mail link for a citizen it asks me to log in.

Posting Issues
How do I post a topic in a forum?
How do I edit or delete a post?
How do I rate another citizen's posts?
How do I add a signature to my post?
How do I create a poll?
How do I edit or delete a poll?
Why can't I access a forum?
Why can't I vote in polls?

Formatting and Topic Types
What is BBCode?
Can I use HTML?
What are Smileys?
Can I post Images?
What are Announcements?
What are Sticky topics?
What are Locked topics?

Citizen Levels and Groups
What are Administrators?
What are Moderators?
What are Groups?
How do I join a Group?
How do I become a Group Moderator?

Printer-Friendly Topic View
What is the :| |: button for? - Cancelling the board's pagination
What are the boxes on top of the printable output? - Range selection
How to print only one message? - Advanced range selection

Private Messaging
I cannot send private messages!
I keep getting unwanted private messages!
I have received a spamming or abusive e-mail from someone on this board!

Syndication
How can I acquire an RSS feed of topics with the most recent activity?

phpBB 2 Issues
Who wrote this bulletin board?
Why isn't X feature available?
Can I get the administrator to apply modifications or new features on top of the base software?
Whom do I contact about abusive and/or legal matters related to this board?

 

Login and Registration Issues
Why can't I log in?
Have you registered? Seriously, you must register in order to log in. Have you been banned from the board? (A message will be displayed if you have.) If so, you should contact the administrator to find out why. If you have registered and are not banned and you still cannot log in then check and double-check your citizen username and password. Usually this is the problem; if not, contact the administrator -- they may have incorrect configuration settings for the board.
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Why do I need to register at all?
While anyone can view posts in the forums, registration will give you access to features not available to unregistered citizens such as topic/reply posting, post rating, voting in polls, forum/topic notifications, private messaging, e-mailing to fellow citizens, etc. It only takes a few minutes to register so it is recommended you do so.
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Why do I get logged off automatically?
If you do not check the Log me in automatically box when you log in, the board will only keep you logged in for a preset time. This prevents misuse of your account by anyone else. To stay logged in, check the box during login. This is not recommended if you access the board from a shared computer, e.g. library, internet cafe, university cluster, etc.
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I've lost my password!
Don't panic! While your password cannot be retrieved it can be reset. To do this go to the login page and click Forget your password?. Follow the instructions and you should be back online in no time.
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I registered but cannot log in!
First check that you are entering the correct citizen username and password. If they are okay then maybe your account needs activating. Your new registration must be activated by yourself before you can log on. Follow the instructions in your activation e-mail; if you did not receive the e-mail then check that your e-mail address is valid. One reason activation is used is to reduce the possibility of rogue users abusing the board anonymously. If you are sure the e-mail address you used is valid then try contacting the administrator.
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I registered in the past but cannot log in anymore!
The most likely reasons for this are: you entered an incorrect citizen username or password (check the e-mail you were sent when you first registered) or the administrator has deleted your account for some reason.
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I am unable to stay logged in as I move from page to page!
The most likely reason for this is that either your browser or computer security software is blocking cookies from the board site.
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Citizen Preferences and settings
How do I change my settings?
All your settings (if you are registered) are stored in the database. To alter them click the Profile & Preferences link (shown at the top of all board pages). This will allow you to change all your settings.
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The times are not correct!
The times are almost certainly correct; however, what you may be seeing are times displayed in a time zone different from the one you are in. If this is the case, you should change your profile setting for the time zone to match your particular area, e.g. London, Paris, New York, Sydney, etc. Please note that changing the time zone, like most settings, can only be done by registered citizens. So if you are not registered, this is a good time to do so, if you pardon the pun!
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How do I show an image below my citizen username?
Potentially below the citizen username listed in each post is an image known as an avatar; this is generally unique or personal to each citizen. You can set up an avatar by going to your profile and either linking to an image on the web or uploading an image to our server. Make sure that the avatar fits within the listed size specs.
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How do I change my rank?
In general you cannot directly change the wording of any rank (ranks appear below your citizen username in posts and on your profile). Ranks are used to indicate the participation level of citizens depending upon the quality of their posts as rated by other citizens (see the Peer Post Rating Guide in each forum for more details). Moderators and administrators have a special rank that is unchanged by their participation. Just remember: "Quality, not Quantity" when posting messages.
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When I click the e-mail link for a citizen it asks me to log in.
Sorry, but only registered citizens can send e-mail to people via the built-in e-mail form (if the admin has enabled this feature). This is to prevent malicious use of the e-mail system by anonymous citizens.
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Posting Issues
How do I post a topic in a forum?
Easy -- click the relevant button on either the forum or topic screens. You must register before you can post a message.
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How do I edit or delete a post?
Unless you are the administrator or forum moderator you can only edit or delete your own posts. You can edit a post (sometimes for only a limited time after it was made) by clicking the edit button for the relevant post. You will find a small piece of text output below the post when you return to the topic that lists the number of times you edited it. Administrator and moderator edits will also be listed. Please note that citizens who aren't administrators or moderators cannot delete a post once someone has replied.
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How do I rate another citizen's posts?
Read the Peer Post Rating Guide in the forum you are participating in for details.
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How do I add a signature to my post?
To add a signature to a post you must first create one; this is done via your profile. Once created you can check the Add Signature box on the posting form to add your signature. You can also add a signature by default to all your posts by checking the appropriate radio box in your profile. You can still prevent a signature being added to individual posts by un-checking the add signature box on the posting form.
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How do I create a poll?
Creating a poll is easy -- when you post a new topic (or edit the first post of a topic, if you have permission) you should see a Add Poll form below the main posting box. If you cannot see this then you probably do not have rights to create polls. You should enter a title for the poll and then at least two options -- to set an option type in the poll question and click the Add option button. You can also set a time limit for the poll, 0 being an infinite amount. There will be a limit to the number of options you can list, which is set by the administrator
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How do I edit or delete a poll?
As with posts, polls can only be edited by the original poster, a moderator, or administrator. To edit a poll, click the first post in the topic, which always has the poll associated with it. If no one has cast a vote then citizens can delete the poll or edit any poll option. However, if people have already placed votes only moderators or administrators can edit or delete it; this is to prevent people rigging polls by changing options mid-way through a poll
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Why can't I access a forum?
Some forums may be limited to certain citizens or groups. To view, read, post, etc. you may need special authorization which only the forum moderator and administrator can grant, so you should contact them.
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Why can't I vote in polls?
Only registered citizens can vote in polls so as to prevent spoofing of results. If you have registered and still cannot vote then you probably do not have appropriate access rights.
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Formatting and Topic Types
What is BBCode?
BBCode is a special implementation of HTML. You can disable it on a per post basis from the posting form. BBCode itself is similar in style to HTML: tags are enclosed in square braces [ and ] rather than < and > and it offers greater control over what and how something is displayed. For more information on BBCode see the guide which can be accessed from the posting page.
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Can I use HTML?
No. This is a safety feature to prevent people from abusing the board by using tags which may destroy the layout or cause other problems. That said, if you would like to see more capabilities provided by BBCode's, contact the administrator; there may be some potential board modifications available to satisfy your request.
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What are Smileys?
Smileys, or Emoticons, are small graphical images which can be used to express some feeling using a short code, e.g. :) means happy, :( means sad. The full list of emoticons can be seen via the posting form. Try not to overuse smileys, though, as they can quickly render a post unreadable and a fellow citizen may decide to rate your post down.
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Can I post Images?
Images can indeed be shown in your posts. However, there is no facility at present for uploading images directly to this board (except for your avatar). Therefore you must link to an image stored on a publicly accessible web server, e.g. http://www.some-unknown-place.net/my-picture.gif. You cannot link to pictures stored on your own PC (unless it is a publicly accessible server) nor to images stored behind authentication mechanisms such as Hotmail or Yahoo mailboxes, password-protected sites, etc. To display the image use the BBCode [img] tag.
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What are Announcements?
Announcements often contain important information and you should read them as soon as possible. Announcements appear at the top of every page in the forum to which they are posted. Only administrators or forum moderators can post an announcement.
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What are Sticky topics?
Sticky topics appear below any announcements in viewforum and only on the first page. They are often quite important so you should read them where possible. As with announcements, only administrators or forum moderators can post sticky topics.
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What are Locked topics?
Locked topics are set this way by either the forum moderator or administrator. You cannot reply to locked topics and any poll contained inside is automatically ended. Topics may be locked for many reasons.
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Citizen Levels and Groups
What are Administrators?
Administrators are people assigned the highest level of control over the entire board. These people can control all facets of board operation which include setting permissions, banning citizens, creating groups or moderators, etc. They also have full moderator capabilities in all the forums.
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What are Moderators?
Moderators are individuals (or groups of individuals) whose job it is to look after the running of the forums from day to day. They have the power to edit or delete posts and lock, unlock, move, delete and split topics in the forum they moderate. Generally moderators are there to enforce the Forum Rules. However, most "moderation" will be conducted through the use of peer ratings by fellow citizens.
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What are Groups?
Groups are a way in which administrators can group citizens. Each citizen can belong to several groups (this differs from most other boards) and each group can be assigned individual access rights. This makes it easy for administrators to set up several citizens as moderators of a forum, or to give them access to a private forum, etc.
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How do I join a Group?
To join a group click the Groups link on the page header and you can then view all groups. Not all groups are open access -- some are closed and some may even have hidden memberships. If the group is open then you can request to join it by clicking the appropriate button. The group moderator will need to approve your request; they may ask why you want to join the group. Please do not pester a group moderator if they turn your request down -- they will have their reasons.
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How do I become a Group Moderator?
Groups are initially created by the administrator who also assigns a group moderator. If you are interested in creating a group then your first point of contact should be the administrator, so try dropping them a private message.
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Printer-Friendly Topic View
What is the :| |: button for? - Cancelling the board's pagination
By clicking on this button you can locally remove the board's fixed pagination for the current topic to help your web browser do the proper pagination for printing based on actual line spacing, rather than the forum-wide limit for number of messages per page.
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What are the boxes on top of the printable output? - Range selection
There are two boxes on top of the page and a tape-recorder-like button Show. They allow to select a range of messages. Note that every message in the printable view has a number. Use those numbers to fill out the boxes on top to set up the first and the last message you want to be printed, and press the Show button to rearrange the messages. Another way to set a range is to put a negative number in the second box, which will mean that you want -n of messages to be printed. For example, 4 7 will output messages 4, 5, 6, 7. However if you enter values 4 -7 in first and second box respectively, messages 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 will be shown after you press the rewind button.
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How to print only one message? - Advanced range selection
First, go to the printable view of the topic by pressing the Printer button in the topic view. Find your message and note the number in the left of it. Type that number into the first box in the top left of the printable view. In the second box put value -1 and press the Show button. This will tell the database to output only one message starting from the given one. Another way of getting this result is by putting the same number in both boxes. Let's say you want to print only the message number 16. Fill out the boxes in the top as such: 16 -1 and press the go button Show. Instead of 16 and -1 you could as well enter 16 and 16. The result will be the same. This example will work only if there are at least sixteen messages in the current topic, of course.
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Private Messaging
I cannot send private messages!
There are two reasons for this; you are not registered and/or not logged on, or the administrator has prevented you individually from sending messages. If it is the latter case you should try asking the administrator why.
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I keep getting unwanted private messages!
In the future we will be adding an ignore list to the private messaging system. For now, though, if you keep receiving unwanted private messages from someone, inform the administrator -- they have the power to prevent a citizen from sending private messages at all.
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I have received a spamming or abusive e-mail from someone on this board!
We are sorry to hear that. The e-mail form feature of this board includes safeguards to try to track citizens who send such posts. You should e-mail the administrator with a full copy of the e-mail you received and it is very important this include the headers (these list details of the citizen that sent the e-mail). They can then take action.
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Syndication
How can I acquire an RSS feed of topics with the most recent activity?
Updated every fifteen minutes, the Louisville History & Issues feed (in RSS 2.0 format) of topics with the most recent activity can be found here.
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phpBB 2 Issues
Who wrote this bulletin board?
This software (in its unmodified form) is produced, released and is copyrighted phpBB Group. It is made available under the GNU General Public License and may be freely distributed; see link for more details.
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Why isn't X feature available?
This software was written by and licensed through phpBB Group (and modified/configured by WebCommons). If you believe a phpBB base feature needs to be added then please visit the phpbb.com website and see what the phpBB Group has to say. Please do not post feature requests to the board at phpbb.com, as the Group uses SourceForge to handle tasking of new features. Please read through the forums and see what, if any, our position may already be for features and then follow the procedure given there.
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Can I get the administrator to apply modifications or new features on top of the base software?
Well, you can certainly try. Post your idea to the Board Administration forum. Depending upon the complexity or appropriateness, it could very well be implemented.
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Whom do I contact about abusive and/or legal matters related to this board?
You should contact the administrator of this board. If you cannot find who that is, you should first contact one of the forum moderators and ask them who you should in turn contact. If still get no response you should contact the owner of the domain (do a whois lookup) or, if this is running on a free service (e.g. yahoo, free.fr, f2s.com, etc.), the management or abuse department of that service. Please note that phpBB Group has absolutely no control and cannot in any way be held liable over how, where or by whom this board is used. It is absolutely pointless contacting phpBB Group in relation to any legal (cease and desist, liable, defamatory comment, etc.) matter not directly related to the phpbb.com website or the discrete software of phpBB itself. If you do e-mail phpBB Group about any third party use of this software then you should expect a terse response or no response at all.
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