Commenting System Quick Guide
Introduction
This forum uses the wpDiscuz commenting system to provide an aesthetic and functional interface for our Members. Please note that you must be logged in to your account to post comments here. You can find the Log In link in various places on the site including the main menu (under My Account) as well as to the right side at the top of the comment section.
A) Subscriptions
On the top left edge of the comment section is the Subscribe button and clicking it will open a drop-down menu that offers you two choices. If you would like to be notified whenever anybody posts a comment on this forum, select New Follow-Up Comments. If you only want to receive notificiations whenever someone replies to any of the comments you’ve posted, select New Replies To My Comments. Once you’ve made your selection, press the Confirm my Subscription button. You will receive an email confirmation, which includes links to the comment page where you subscribed, along with Confirm Your Subscription and a Cancel Subscription. Subscriptions can be deactivated whenever you like. If you have opened the drop down menu but decide not to subscribe, simply click again on the Subscribe button to close the menu. See section “G” below for an additional subscription option.
In addition to receiving email notifications, you’ll also see a number displayed on the Bell icon on the site’s header and the bell will “ring.” Clicking on the bell opens a drop down window that displays a list of your notifications. For each notification you’ll see a comment link that will take you to the replied comment and a Mark as read button, which allows you to keep track of the notifications that you’ve read. The window also displays a Delete All button that allows you to delete the notifications all at once from the drop down window.
B) Comment Field
This is where you type your comment. You can add styling to your text using the toolbar described below in section “E” below.
C) Log Out / Log In
If you are logged into your account, on the top right edge of the comment section you’ll see the user name you’re logged in as, along with the Log out button. Clicking on that will log you out. If you are not logged in, you’ll see the Log in button here. Clicking on it will redirect you to our login page. You can also find log in or log out links in the navigation menu under My Account. There you will also see an Edit Profile choice (when logged in) which will take you to a page where you can edit your email address or biography, add an avatar image and change your password.
D) Attach Image
This button allows you to upload an image to be included with your comment. Images can be uploaded in a variety of formats including jpeg, png, tiff, bmp or gif. File sizes up to 2 Mb are supported. Please see the Member Forum Guidelines for our policies regarding images.
E) Editor Tool Bar
The buttons in this section allow you to add styling to the text in your comment. From left to right, there are buttons for Bold, Italic, Underlined, Strike-through, Ordered List, Unordered List, Block Quote, Link and Spoiler text. You can either click one of the style buttons before typing or select existing text in your comment and then click a style button to apply. Clicking a second time on a style deactivates it or removes it from the selected text you’ve added the styling to. There is also a button in case you’d like to add an emoji or emoticon from the choices provided.
F) Private Comments
Our system allows you to create a private comment thread that is only visible to Owners or Members of your choosing. In order for the desired person to be able to see the comment, you must use their User ID somewhere in the comment. This could be in the midst of your comment, or at the top or bottom of your comment. You can add as many User IDs as you want. Each Member’s ID is shown next to their screen name and begins with the @ symbol. Clicking on the User ID will copy it to your clipboard — or you can select the ID and copy it manually — then paste it into your comment. If you don’t know the ID of the user but know their screen name, type the @ symbol and the first letter of their screen name and you will be presented with a list of possible names, then click the appropriate one to enter the ID into your comment. Once you are ready to post the comment, click on the Eye button to turn it dark blue (selected) and once you post the comment, only those you tagged (plus the Owners of this site) will be able to see it. Please note that this option is only available when starting a new comment thread, it is not available when you are replying to a publicly-visible comment. You can also use User IDs to ‘shout out’ to specific Members without creating a private comment, just leave the Eye button grey (deselected).
G) Single Subscription
This button allows you to receive notifications when someone replies to this specific comment (as opposed to the options in section “A” above, which are more global in nature). This option is turned on by default so you won’t miss replies to your comments. If you do not want to receive single comment notifications, simply click on this button to turn it from blue (selected) to grey (deslected) and the option will be turned off.
H) Post Comment Button
Once you’ve composed your comment, click this button to post it for others to see.
I) Comment Count
This counter shows how many comments are found on this forum.
J) My Content & Settings
Clicking this button opens a pop up window that displays your comment statistics, including Activity, Subscriptions and Follows.
Activity Tab
This tab shows you a list of the comments you’ve posted, along with the timestamp and location (Member Forum, for example). If there’s a comment you want to delete, click on the red garbage can. Please note that if you delete your comment, all replies to that comment from other Members will also be deleted.
Subscriptions Tab
This tab shows you a list of your notification Subscriptions. Clicking on the red slashed bell button will remove the nominated subscription. You can also click on the Bulk management via email link to receive an email with bulk delete and unsubscribe links that will allow you to delete and/or unsubscribe from all notifications at the same time.
Follows Tab
This tab shows you which Members you have chosen to follow, so that you receive notifications whenever they post a comment on this site. If you no longer want to follow someone, click on the red garbage can and you will un-follow the nominated user.
K) Most Reacted Comment
Clicking on this button will show the most upvoted comment at the top.
L) Hottest Comment Thread
Clicking on this button will show the most active comment thread at the top.
M) Sort Order
Clicking here provides a drop down menu to choose the sort order of comments. Whichever choice is selected determines which comments are displayed first. Choices are Newest, Oldest and Most Voted. The default setting is Newest.
N) Member Avatar
This shows the Member’s chosen avatar image. You can change your avatar by selecting the Edit Profile option from the My Account menu.
O) Member’s Screen Name
Clicking here opens a popup window that shows the Member’s profile info (screen name, activity timestamp, comment count, post count, upvote and downvote counts and bio) along with voting history and a list of Members they are following.
P) User ID
Clicking here copies the Member’s User ID to your clipboard so you can paste it into one of your comments.
Q) Online Status
A green dot indicates the Member is currently logged in while a red dot indicates they are logged out.
R) Role Badge
This indicates the role of the Member.
S) Member Rank
Each Member gets ranked based on the number of likes received from other Members. There are five rank levels. Bronze Star is achieved with 1 like; Silver Star requires 10 likes; Gold Star requires 50 likes; Silver Crown requires 100 likes; and Gold Crown requires 500 likes.
T) Member Info
Clicking here opens the same popup window described in section “O” above.
U) Comment ID
This is the comment reference number. Clicking it copies it to your clipboard and allows you to refer to a specific comment posted on our site.
V) Comment Flag
This feature allows Members to flag inappropriate or insulting comments to bring them to the attention of the site Owners. Clicking here brings up a dialog box that allows you to choose your reason for flagging the comment. These choices include spam, mature content, abusive comment, promotion of self-harm or other, and allows you to enter a message. Only site Owners will see these details, flagging is completely anonymous to all other Members.
W) Comment Editing
Clicking the Gear icon provides you with the option of editing your comment, deleting it or setting it to Private. Please note that if your comment doesn’t include another Member’s User ID, changing it to Private will mean nobody but the site Owners will be able to view it.
X) Comment Voting
This feature allows you to Like or Dislike comments posted by other Members.
Y) Follow Button
Clicking on this icon allows you to follow another Member. This icon will be orange if you’re following someone and grey if you are not. You can unfollow someone by clicking on the icon.
Z) Reply Button
Clicking here opens a comment window that allows you to reply to a posted comment. You can reply to other people’s comments as well as your own.