These FAQs apply to Web Forums which have been established through the Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology. If you have questions you would like to see answered here, please email them to Beth Call.

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• May messages be posted anonymously?
• When do I create a new thread (discussion topic) and when do I reply to a thread?
• May I change a message once it has been posted?
• How can I get rid of a thread or message that I unintentionally created?
• How do I include a web page link in a message?
• What should I do if an information box is displayed with the question "Repost form data?"
• How do I log out of a secure forum?

May messages be posted anonymously?

Messages may be posted anonymously, but it is not recommended. When filling out the Reply form to respond to a message in a thread, you may enter your true name or an alias in the From box. The generally accepted practice is to use your true name out of courtesy to others participating in the forum.
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If you want to begin a completely new topic that has not been addressed in any of the existing forum threads,  create a new thread. Click on the Create New Thread link at the bottom of the home page of the forum. After you create the thread, a link for the thread will be displayed on the home page of the forum.

If you want to add to the discussion of an existing topic, reply to the relevant thread. From the home page of the forum, click on the link of the thread you wish to discuss. Click on the Post a Message to the 'Thread Name' Thread link to enter your reply. If you want to address a specific message within a thread, click on the Reply to this Message link and enter your reply. (Older forums do not have the capability of replying to a specific message.)
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There is no way for forum participants to modify a message after it has been posted by clicking on the Submit Message button on the Post a Message form or Reply form.
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There is no real harm having an extraneous thread or message in the forum, though it may create some confusion for forum participants. There is no way for forum participants to remove a thread or message that was unintentionally created. However, some professors and other forum owners do have this capability. Contact your professor or the forum's owner to find out more information.
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Follow this example:
<A HREF="http://campus.murraystate.edu">RacerNet</A>

This will cause RacerNet to be displayed as a link to http://campus.murraystate.edu like this: RacerNet
on the messages page for the thread this message belongs to.

Replace http://campus.murraystate.edu by the address of the web page you are linking to and replace RacerNet by the text you wish to be the link.
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The "Repost form data?" box is displayed when you submit a message to be posted to the forum and then immediately Reload (Netscape Navigator) or Refresh (Internet Explorer) a forum web page. In Netscape Navigator, click Cancel. In Internet Explorer click No. If you click Yes, the message you just posted to the forum will be posted again, and there will be two identical messages displayed in the forum.
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Some forums are only accessible by a particular group of users. Security may be implemented by having a Forum Login web page or by having a login box pop up when the forum pages are accessed. Once you have logged in from the Forum Login web page or login box, you can access any page for that particular forum while your browser remains open. Once you close your browser, you are "logged out" of the forum, and when you restart your browser, you will be required to login to access the forum again.
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