This page contains the configuration options for your Message Boards.
The first section contains the URL you will use to access your Message Boards page. You should make a link on your site to point to this url so that your users can have access to it.
This section allows you to override the HTML code that appears on the General / Appearance page so that you can further customize the appearance of your message boards. It is only visible if Use Custom HTML is checked on the the General / Appearance page.
If you are unfamiliar with HTML, you should not use this section. Also, the stylesheet that comes with the default HTML should be included in your custom HTML as well but you should feel free to change the values (colors, fonts, etc.) of the various items to meet your needs.
The Override Main HTML box must be checked in order to enable the HTML Top and HTML Bottom fields. The HTML Top content will appear before the message board on the page and the HTML Bottom content will appear below the message board on the page. You do not need to check Override Main HTML if you want to use the HTML entered on the General / Appearance page.
These URLs will be used as the default values for all Message Boards that you create and will also be used on the Message Board Index (list of all message boards, broken down by category).
The Header Image field is optional and can contain a fully qualified URL (including the "http://") to an image to appear at the top of the Message Boards page.
The Header Link field is optional and can contain a fully qualified URL (including the "http://") of a page to go to when the header image is clicked. If the Header Image field is blank, the Header Link field will be ignored.
The Title is a text header that will appear directly below the header image (if present).
The Description will appear directly below the title and can be formatted using WFML (Web Form Markup Language). For help on WFML, click the button next to the field.
The Rank Names and Limits section contains names for the various ranks and the number of posts required to attain each rank. The higher the rank, the better. Rank 5 is reserved and has no limit. It is used for the message board moderator.
The Other Options section contains additional features that can be turned on or off.
The Topics Per Page drop down list allows you to specify how many topics you would like to appear per page on the topic list.
The Messages Per Page drop down list allows you to specify how many messages you would like to appear per page. This only applies when Threaded Messages is turned off.
The Hot Topic Count drop down list allows you to specify how many replies a message must get before it is considered a "hot" topic. All hot topics will be displayed in the message board topic list with the "Hot topic" icon.
The Sort Order drop down list allows you to specify the default sorting order for the topic list.
If Login Required is checked, all users must successfully log in (and have View permissions) in order to view the Message Board Index. This will also be used as the default value for all message boards you create.
If Login to Post is checked, all users must successfully log in (and have Post permissions) in order to post Message Boards messages. This will be used as the default value for all message boards you create.
If Email Posts is checked, all messages posted to the Message Boards will be emailed to the administrator user.
If Censor Posts is checked, all messages posted to the Message Boards will be censored from profanity.
If Mark New Topics is checked, all new messages since the last time they were marked read will be displayed with the "New Message" icon.
If Mark Hot Topics is checked, all topics with more than Hot Topic Count messages will be displayed with the "Hot Topic" icon.
If Show Invite Friends Link is checked, a button allowing people to email the message board link to friends will appear in the topic list toolbar.
If Show Email Topic Links is checked, a button allowing people to email the topic link to friends will appear in the message view toolbar.
If Show Recent Users is checked, a list of users logged in within the last 15 minutes will be displayed at the top of each forum.
If Show Community Chest Link is checked, a button allowing people to make a donation to the Community Builder account fees will appear in the toolbar.
If Show Personal Photos is checked, any personal photos your users have configured in their user profile will show up with messages they post.
If Show Message Page Links is checked, all topics with enough messages to span multiple pages will show up in the topic list with a list of links to the various pages. This only applies when Threaded Messages is turned off.
If Threaded Message Boards is checked, the message board topic list will display the subject of replies in a "tree view" below the topic. Otherwise, only root topics will be displayed in a table.
If Threaded Messages is checked, the message view will display the subject of replies in a "tree view" below the message. To view a reply in the message thread, click it's subject. Otherwise, all replies are displayed on the same page as the message.
If Delete Threads is checked, users will be allowed to delete their messages (if they have Delete permissions) even if their message has replies. Otherwise, they will not be allowed to delete their message if it has replies. This is important because if checked and a user deletes a message with replies, ALL THE REPLIES WILL BE DELETED AS WELL!!!
If Require Approval is checked, all messages posted will need to be approved by a moderator before they will be viewable by all users. If logged into the message boards as a moderator, any message (or topic containing a message) that is awaiting approval will have a red flashing light bulb next to it instead of the message's selected icon. To approve a message, edit it, check the Approved box, and save it.
If Allow Polls is checked, users will be able to post polls in the message boards. You must be subscribed to the poll service to use this feature.
Note: All fields marked with a * are required!