++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ This is the second message from ZD to all the members of our message boards. It contains information and tips about a coming transition to new software. You will receive just one or two more of these messages in the coming week. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ When you go to the ZDNet or ZDTV forums on Tuesday, Dec. 8, you will find the new Deja News software in place. You will see some differences in the way the message boards operate, so you may need to experiment a little. If you are very familiar with our current forum features, it will take some time to become comfortable with the new system. We apologize for the inconvenience this causes and are trying to make the switch as painless as possible. We'll have dozens of sysops online answering your questions every day. We also will update the on-line help files frequently to highlight key differences between the current software, called Podium, and the new version. Below are some advance hints for everyone making the switch to Deja News. You can try these features out in now our Test Forum at http://f5.dejanews.com/frames/test.html ** Messages that you have not yet read appear in bold. ** That's how Deja News tells you which posts are new since you last visited. Once you open and read a message, the bolding goes away. You have the option to Mark Thread As Read, and an entire set of messages will lose their boldness. In addition, you can Mark All As Read, and every message in that forum will become un-bold. ** When you leave a forum and come back later, messages that you read previously are not displayed. ** You can see these already-read messages by clicking the Show All button. Here's the tricky part: If you read all the messages in a thread and then someone adds another, the entire thread will be displayed and most messages will not be bold. Just the new message that you have not yet read will appear with bolded text. (In our current message board software, messages that you had already read remain hidden when a new message is added.) ** On Tuesday, some messages that you have read will be marked as unread. ** We will migrate all the messages currently in Podium over to the new Deja News software. However, we cannot keep track of which messages every user has read. As a result, all messages will be marked initially as unread. You can easily take care of this by doing one of two things: 1) Use the Mark All As Read found at the top of the new message board. This approach is fastest, but it might make you overlook some messages you really do want to read. 2) Use the Mark Thread As Read text link found at the beginning of each thread. This approach is a more selective way to get up-to-date, but it takes a bit more time. ** You can Expand or Collapse the entire thread list. ** The thread list shows all the individual "conversations" happening in the message board. The default setting shows you just the starting topic in each thread. If you want to see a detailed list of all the replies to that initial message, just click the Expand button. To shrink your threads list again, click the Collapse button. Collapse and Expand are basically toggle buttons. Show All and Show Unread are also toggle buttons, and they oper- ated independently of the Collapse and Expand controls. ** Your browser's reload button works in the forums. ** In Podium, when you hit reload in your browser, your forum display settings would disappear. In the upcoming Deja News software, your settings are preserved. So go ahead and hit reload to see if new messages have been added while you are online -- it works! ** Give Search a try. ** The Deja News fast search capability will help you track down messages easily. You can look across all the forums or in just one, for any text in a message. If you choose Mark All As Read but want to locate an earlier message, use the Search function. Thanks for taking the time to read this note. I hope these tips give you some insight into the new software and make the switch smoother. We're adding user-suggested info to our help file with the launch of the new forums next week, so keep those comments and ideas coming! We look forward to seeing you in the new forums, and we are glad to have you as a part of the ZD Community. Wendy Frankwich ZD Community Central http://chkpt.zdnet.com/chkpt/zdn11204/www.zdnet.com http://chkpt.zdnet.com/chkpt/zdn11204/www.zdtv.com _______________________________________________________________________ To be removed from this list, simply reply to this message with "unsubscribe" as your subject.