Why a Login?:

Most blogs require some sort of identification before a person is allowed to post comments on a blog. Usually that means supplying an email address and user name everytime a person wants to post a comment. This can be a pain in the arse if a person posts a lot of comments (as most of the members here do). The other reason is that it allows a member to save various options to tailor the blog experience to their preferences. While those could be saved as "cookies", some people do not like to save cookies. Also by saving the options in the user database, the saved options are the same regardless of which computer the user logins in from.

Registering:

Registration is pretty simple. Click on the link and supply the requested information. BE AWARE THAT PASSWORDS ARE CASE-SENSITIVE. If you supply a password of "Pass123", then you won't be able to login later if you try to use "pass123". You also need to type in the code in the graphic. At this time, there is no requirement to wait for a registration email and click a link. Once you've registered successfully, you can begin commenting right away!

Changing your password:

If you decide you want to change your password, it's a simple matter of clicking the link from the blog's menu bar, supplying your old and new password and clicking the button. The reason for supplying the old password is a safety feature in case you leave yourself logged in and someone else accesses your computer. They won't be able to change your password without knowing your old one. As is the case with Registering, passwords are case-sensitive, so be aware of your keyboard settings and what you type.

Can I become a Blog Author?

Sure! After becoming a member and participating in the 4F blog community, you may decide you want to post blog entries as well. Just notify one of the Administrators, and we can discuss it.

"forum" button:

This button will redirect you to the 4F Message Board. It is a separate entity on a separate server, and requires a separate login.

"home" button:

This button will take you to the top level of the blog, with the most recent blog entries listed.

"latest" button:

This button will take you to the Comments page with the most recent blog entry displayed, as well as the comments, per your configuration settings

"search" button:

This button will take you to a search screen where you can enter a keyword or phrase to search for. Note that only the blog titles and entries will be searched (comment search may be added at some point in the future). Please note that for now this is a simple keyword search, and does not recognize boolean directives.

Set User Options

Clicking this button will display a popup options screen. You can enable/disable these options. Disabling one or more of them might be helpful if you have a slow internet connection. Keep in mind that disabling any of them diminishes the blog experience!:

Continue Reading link:

To save space on the blog list, most blog posts will be abbreviated on the main page. Clicking on this link will display the blog post in its entirety on its own page.

PermaLink:

This link can be copied for use when you want to provide a link to certain blog posts to others.

Blog list order:

The blog list is normally sorted based on the last update time for the blog entry OR the date of the blog entry's latest comment. The order can be change to order the list based on the blog creation date only.

Show/Hide blog post button:

If you are participating in a "chat" in the comments of a blog post, the screen refreshes faster if it doesn't have to repaint the main blog post every time. There's also the issue of scrolling every time. Clicking on the arrow button in the upper-right corner of the blog title will hide it. The button is a toggle, so clicking again redisplays the post.

Blog Comments:

Part of the fun of the blog is posting and reading comments. It provides a two-way interaction and discussion, something sorely lacking in our TV culture. You must be logged in to post a comment.

Text formatting:

There are several buttons that can be used for formatting text in the comments (Bold, Italic, Underline, Center). It does this by wrapping the text in "tags". If you highlight some text in the comment box and click on one of these buttons, the text will be wrapped in the appropriate tags. These tags alter the text as expected. If you don't have any text highlighted, an "open" tag will be posted into the edit box, and you can type text until you want to "close" the tag. Note that the tag button will have an asterisk added to it to indicate the tag is still open.

Link:

The "Link" button will allow adding a link to another web page into your comments. There will be two popup boxes, one asking for the link, and another asking for the text you want displayed in the comment for the link. If you have a popup blocker, this button may not work correctly.

Image:

You can post an image right in your comments. Like the "Link" button, a popup box will ask you to provide a link to your image. When your comment is saved and displayed, the image will appear in the comment. If you have a popup blocker, this button may not work correctly.

YouTube:

You can embed a YouTube video in your comments. Like the "Image" button, a popup box will ask you to provide a link to the video (note that unlike the Message Board, you must supply the entire link). When your comment is saved and displayed, the image will appear in the comment. If you have a popup blocker, this button may not work correctly.

Emoticons:

You can imbed emoticons in your blog comments by simply clicking on the emoticon in the box on the left hand side of the blog. If you prefer, you can click on the "Display in Popup" button to have the emoticons in a separate window. This works well with unchecking the "Show Emoticons" option, since the emoticons won't have to be repainted every time the page is reloaded. Also, not every available emoticon is listed on the main page; only the popup contains the complete list.

AudiCons:

You can imbed small audio clips in your blog comments by simply clicking on the AudiCon in the box on the left hand side of the blog. If you prefer, you can click on the "Display in Popup" button to have the AudiCons in a separate window. This works well with unchecking the "Show Sounds" option, since the audicons won't have to be repainted every time the page is reloaded. Also, not every available audicon is listed on the main page; only the popup contains the complete list.

Order comments:

The comments are normally listed in reverse chronological order, with the most recent at the top. This order can be reversed by clicking the link at the top of the comments list.

What browsers are supported?

The blog has been tested and works with Internet Explorer, FireFox on Windows, and FireFox on Mac. There are no guarantees for support of any other browser configuration.

Do I need to enable cookies?

Cookies are used to remember your login. If you have disabled cookies in your browser, you will have to re-login everytime you load the blog. The blog will remember you during any particular session for about an hour, and if you haven't refreshed the page or posted during that time, or close your browser, your session will be terminated. If you don't have cookies enabled you will have to login again.

Do I need to enable javascript?

It's not essential, but it's used for numerous things. It is used for all of the buttons in the edit area, for adding emoticons to the comment when they are clicked, and for adjusting the time to the local time (without javascript, the time displayed is GMT). It may also be impossible to add a comment without javascript being enabled.