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MAJOR RAKAL'S BBS TIPS #1: NAVIGATING THE BOARDS
Welcome to Decipher's Message Boards! In order to help everyone get the maximum
enjoyment and information from the Boards, I have written a series of "BBS Tips."
The first explains how to navigate and post messages and responses.
Star Trek CCG, Young Jedi CCG and Star Wars CCG each has its own complete,
unshared, menu of Boards, though the topics are the same for each game: Discussion,
Trading, Card Auctions, Off-topic, and Deck Designs and Dream Cards. Other short-term
"special interest" boards may be added from time to time, for feedback on a new
product, a special issue or event.
You can jump to the Board you want to post to from inside the Message Boards area
but not from a Message Board itself.
Once you go to the board you're interested in, the message at the top of the
screen will tell you your sign-in status. Remember, you don't have to sign-in
if you just wish to browse posts. But if you want to post a message or respond
to something posted, you must sign in. If you're a new user, read How
To Register and Post.
The BBSs also have a side navigation feature - the small graphic at the upper
left with "DIALOG," "bulletin boards," and the name of the
specific board where you are located currently, is an image map. Click on "bulletin
boards" and you are returned to the BBS index page, on "DIALOG"
and you will go to the Dialog index page (which includes links to information
on subscribing to the mailing lists, and to the Palace for Star Wars). Clicking
on the board name in the graphic (e.g., "gameplay") will refresh the screen
with any new messages that have been added since you arrived at the board. This
is faster than having your browser reload the entire page.
There are also links to "tips and faqs" about using the BBSs, and a "Code of
Conduct" and "Rules of Usage" for the boards. If you are new to Decipher's bulletin
boards, you should read these before posting to familiarize yourself with what
is considered appropriate and inappropriate conduct, as well as important legal
information about how you may use the materials found on the boards.
The "top-level" messages - those posted as "New Subject" messages - are listed
in reverse posting order: the newest is at the top, the oldest at the bottom.
That way you always see the newest messages first when you enter the board. Messages
posted in direct response to a top-level message, on the other hand, are in direct
posting order, oldest first, indented under the top-level message, making it more
intuitive to read responses in order of posting. Responses to responses are arranged
in the same order, oldest first, with each level of response indented further.
There is a maximum of five message levels, the top-level original message and
four levels of indents. There is no upper limit on the number of direct responses
that can be posted to a given message at any level before the last.
Example board:
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Newest "New Subject" message A
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Next older "New Subject" message B
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Response 1 to message B
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Response 2 to message B
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Oldest "New Subject" message C
(No response possible to the last response under A)
To read a message, click on the subject line. A screen will appear with full
navigational control bars at the top, the message, and a shorter message subject
list, entitled NAVIGATOR, below the message text. Suppose
you click on message B above. After the message text you will see:
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Newest "New Subject" message A
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Next oldest "New Subject" message B
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Response 1 to message B
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Response 2 to message B
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Oldest "New Subject" message C...more...
Here we have not just the responses to the current message - you can use the
links in this list to navigate through all those responses, and to the
next or previous top-level message. You don't have to back out to the main screen
in order to access the next message at the top level, and loading a typical message
is much quicker than reloading the main screen from your disk cache.
All these links will appear also in any response, at any level, under message
B, so you can look through the responses in any order and then jump to message
A or C from within any of those responses. If you jump to a message and see that
it is not something you want to read, clicking on the DOWN
icon above the message subject will scroll you down to the NAVIGATOR
section. The subject line of the current message will be indicated by small triangles
at the left and right of the subject/name/date/time line (useful in figuring out
where you are if many responses echo the original subject line).
The "more" below the subject line for message A means there are responses to
that post. The subject line for message C does not say "more," because there are
as yet no responses to that message.
If at any time you want to return to the main screen, just click on either
the word NAVIGATOR, or on the name of the board that appears
under "bulletin boards" in the side navigation graphic. This will return you to
the main board, refreshing the board at the same time, with all messages that
have been posted since you were last there.
Jolan tru,
Major Rakal
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MESSAGE BOARD TOPIC CHOICES
YOUNG JEDI
gameplay
trading
card auctions
miscellany
deck designs
and
dream cards
STAR WARS CCG
gameplay
trading
card auctions
miscellany
deck designs
and dream cards
STAR TREK CCG
gameplay
trading
card auctions
miscellany
deck designs
and
dream cards
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