Welcome! This guide describes how to get started with our web-site. The guide covers basic topics such as registering for an account, logging in, changing your account settings, and creating content.
The NKCA web-site uses Drupal, a content management system. Its goal is to help users compose and present web-site content such as articles, photos, and other content types. You don't need to know HTML or any other web stuff in order to post content such as forum topics, comments and blogs.
The basic process involves these steps:
This user guide will explain these steps and familiarize you with the basic information you need to use this site successfully.
To add or edit content on our website, you have to first be registered as a user. Pre-existing members of the NKCA were registered by the administrator and emailed a temporary password. You can use this user name and password to log in. Then you are free to change them to whatever you wish.
If you are new, look for a small form called “User login” on the left column of the front page. Click the link that says "Create new account".
The next page that comes up will generally have some information on the site's policies for registration. After reading them, to register, enter a user name of your choice and an email address to which you have access and hit "submit". Then check your email account. Within a few minutes, you should get an automatically-generated email confirming your registration and giving you an initial password to use. Now you're ready to log in.
Please note, registering as a user is not the same as applying for membership. Registering as a user of this site allows you to post your opinions on the site. If you want to apply for membership in the NKCA, fill out the form here.
Before you can add or edit content, you usually need to log in. If you haven't already done so, register as a user, see above. Then hit the front page of the site and look for a "User login" form on the left hand column. Enter your user name and password and hit "submit".
Assuming everything's working as planned, when the new page loads it will include a new block with your user name at the top. This is the menu you use to start entering and editing content.
Once you have registered with our web-site, you can change settings to control information about yourself and also your use and experience the site. To see what tweaks you can make to your account, log in and then click on my account in the navigation block (that's the one titled with your user name). Click on the edit tab.
Account Settings.
Want to change your user name? Then just type in your new user name in the field that says "user name".
Enter in a new password in both fields to set it. Drupal sends you a default password that is often hard to remember, so it is recommended that you change your password to something you can easily remember.
You can determine whether or not you can receive private messages. By default, private messages are allowed.
You can add a default signature that will show up at the bottom of comments you make to an article or forum topic. The signature will be copied into new comments for you automatically, but may still be edited.
Additional Information.
Aside from the account settings tab, you will also see an additional tab, titled as "Personal Information" where you can select your location.
Don't like the default picture that shows up beside your posts? You can delete it or change it to whatever you like. To do so,
One of the great things about this site is that you have a say in it! Have an idea, an opinion that you want to share with others? Or just a question that you would like to ask your neighbours? Then you can post it here! You can create content by any of the following means:
To learn how to use these tools, read on.
Note that to post any content, you must be logged in.
A forum "is a web application which provides for discussion, often in conjunction with online communities." - Wikipedia
Just like a real world forum is a meeting place for topical discussion, so is an online forum. Our forums allow you to post a topic which is then accessible to other visitors who can read your post and make comments of their own.
To post a topic in our forums:
Now others can read your topic and add comments if they choose.
A blog (or "web log") "is a web-based publication consisting primarily of periodic articles (normally in reverse chronological order)" - Wikipedia.
A blog is your own online journal. You can write about your opinions, your experiences or just whatever you would want to share with the world.
To start posting to your blog, click on the "my blog" link on your navigation block (the one with your user name on the left).
Fill in a title for your post and in the "body" section, enter your blog! When you are finished typing, click the preview button at the end of the page, then check over your entry and finally click on submit at the end of the page. Others will be able to read your thoughts and post comments on them.
Most articles on this website will have a link at the end of them stating "add a new comment". By clicking on this link, you are able to add your thoughts on the article that was written. In fact, you can even reply to other people's comments by clicking on the link in a particular comment.