Using Forums: Video Transcript

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Onscreen action

1.1

Forums provide users with a place to ask questions, share their expertise, and discuss topics of common interest.

The Welcome screen displays.

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Onscreen action

2.1

If you are looking for the answer to a question or need help troubleshooting a particular problem, the Public Forums page is a great place to start.

The Public Forums page displays.

2.2

You can browse the forums on the page to get an idea of the discussions in progress in your organization.

Scroll down the page to show the list of forums.

2.3

You can gauge how popular or active a forum is by looking at the number of topics and replies the forum contains.

The Topics/Messages column is highlighted.

The column lists the number of topics in the forum followed by the total number of posts to the forum.

2.4

You can also see who contributed to the forum last and when they did so.

The Last Post column is highlighted.

The column displays the name of the person who last posted to the forum and also shows the time that the post was added.

2.5

To find forums, focus on a specific subject; look for a relevant tag in the tag cloud and click it to find the forums that are tagged with that keyword.

Click marketing in the tag cloud.

2.6

Click the tag to return to the main page.

Click the marketing tag to close it and return to the main display.

2.7

Forums can be stand-alone or associated with a community.

A stand-alone forum is highlighted.

A community forum is highlighted. The label Community Forum displays next to the forum name to indicate that it is a community forum.

2.8

Stand-alone forums are always public and anyone can participate, but you must be a community member to contribute to a community forum.

Open the Renovations Marketing Enablement community forum.

The message, Join this community to start a topic is highlighted.

2.9

When you find a forum that interests you, click the forum title to open it and browse the topics it contains.

Click Worldwide Events.

The Worldwide Events community forum displays.

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3.1

Participating in a forum is easy.

When you see an ongoing discussion thread that you want to participate in, all you need to do is click Reply and fill out the form that displays.

The Worldwide Events community forum displays.

1. Click Updated event listings.

2. Click Reply.

The reply form displays.

3.2

If your reply involves supplementary information that is too long to include as part of your reply, you might want to include an attachment that contains the information.

Enter a reply in the text field.

Click Attach a File.

The Attach a File form displays.

Click Cancel to close the form.

3.3

Click Save when you are ready to post your reply.

Click Save.

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Onscreen action

4.1

You can keep track of forums you are interested in by following them.

Following a forum means that you get notified whenever the forum is updated.

The Worldwide Events forum displays.

Click Follow.

The following options display:

• Follow this Topic
• Follow this Forum
• Follow this Community

Select Follow this Forum.

4.2

If you are interested in the progress of a particular discussion thread, you can also follow forum content at the topic level.

Select Follow this Topic.

4.3

If you find that a forum is no longer relevant to you, you can stop following it at any time.

Select Follow > Stop Following this Topic.

4.4

Use the I’m Following option on the My Forums tab to keep track of the forums and forum topics that you are following.

Click the My Forums tab.

The I'm Following view displays by default with the Topics tab selected.

Click Forums to display the list of forums that you are following.

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Onscreen action

5.1

If you cannot find any forums that deal with your subject of interest, why not create a new forum and get a discussion going?

The Public Forums page displays.

5.2

Anyone with access to the Forums application can create a forum.

Click Start a Forum.

The Start a Forum form displays.

Enter Fall Rebate Promotion in the Name field.

5.3

Include tags that categorize the forum and make it easy for people to find.

Enter rebate, promotion, sales, and marketing in the Tags field.

5.4

Be as specific as possible when entering the forum description so that people know exactly what the forum is about.

Enter the following description in the Description field:

This forum is for brainstorming ideas for the Fall Rebate promotion. Post your suggestions here or reply to give feedback on the ideas posted by others.

Click Save.

5.5

When you create a forum, you automatically become the forum owner.

5.6

You can use the My Forums tab to keep track of the forums that you own.

Click My Forums.

Click I’m an Owner.

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Onscreen action

6.1

If you are troubleshooting a particular problem or looking for a piece of information, posting a question to a forum is a good way to find help.

The My Forums page displays.

Open the Fall Rebate Promotion forum.

6.2

To post a question to a forum, all you need to do is create a regular topic, but be sure to mark the topic as a question.

Click Start a Topic.

Enter a title in the Title field.

Select Mark this topic as a question.

Enter tags in the Tags field.

Enter a question in the text field and click Save.

A question mark icon displays next to the saved topic, with the text, This question has not been answered yet.

6.3

When you mark the topic as a question, it is flagged with a question mark icon, giving other users a clear signal that you are looking for help with an answer.

Highlight the question mark.

6.4

You can keep track of your unanswered questions from the Open Questions tab on the My Forums page.

Click My Forums.

Click Open Questions.

6.5

As people start to post replies to your question, you can review their answers and decide whether to accept them.

The question displays with a number of responses under it.

6.6

When you accept a reply as an answer, your question is marked as answered, and the question mark icon changes to a tick.

Click Accept this Answer next to a question response.

The response is marked as an accepted answer.

The question mark icon next to the original question changes to a tick, and the associated text changes to: This question has been answered.

6.7

You can reopen the question at any time if you want to look for more answers.

Highlight the Reopen Question option.

6.8

Use the Answered Questions tab on the My Forums page to keep track of your questions that have been resolved.

Click My Forums.

Click Answered Questions.

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7.1

As more threads are added to your forum, from time to time you might find that you need to highlight or prioritize important topics so that they don’t get lost in the mix.

A forum containing a long list of topics displays.

7.2

Pinning a topic moves that topic to the top of the forum so that it gets the attention of the forum participants.

Select a topic.

Click Pin this Topic under the topic.

The topic is moved to the top of the list of forum topics.

7.3

When you pin a topic, it is flagged with a thumbtack icon.

The thumbtack icon next to the pinned topic is highlighted.

7.4

If you want to return the topic to its regular place in the forum sequence at a later time, you can unpin the topic.

Select the topic again.

Click Unpin this Topic.

The thumbtack icon is removed.

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Onscreen action

8.1

If you think that a discussion thread is resolved or complete, you can lock it to prevent users from making further contributions.

You must be the forum owner to do this.

Select a forum topic.

Click Lock Topic under the topic.

8.2

The topic is marked as locked in the user interface.

Other users can still open the topic and read the discussion thread but they cannot make changes to it.

The [Locked] flag next to the locked topic is highlighted.

8.3

You can also lock a whole forum to prevent it from being updated.

As the owner, you can still make changes to the forum content while it is locked.

Other users can view the forum content but cannot make changes to it.

Select More Actions > Lock Forum.

The forum is marked as [Locked] in the user interface.

8.4

You can unlock the forum at any time if you want people to resume the discussion.

Open the locked forum and select More Actions > Unlock Forum.

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9.1

Thank you for watching this demo.

The Closing screen displays.

9.2

For more information about using Forums, click Help in the product.

The Closing screen displays.