FAQ

[EF Admin]

Frequently Asked Questions

This thread is designated for eCommunities FAQ. Please notice that only administrators are able to start discussions in this forum; however, members are able to post comments to the discussion.

This is how it works. You pose a question to the moderator(s) below and, once we are able to find an answer, we will update the list of FAQ or respond to your question within the thread. Please be sure to browse the FAQ regularly and check back for updates. We will try to add timestamps to the responses to help you recognize new posts.

» Is there a way to turn on signatures? - 10/08/08
No, you cannot automatically include signatures in posts. However, a member's profile picture will always appear with their posts. Additionally, please check out the "User Guide" to see how to change the title of your page--enabling you to have a cool tagline or quote at the top of your personal page.

» Is it possible to extend the 15 minute time limit that is allotted to modify posts? - 10/08/08
There is no way to modify the time you have to edit a comment. However, when you create a discussion, you have an unlimited amount of time to modify your original post. For those who create lists and modify them often (i.e. Brad and the “acronym list”), you have a couple of options: start the topic as a discussion, and as the administrator of that discussion, you can edit the initial post as much as you want. So Brad could start a discussion in “Living with Epilepsy” called “Helpful Acronyms” and as the list grows or folks comment and leave updates for him, he could “Edit Dicussion” and modify the original post he started. Also, you can use the blog tool when you need to create posts that need the flexibility of being edited beyond 15 minutes.

» Will there be an e-mail verification process? - 10/08/08
Yes, Captcha is installed on the site to ensure that the response to the log-in questions are not generated by a computer, and instead are submitted by a human user.

» Since you are able to change your user name, how will this work with a trouble maker if they can just keep changing their user name? - 10/08/08
Your username is tied to an e-mail account. You can change your username, but Admins are able to track the user by their e-mail address—a valid one is required to create an account. Additionally, as Brad pointed out, members will be able to keep track of usernames because when a user changes it, all previous posts get updated with the new username.

» Can we add a 'preview posts' feature? - 10/08/08
Unfortunately there is no preview for comments/posts in the forums. However, the 15 minute edit period allows you to correct any mistakes your slippery fingers may have made in the original post (this is much better than other social networks, which gives you no time at all to edit your comments.) Also, as harriett mentioned, you are able to preview your blog posts. Blogs allow more user moderation and editing time.

» Is there a way to hide your friends list? - 10/08/08
This is a legitimate concern—not wanting folks who just join to feel less popular or have the message boards seem like an exclusive club controlled by friendships. This feature cannot be made private, but do navigate to “My Settings” > “Privacy” to see what options can be controlled by the user. As for establishing friendships, the Foundation trusts from the previous iteration of the eCommunities that members recognize this as a place for sharing experiences with epilepsy and seizure disorders. Always remember the goal of the eCommunities is to be a supportive environment for folks to interact, learn and grow with each other. Even if you are not connected by an online friendship in the eCommunities, remember that we are all working together to promote a future where there is not another moment lost to seizures.

» Will there be advance search capability? - 10/08/08
There is no “advance search” enabled on the site. We will make sure we relay this concern to the developers. However, there is a completely separate search function for the forums, so that you are able to search specifically forum posts.

The search button at the top-right of the site searches the entire eCommunities, including videos, photos, blogs, forums, etc. The best way to improve the search results is to make sure you are tagging your discussions. Tags are key words and optimize the search function. You can add multiple tags to a post—just be sure to separate each keyword with a comma.

» Will there be a migration of content from the old site? Will users be notified in a reasonable enough time to save their private messages (PMs)? - 10/08/08
Content will not be automatically migrated over from the old forums. However, the old forums will be viewable as a read-only database so that users are able to go back and view past threads.

As for saving private messages: We do advise that users save their private messages. PMs will not be migrated over. All forum users are required to create a new account in the new eCommunities and we will give users a 72-hour window before we make the database read-only and lock their old accounts. We apologize for the inconvenience but hope that this “fresh start” will be empowering for the eCommunities.

» Uploading Photos and Videos? - 03/23/09
Because of the issues we’ve had in the past with pictures, we’re using an approval system for photos and videos on the new forums. What this means is that you can’t directly post photos or videos to the site. You’ll post them, we’ll approve them (unless there is a problem with them), and then they’ll go up.

Please be mindful that EF moderators will try to approve and moderate material published to the site in a timely manner, but please remember that these kind folks may not be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We don’t know how long this system will continue for, since it depends on whether or not we have any problems with users trying to post inappropriate material.

»How do you save PMs from the old message board? - 03/24/09
PMs are not guaranteed to be available once old message boards are made read-only. We suggest that users save their PMs from the old site and cmscribbles has offered the following instructions:

Sign in on the old forums...click to open your private messages. above the ABCDEFGH.... you will see titles:
PRIVATE MESSAGES: BANNING: BUDDY LIST: EXPORT PRIVATE MESSAGES
Click on export private messages that opens a window where you can specify a time frame or click export all. Then it will open a window and you can edit, select all, copy, and save as a doc to your computer.

»Adjusting Privacy Settings - 03/30/09
A couple of you asked how you can set privacy settings for your page and/or set separate ones for your photos and videos. Here's the answer:

If you navigate to "Settings" (which you can find in the log-in box located in the top right nav); then navigate to "Privacy" in the left-nav of that page; you can adjust privacy settings for "My Page" for photos, videos, blogs, etc.

» How can I access the old forums' posts? - 03/30/09
Roll over 'Forums' In the top navigation, and a sub-group should appear (in yellow) called 'Archive.' There is also links to the old site posted in the forum category descriptions. We have also added an icon on the right nav (labeled Archive) that links back to old discussions. The archive is is a link to past threads on the old site and will be read-only on 4/1/09. After that date, you will no longer be able to create or edit posts on that site. All activity will be restricted to the new site.

» We miss the left-hand nav bar! - 03/30/09
We want to assist with making this site's navigation as comfortable for you as we possibly can, keeping in mind there are system limitations. In an attempt to bring back your "left-nav" from the old site, we created a right-nav bar for forum discussions. This bar (located near the bottom of the right-nav, and labeled "Forum") shows the most recent discussions in the forum and will be carried throughout the site on any page your navigate to. We can sort this bar by discussions or forum categories. We will explore how users respond to this and make changes as necessary. Thanks for the feedback.

» I uploaded a picture from my blackberry, that I would like to use as my icon. I can see it in my photos, but how would I move it to my icon? - 03/31/09
To use a mobile upload as your profile icon, you will have to right click the image and save the picture to your computer. Once it is saved to your computer, you can then navigate to Settings> Profile and click on the camera icon next to Profile Photo and select Upload an image from your computer > Browse and select your mobile upload as your new profile picture.

» Is there a way to change my top friends? - 03/31/09
The top friends listed on the side bar of 'your page' will always be your most recently acquired ones. :) If you open up the big page of your friends (by clicking the link for it at the bottom of the friends box on your friends page) you can play with the order there. You have the choice of sorting your friends by selecting 'recently added, alphabetically, or random' from the drop-down menu at the top right hand area of the screen. However, every time you go back to your page, they always display as 'recently added'. (thanks harriett)

» I set my photos as private, but they are still showing up in the "Latest Activity"? - 04/03/09
In order to protect your photos from being displayed to anyone in the network the following must happen:
When you use the Photo Upload Tool, you can apply a setting that reads "Can be viewed by" and you should select either "Just My Friends" or "Just Me." You are able to apply this setting to a batch of photos uploaded at the same time by using the first upload box that reads "Edit Information for All Photos." If you use this tool to apply certain settings to all photos, you will need to select "Apply this info to the photos below" in order for it to apply to all photos. If you do not click this button, then it will NOT apply to the batch of photos uploaded. After all settings have been applied to each photo in your batch, select "Upload."

If the settings were applied correctly, these photos will not appear in the "Latest Activity" on the homepage of the eCommunities. (HELPFUL TIP: If ever you want to remove your activity from the "Latest Activity" on the homepage of the site, you can click on the red "x" at the top of that activity and remove if from the feed.)

To further safeguard photos from appearing in the "Latest Activity" on your personal page, you should go to Settings and in "Privacy" the last option on this page controls what displays in your "Latest Activity" on your page. Please note that when you change these settings here, neither anything set as public or private will show up in your "Latest Activity" feed.

Additionally, if you want to confirm that your photos are not searchable or able to be viewed by members outside of your friend list, try to search for your photos in the Photo area of the site. Those photos your marked private will NOT appear in the search. Please be mindful that you will see your own photos in your album because you are a part of your personal network.

We apologize if this process is confusing, but we ensure you that if you take all "Privacy" measures as above-mentioned, your photos will not be shared with those of whom you have not granted permission. To check to see if all privacy settings have applied to your content, please feel free to log out of the network and view your page.

» How do I change my username in my 'My Page' URL? - 04/03/09
To change the name in your URL. Please go to Settings> Profile > Useful Addresses (bottom of page)> Page Address> Change. From here you can control how your username appears in your 'My Page' URL.

[Crazy Diamond (Dave)]

Private Information - just dont enter your real name. you've already done it. (and I think you can change your name at any time. not positive but I think I read you could)


luvmyangels - look for the word 'Archive' on the right side of this page (about midway down) and click it.
It takes you back to the old forum.

[CasaDe]

Can I get the forums to display more than the default number of threads? On the old EFA site, I could display 25, 50, or 100 threads (or replies to a post).

[harriett]

Yes, I would really like this too.... right now there are only TEN threads showing... meaning things posted on only a few hours ago are being lost to the second page and things that aren't replied on immediately will just get buried and quickly forgotten, adversely affecting the support people can get here.

Threads are also very difficult to navigate with no way, from the main page of each forum, to open the thread to anything but page one and w/ only 10 posts per page... it results in too many pages and taking so much more time than before to get your way through a thread.

[Dansmom]

I know you said you can't turn on/use signatures, but I still wish this issue could be revisited. It was so helpful to see peoples backgrounds and what different medications and dosages people were taking, related to what was working etc. It is not convenient to have to click on the avatar and into a persons profile.

Also I agree with the others about navigating the threads. Elsasmom said it best

"I would really like easier navigation on the threads too. More threads visible, less real estate per post, just as others have described above."

[luanne]

i really agree about the number of threads per page and the space each thread takes up. like others have said, threads are disappearing to page 2, 3 and 4 quickly on php and some won't be seen and replied to. new people will not get the support they need and even use oldsters need the support too. i sure hope this can be changed.

[Brainskip]

This is going to be something that needs to be addressed soon!!!!!

Luanne said:

i really agree about the number of threads per page and the space each thread takes up. like others have said, threads are disappearing to page 2, 3 and 4 quickly on php and some won't be seen and replied to. new people will not get the support they need and even use oldsters need the support too. i sure hope this can be changed.

Also would be nice to have a next or last option at the bottom of the page near the page numbers!!!! Maybe even a return to top of page, in there too.

[elsasmom]

Can someone help? I'm trying to add a hyperlink into my profile box on My Page. In the Edit mode, I can see the link. However, when I save it, the link dissapears. Thanks in advance.

[harriett]

Here is what you need to do, elsa'smom: First, click the button for posting a hyperlink (it has a chain link on it). A pop-up window will come up; into it you'll paste the address of your link.' Once you do that and the code for this is put into your text box, you'll see that the curser is flashing towards the end of the coding- right before <./a> Insert THERE what you want the wording of the link to be once your message is posted. (i.e. you pasted the url of your personal web page into the box, but you want your post to read 'Elsa's page'. You can also just paste the URL there again if you want it; you can type whatever you want there.) That coding is what the site needs to make a link 'live.' (if you were used to doing links on EFA, it's the same 'idea' but they use real HTML here so the tags are different and take some getting used to.)

I hope that helps and it works for you!

[harriett]

It's not that the teen forum is any different than the others... but maintaining any of them costs $$ and some of the costs are covered by grants, etc from various sources. In this case, grant money from Medpointe Pharm is being used to help support that forum and credit is being given there. On the old forums, in addition to the teen forum getting the support they did, Bertek Pharm. funded the Parents Helping Parents forum, GlaxoSmithKline funded the Women's Forum.

[elsasmom]

Also many adults here need to eat specifically, so at the very least can the description on the PHP annex be given an adition saying adults are welcome to post/share their dietary needs. newbie adults on diets may be reluctant to enter there as the description states its just for children though thats the best place to go for dietary advice in regards to seizures out of all the forums we have

I wholeheartedly agree with this. So I'm adding my request here to change the Annex to read: Epilepsy Diets & Nutrition

Delaine

[jjbeck]

"I wholeheartedly agree with this. So I'm adding my request here to change the Annex to read: Epilepsy Diets & Nutrition"

Me too!!!!!

Jen

[antonsmom]

How can I send a PM if I want to? Also, can you automatically post the same message to 2 different discussions or forums? I want to be able to reach some of my old friends (from the old site) and didn't automatically keep their emails.