FAQ

Login and Registration Issues

Why can’t I login?

There are several reasons why this could occur. First, ensure your username and password are correct. If they are, and they are recent (if not, see below), please contact the webadmin to make sure you haven’t been banned. It is also possible the website owner has a configuration error on their end, and they would need to fix it.

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Why do I need to be registered at all?

Either a forum is overrun by spam, or the moderators have to read every single submitted post while the vast majority will be spam, or only registered users are allowed to post. The Ischia Summer School has opted for the last possibility. Even registration has been disabled as about ten spam accounts registered per day (but were never activated, so they couldn't post). Registration gives you in addition to posting rights also access to features such as definable avatar images and topic subscriptions. You are free to ask for a registration (but distinguish yourself from a spammer).

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Why do I get logged off automatically?

If you do not check the Log me in automatically box when you login, the board will only keep you logged in for a preset time of 30min. This limits misuse of your account by anyone else, like after leaving it logged-in in a publicly accessible space. To stay logged in, check the box during login. This is not recommended if you access the board from a shared computer, e.g. library, internet cafe, university computer lab, etc. If you do not see this checkbox, it means the board administrator has disabled this feature.

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I’ve lost my password!

Don’t panic! While your password cannot be retrieved, it can easily be reset. Visit the login page and click I’ve forgotten my password. Follow the instructions and you should be able to log in again shortly.

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I am registered but cannot login!

First, check your username and password. If you were registered recently and you did not receive an e-mail, you or the administrator that made the account may have provided/mistyped an incorrect e-mail address, or the e-mail may have been picked up by a spam filter. Contact the webadmin in any case.

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User Preferences and settings

How do I change my settings?

If you are a registered user, all your settings are stored in the board database. To alter them, visit your User Control Panel; a link can usually be found at the top of board pages. This system will allow you to change all your settings and preferences.

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The times are not correct!

It is possible the time displayed is from a timezone different from the one you are in. If this is the case, visit your User Control Panel and change your timezone to match your particular area, e.g. London, Paris, New York, Sydney, etc. Please note that changing the timezone, like most settings, can only be done by registered users. If you are not registered, this is a good time to do so.

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I changed the timezone and the time is still wrong!

If you are sure you have set the timezone and Summer Time/DST correctly and the time is still incorrect, then the time stored on the server clock is incorrect. Please notify an administrator to correct the problem.

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How do I show an image along with my username?

This image is known as an avatar and is generally unique or personal to each user. It is up to the board administrator to enable avatars and to choose the way in which avatars can be made available. If you are unable to use avatars, contact a board administrator and ask them for their reasons.

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When I click the name of a user it asks me to login?

Only registered users can see the profile information of users, including ways to contact them (like Skype account info).

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Posting Issues

How do I post a topic in a forum?

To post a new topic in a forum, click the relevant button on either the forum or topic screens. You may not have the right to start topics in all forums, even if you have the right to reply (for example, only ISS2015 participants can start topics in the 2015-discussions forums, though those from other years can contribute replies).

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How do I edit or delete a post?

Unless you are a board administrator or moderator, you can only edit or delete your own posts. You can edit a post by clicking the edit button for the relevant post, sometimes for only a limited time after the post was made. If someone has already replied to the post, you will find a small piece of text output below the post when you return to the topic which lists the number of times you edited it along with the date and time. This will only appear if someone has made a reply; it will not appear if a moderator or administrator edited the post, though they may leave a note as to why they’ve edited the post at their own discretion. Please note that normal users cannot delete a post once someone has replied.
It is only polite to add a Note saying why/what you edited; and not to edit it in such a way that replies (that made sense at the time of posting) now seem completely off-base. So: edit for clarity or against typos, to remove doubt or add information, not to change meaning.

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How do I add a signature to my post?

To add a signature to a post you must first create one: go to your Profile and click Edit (near the top right). Once created, you can check the Attach a signature box on the posting form to add your signature. You can also add a signature by default to all your posts by checking the appropriate radio button in your profile. If you do so, you can still prevent a signature being added to individual posts by un-checking the add signature box within the posting form.

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How do I create a poll?

When posting a new topic or editing the first post of a topic, click the “Poll creation” tab below the main posting form; if you cannot see this, you do not have appropriate permissions to create polls. Enter a title and at least two options in the appropriate fields, making sure each option is on a separate line in the textarea. You can also set the number of options users may select during voting under “Options per user”, a time limit in days for the poll (0 for infinite duration) and lastly the option to allow users to amend their votes.

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Why can’t I add more poll options?

The limit for poll options is set by the board administrator. If you feel you need to add more options to your poll than the allowed amount, contact the board administrator.

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How do I edit or delete a poll?

As with posts, polls can only be edited by the original poster, a moderator or an administrator. To edit a poll, click to edit the first post in the topic; this always has the poll associated with it. If no one has cast a vote, users can delete the poll or edit any poll option. However, if members have already placed votes, only moderators or administrators can edit or delete it. This prevents the poll’s options from being changed mid-way through a poll.

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Why can’t I add attachments?

Attachment permissions are granted on a per forum, per group, or per user basis. The board administrator may not have allowed attachments to be added for the specific forum you are posting in, or perhaps only certain groups can post attachments. Contact the board administrator if you are unsure about why you are unable to add attachments, as a mistake may have occurred.

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How can I report posts to a moderator?

If the board administrator has allowed it, you should see a button for reporting posts next to the post you wish to report. Clicking this will walk you through the steps necessary to report the post.

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What is the “Save” button for in topic posting?

This allows you to save passages to be completed and submitted at a later date. To reload a saved passage, visit the User Control Panel.

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Formatting and Topic Types

What is BBCode?

BBCode is a special implementation of HTML, offering great formatting control on particular objects in a post. The use of BBCode has been granted by the administrator, but it can also be disabled on a per post basis from the posting form. BBCode itself is similar in style to HTML, but tags are enclosed in square brackets [ and ] rather than < and >. It constitutes a `safe' subset of HTML commands useful in a normal message. For more information on BBCode see the guide which can be accessed from the posting page.

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Can I use HTML?

No. It is not possible to post HTML on this board and have it rendered as HTML. The Kunena engine will strip it, as executing HTML would be a vulnerability, a way of opening the door to malicious insertions. Most formatting which can be carried out using HTML can be applied using BBCode instead.

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What are Smilies?

Smilies, or Emoticons, are small images which can be used to express a feeling using a short code, e.g. :) denotes happy, while :( denotes sad. The full list of emoticons can be seen in the posting form. Try not to overuse smilies, however, as they can quickly render a post unreadable and a moderator may edit them out or remove the post altogether. The board administrator may also have set a limit to the number of smilies you may use within a post.

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Can I post images?

Yes, images can be shown in your posts. As the administrator has allowed attachments, you can upload the image to the board (but such attachments may be hidden from unregistered or not-logged-in visitors, depending on settings). Otherwise, you must link to an image stored on a publicly accessible web server, e.g. http://www.example.com/my-picture.gif. You cannot link to pictures stored on your own PC (unless it is a publicly accessible server) nor images stored behind authentication mechanisms (e.g. hotmail or yahoo mailboxes), password protected sites, etc. To display the image use the BBCode [img] tag.
If you hyperlink to a picture, please ensure that it will be available at the exact given URL for the next several years — or better ask the webadmin to host it on the ISS website itself!

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What are global announcements?

Global announcements contain important information and you should read them whenever possible. They will appear at the top of every forum and within your User Control Panel. Global announcement permissions are granted by the board administrator.

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What are announcements?

Announcements often contain important information for the forum you are currently reading and you should read them whenever possible. Announcements appear at the top of every page in the forum to which they are posted. As with global announcements, announcement permissions are granted by the board administrator.

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What are sticky topics?

Sticky topics within the forum appear below announcements and only on the first page. They are often quite important so you should read them whenever possible. As with announcements and global announcements, sticky topic permissions are granted by the board administrator.

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What are locked topics?

Locked topics are topics where users can no longer reply and any poll it contained was automatically ended. Topics may be locked for many reasons and were set this way by either the forum moderator or board administrator. You may also be able to lock your own topics depending on the permissions you are granted by the board administrator.

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What are topic icons?

Topic icons are author chosen images associated with posts to indicate their content. The ability to use topic icons depends on the permissions set by the board administrator.

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User Levels and Groups

What are Administrators and Moderators?

Administrators are members assigned with the highest level of control over the entire board. These members can control all facets of board operation, including setting permissions, banning users, creating usergroups or moderators, and have full moderator rights.
Moderators are individuals that have the authority to edit or delete other users' posts and lock, unlock, move, delete and split topics in the forums they moderate. Generally, moderators are present to prevent users from going off-topic or correcting practical issues (like posts in wrong topic or forum; or changing an attached or hyperlinked external file or picture into a locally hosted version displayed inline).

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Why do some usergroups appear in a different colour?

It is possible for the board administrator to assign a colour to the members of a usergroup to make it easy to identify the members of this group.

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Private Messaging

I cannot send private messages!

They have not been configured as there's little use in this board. In your profile you can offer ways to reach you (Skype, AIM and similar private messaging systems), but probably most practical is email since addresses are usually easily found online.

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Searching the Forums

How can I search a forum or forums?

Click on the Search tab above the login window (you do not have to be logged in). Enter a search term in the Keyword search box, which finds by default matches posted at any time. Alternatively type (part of) a username to find all posts by the matching user(s). Using the options boxes below the two general search boxes, you can limit the number of results.

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Why does my search return no results?

Your search was either too vague (many common terms are ignored by the indexer) or there simply weren't any matches (as the forum has been little used so far).

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How do I search for members?

You could find them by trial and error on parts of their name in the User Search box, presumably (but why?). Membership is restricted to Ischia Summer School participants including faculty, and a selected few others by request or invitation. As the forum was introduced in 2013, generally only participants from then onwards have an account.

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How can I find my own posts and topics?

Your own posts and topics can be retrieved either at the bottom of your Profile page or via Search on your own name.

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Topic Subscriptions and Bookmarks

How do I subscribe to specific forums or topics?

To subscribe to a specific forum, click the “Subscribe forum” link upon entering the forum. To subscribe to a topic, either reply to the topic with the subscribe checkbox checked, or click the “Subscribe topic” link within the topic itself. It is good form to subscribe to any topic you start yourself, as you have a form of ownership in a sense.

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How do I stop a subscription?

To remove some or all of your subscriptions, go to your Profile and click below on the Subscription Manager.

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Attachments

What attachments are allowed on this board?

PDFs and images (JPG, GIF or PNG) are what you will need, and they're allowed. The board administrator can allow or disallow certain attachment types; if you are unsure what is allowed to be uploaded, contact the board administrator for assistance.

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How do I find all my attachments?

To find your list of attachments that you have uploaded, go to your Profile and choose the Attachment Manager near the bottom.

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