Post by BoWman on Jun 21, 2015 17:32:56 GMT -6
Alright, this is not my first ride on this Proboards stage. First, let me tell you what it ISN'T to (hopefully) help you understand what it IS. This is not a personal page, blog, Bo's car/wheels world or whatever other individual endeavor label that might come to one's mind. It has ALL the capabilities of Facebook (as a social site) and none of the (political) drawbacks. The only difference is everyone has become so conditioned to the Facebook-type layout it makes these (actually, much older) ones look confusing. In reality they are very simple and easier than Facebook was to learn, if you've never used one.
First, if you want to participate (fully) on the site (not just read posts) you need to sign up with your email address. This should take no more than about 30 seconds to a minute. Proboards has been around for years and you won't be having (frustrating) tech glitches with it. You also won't come here at a future time and have some goofy message saying 'sorry, site is down' or something similar. In my years of building these sites my experience is that their 'up' rate runs around 99% and you really can't get any better than that with something run by humans.
Second, once you DO sign up you'll notice a white button (that does NOT appear if you're only here as a 'guest'/not signed up) in the upper right corner below the picture of the orange car (right underneath the top yellow bar) labeled NEW/Participated. That is the easiest way to find anything new that's been posted since the last time you were here. I call it the 'universal' button because it leads you to everything on WLFers, basically. No searching around (like many sites) trying to figure out what's new and what's not.
Once you see a title or thread that sounds interesting, simply click or touch the name (it's a link) and they'll open up to show you the post(s). From that point you can 'quick reply' (comment), like it, (thumbs up button), and when you do you can add links, pictures, videos, etc. in your comments, just like any other place like Facebook, etc. One thing, though, to remember...if you do use the 'quick reply' option just realize you'll have to use 'edit' after you make your comments if you want to add links, videos or pics to it. If you know all you're going to do is write a few lines, that option is best. If you know you want to add some extras like I mentioned, use the 'normal' reply button, not the 'quick' one.
Suppose you want to make an original post of your own, instead of just commented on one that is already on the site? When you log in you'll see the various categories listed (or you can always find them by going to 'Home' in the upper left corner). At that point all that's needed is to choose the one that most closely fits your choice of topic and you'll see (in blue again, it's a link) a description of it. Let's use the top one for an example: It is labeled 'What's NEW in the world of wheels' and under that it says 'New Tech/New Models'. If that is what you want to post about (something new you've heard about) just click or tap the those words [New Tech/New Models] and a new screen will appear. Look to the upper right corner (right below that 'Participated' button) and it will say 'Create Thread', which is the same as the 'status box' on Facebook. A page will open with a box with 'Subject' (name your thread) on top and a blank box below it, which you'll recognize from other social media. Here's where things get much more Facebook-like in that you can put just about UNlimited text in the box. No three or four paragraph limit, ala some sites. Enter your post (using those buttons I discussed, above) and when you're ready just click 'Create thread' (lower right) and it's up. Don't worry that's it's not perfect, because if you see an error or want to delete (or add) the 'Edit' button is your friend.
Also, once signed up you can 'friend' people, block them (if necessary), 'follow' them, etc.; again, just like Facebook. Speaking of which, the videos (like YouTube) actually are easier to post than on Facebook and don't 'hang up' like Facebook sometimes does. They are also larger and more eye-catching than Facebook's version. The little icons right underneath 'add poll' 'add event' and 'add attachment' are your control buttons for that and the fourth one from the left (looks like director's board) will get your videos up. The third from the left is for pictures (looks like a picture frame) and you'll use the 'Add Attachment' button a lot, too. That one's the secret to keeping your posts clean and organized-looking. Just play with them to see what they do, and soon you'll be a pro. You can literally have this site (relatively) mastered in about 30 minutes by just following this guide and advice.
HAPPY POSTING, WLFers!!
First, if you want to participate (fully) on the site (not just read posts) you need to sign up with your email address. This should take no more than about 30 seconds to a minute. Proboards has been around for years and you won't be having (frustrating) tech glitches with it. You also won't come here at a future time and have some goofy message saying 'sorry, site is down' or something similar. In my years of building these sites my experience is that their 'up' rate runs around 99% and you really can't get any better than that with something run by humans.
Second, once you DO sign up you'll notice a white button (that does NOT appear if you're only here as a 'guest'/not signed up) in the upper right corner below the picture of the orange car (right underneath the top yellow bar) labeled NEW/Participated. That is the easiest way to find anything new that's been posted since the last time you were here. I call it the 'universal' button because it leads you to everything on WLFers, basically. No searching around (like many sites) trying to figure out what's new and what's not.
Once you see a title or thread that sounds interesting, simply click or touch the name (it's a link) and they'll open up to show you the post(s). From that point you can 'quick reply' (comment), like it, (thumbs up button), and when you do you can add links, pictures, videos, etc. in your comments, just like any other place like Facebook, etc. One thing, though, to remember...if you do use the 'quick reply' option just realize you'll have to use 'edit' after you make your comments if you want to add links, videos or pics to it. If you know all you're going to do is write a few lines, that option is best. If you know you want to add some extras like I mentioned, use the 'normal' reply button, not the 'quick' one.
Suppose you want to make an original post of your own, instead of just commented on one that is already on the site? When you log in you'll see the various categories listed (or you can always find them by going to 'Home' in the upper left corner). At that point all that's needed is to choose the one that most closely fits your choice of topic and you'll see (in blue again, it's a link) a description of it. Let's use the top one for an example: It is labeled 'What's NEW in the world of wheels' and under that it says 'New Tech/New Models'. If that is what you want to post about (something new you've heard about) just click or tap the those words [New Tech/New Models] and a new screen will appear. Look to the upper right corner (right below that 'Participated' button) and it will say 'Create Thread', which is the same as the 'status box' on Facebook. A page will open with a box with 'Subject' (name your thread) on top and a blank box below it, which you'll recognize from other social media. Here's where things get much more Facebook-like in that you can put just about UNlimited text in the box. No three or four paragraph limit, ala some sites. Enter your post (using those buttons I discussed, above) and when you're ready just click 'Create thread' (lower right) and it's up. Don't worry that's it's not perfect, because if you see an error or want to delete (or add) the 'Edit' button is your friend.
Also, once signed up you can 'friend' people, block them (if necessary), 'follow' them, etc.; again, just like Facebook. Speaking of which, the videos (like YouTube) actually are easier to post than on Facebook and don't 'hang up' like Facebook sometimes does. They are also larger and more eye-catching than Facebook's version. The little icons right underneath 'add poll' 'add event' and 'add attachment' are your control buttons for that and the fourth one from the left (looks like director's board) will get your videos up. The third from the left is for pictures (looks like a picture frame) and you'll use the 'Add Attachment' button a lot, too. That one's the secret to keeping your posts clean and organized-looking. Just play with them to see what they do, and soon you'll be a pro. You can literally have this site (relatively) mastered in about 30 minutes by just following this guide and advice.
HAPPY POSTING, WLFers!!