Welcome! To the brand new forums! They might seem very different to you than the last ones; but in saying that, they're far more secure, better looking, and best of all a lot more fun!

Below is a series of tutorials teaching the basic functions of the forums. Hopefully they will be interesting and informative to you

-Creating an Account


To get started you need to register. Right click on "Register" button at the top of this page and open it in a new window so you can follow along here. You will now see the "Registration Agreement Terms". Make sure you read the conditions and then simply click "I Agree to these terms".

You will now come to a registration form. Simply input a user name you wish to use. We recommend you just use your first name, so other members will have an idea who you are. Input your correct and real e-mail address (to receive the activation key), and then type in your password you wish to use. You will then see the confirmation code, make sure you enter this code exactly as you see it. This code is simply a security measure. You will now come to the Profile Information category; you can ignore most all of these options. However, inputting your location would be helpful (IE Christchurch, Auckland etc).

Once you’re finished, click "Submit"! You will now see a confirm message telling you that an activation key has been sent to the e-mail address you provided. You should see an e-mail as shown below, click on the link and you will get a message saying you have activated your account. You now have full access to the forums!



-Creating a new topic


Posting a new topic is very easy. Simply go into a forum of your choosing, "DT General" for example. Then click on the "New Topic" button. You will then be taken to a big text input field. Input a subject to your new topic, and type a message as seen in the image.


To insert a smiley face from the left, click in the message where you want the smiley, then click on the face you want! Don't be confused if you get a ": D" or ": wink:". This is just the code for that smiley face! To make text bold or underlined, simply highlight the desired text and click the B, i, or u button! You also have the option of making a poll for your topic! Add a Poll question, and then add Poll options. Always make sure you push the "Add Option" button before pushing "Submit".



-Replying to a topic



Replying to a thread is even easier, simply click "Post Reply" button. It then comes back to that big text input field. Enter your reply, then click "Submit".

-Private Messaging



Since this forum allows you to have an account, you can send and receive Private messages to and from other members on the forums. You can click the PM button on the any user you see in the forums. The PM button can also be found in the profile of a user, you can browse through the users of this forum by clicking the "Members List" button at the top. Once you've clicked the PM button, you come to a very familiar interface! Private messaging is just like creating a new topic! Once you've inputted your subject and message. Click "Submit", easy as that! If you receive a Private message, by default you will receive a e-mail informing you of the message. If you come right to the forums, you will get a text box as shown below.



Well that pretty much sums up the basics of these forums! Hopefully you are now armed with a better knowledge and understanding of how things work. If you have any further questions, ask in the "Feedback, Suggestions & Questions" section of the forums!

Enjoy,

Regards
-Webmaster