STUDENTAWARDS FORUM FAQ

Scroll through the questions and if you still haven't found the answer you're looking for, email us at info.forum@studentawards.com

THE BASICS

What is the Studentawards Forum?

The Studentawards Forum is a virtual community where students, teachers, professors and parents gather to share their knowledge, insights, issues and ideas.

How does the Forum work?

The Forum is a place for online group discussions. Conversations on the Studentawards Forum typically take place over days, weeks, or even months. Forum discussions are posted in consecutive order, with the original message being displayed on the first page and more recent replies on the latter pages. The result is a linear dialogue that has the feel of a real-life conversation.

Do I have to register to use the Studentawards Forum?

Registration is required if you plan to post new topics or reply to existing topics. Joining Studentawards is free and only your Username will be displayed in your posts.

Please note that the Studentawards Forum (http://forums.studentawards.com) was integrated into the Studentawards scholarship website on Monday, December 20, 2010. If you were registered on the Studentawards Forum before December 20, 2010, and ARE NOT a member of the Studentawards scholarship website, you are required to create a new profile in order to post messages on this new Forum.

What is my role in the Forum?

You are a valuable member of the Forum. By sharing your thoughts, ideas, questions and concerns, you help shape the Forum and make it a dynamic and evolving community. Your contributions are the foundation of our community.

I forgot my password – what do I do?
Don’t panic! We can help you get a new one.

On the Password Assistance page, enter the email address you registered with and then we’ll send you an email with a link to reset your password. Please make sure to add nikki@studentawards.com to your safe senders list to ensure that you receive our emails.

Click here to reset your password.

Please note that the Studentawards Forum (http://forums.studentawards.com) was integrated into the Studentawards scholarship website on Monday, December 20, 2010. If you were registered on the Studentawards Forum before December 20, 2010, and ARE NOT a member of the Studentawards scholarship website, you are required to create a new profile in order to post messages on this new Forum.

What are Moderators?

The Studentawards website is maintained by several Moderators, who are assigned the job of forum and comments upkeep and are given a few special privileges to make that job easier.

The Studentawards Forum Moderators are employees of Studentawards Inc. who review each post and comment. They use their discretion to approve and/or delete posts written by members of the Forum. Moderators will review all posts that have been reported as abusive (see below).


What is the “Report Abuse” function and how do I use it?

If you are offended by a particular post, or feel it should be removed for any reason, you may click the “Report Abuse” link and the post will be sent to a Moderator for review. After you report a post, the “Report Abuse” link will be removed from the post/comment and will be replaced by “Reported as Abusive”. If the post is deemed inappropriate, the Moderator may delete or edit the post/comment based on his or her discretion. Studentawards members users must be logged in to report a post as abusive.

Who do I contact if I find a technical problem with the site?

If you find a technical problem with the site that is not addressed in this FAQ, please contact us at info.forum@studentawards.com.

USER PROFILES

What is a Forum profile?

A user's profile is a summary of his or her identity, role and activity in the Studentawards Forum.

How do I edit my Forum profile?

You may easily change any information stored in your Forum profile. Once you login, select “Forum” on the main navigation, and then “My Forum Prerences”. From this page, you can modify your avatar and add a signature to your Forum posts.


Who can see my profile?

Everyone in the community can see your profile. Only you can edit your profile.

Can I send an email to other members of the Forum?

In order to protect our members' privacy and help in the fight against email spam, we do not display member email addresses. To contact another Studentawards Forum member, you can either go to “My Forum Preferences” and send a “New Message” to that member, or click on the private message “PM” button on any post made by that member.

What is private messaging?

Private messaging is a kind of board-based email system for members to send personal messages to other members without going through an outside email client. Each member has his or her own “Inbox” in which private messages are stored. Log into your Studentawards account and in the Forum section, click on “Inbox” to access your messages.

How do I get a picture under my user name?

The picture under your username, known as an “avatar”, is chosen by you and can be changed at any time. More than one person may have the same avatar. To choose one, go to “My Forum Preferences” on the navigation bar, then select “Modify Avatar” and you will be taken to a menu of avatars. Simply click on the avatar you like best.

Can I make my own avatar?

At this point, the avatars in the current menu are the only available avatars.

Do I have to log out?

In order to protect our members’ privacy and help in the fight against email spam, we advise our members to completely close their session to prevent other users from viewing and accessing private profile information. You can do this by simply clicking on “Logout” in the top navigation bar.

FORUMS, TOPICS, AND POSTINGS

What are Forums?

Conversations are grouped by broad subject area into forums. For example, our current forums fall under the titles College & University Life, High School Hang Out, Life in General, and Money Management and Scholarships. The Studentawards Forum Administrators determine what the forums shall be.

What are Forum topics?

Within each forum are lists of topics. A topic is a discussion about a more specific subject. For instance, the College & University Life forum might include topics on dorm life, peer pressure, choosing classes, etc. Each topic has a title identifying its subject.

What are "threads"?

A thread is composed of numbered posts, each written by an individual participant. You participate in each thread by reading its posts through to the end, at which point you have the option of making a post of your own.

How do I start a "thread"?

To start a thread, click on the “New Topic” button located near the top right corner of the page.

How do I post a response?

To post a reply to a thread, click on the “Post Reply” button located at the top right corner of the thread page. You may also use the "Quick Reply" function at the bottom of the thread page, however, you will only given the option of submitting your response in simple text (no formatting options).

Can I delete or make changes to my post?

You may edit or delete your own posts at any time. Just go to the post you want to edit and you will see the “Edit Post” and “Delete” buttons on the corner of your post. No one else can edit your post, except for the forum Moderator or Administrator. Please note, you may not delete a post that is a thread starter, however you are able to edit the post as you see fit.


How do I search for specific posts?

You may search for specific posts based on key word(s), and username. Just click on “Search” located on the top navigation bar.

How do I know if someone has replied to my post?

If you would like to keep track of a particular thread, you can subscribe to the thread to receive email notifications when new posts or edits are made. To subscribe to a thread, find the one you are interested in and click on "Options" located in the top right corner of the page, in the same blue header as the thread name. Select "Watch this topic". To unsubscibe, repeat the steps and select "Unwatch this topic" or go to "My Forum Prerences Profile" and select "Subscriptions" on the left hand side. Select the threads you no longer wish to receive notifications on.

You may also subscribe to a Forum by clicking on the "Watch Forum" link listed at the bottom of the selected Forum page.

Why have some words in my post been replaced?

The Forum Administrators have the power to censor inappropriate text with substitute words. We reserve the right to censor all content, at our discretion.


How do I add a signature?

You may use a signature on your posts. Click on “My Forum Preferences”, and then “Signature” to add or modify your signature. Your signature may be a quote, an identifying saying, a small image, or any sort of identifier; however, we ask you to please limit the size of your signature. Moderators and Administrators reserve the right to edit your signature if it is too large or is inappropriate.

How do I attach files?

For security reasons, you may not attach files to any posts. You may cut and paste text into your post, or hyperlink to outside documents.

What are ranks?

Ranks are titles that measure how many posts you have contributed to discussions on the Forum. The more you participate on the Forum, the higher your rank. It’s our way of recognizing active participation and rewarding those who contribute regularly to the Studentawards Forum.

Ranks
0-50 posts: Frosh
51-300 posts: Senior Student
301-500 posts: Student Council
501-700 posts: Valedictorian
701-999 posts: Student Body Vice-President
1,000-9,999 posts: Student Body President
10,000+ posts: Grand Poobah

TECHNICAL STUFF

What do the icons and symbols mean?

Descriptions of icons and symbols can be seen by placing the cursor on them for a few seconds.

Smilies

You've probably seen others use smilies before in email messages or other bulletin board posts. Smilies are keyboard characters used to convey an emotion, such as a smile smile or a frown frown.

Announcements

Announcements are one-way communications from either a Moderator or an Administrator. No one may post replies to these announcements. If you want to talk about specific announcements, you must create a new topic in the appropriate forum.

Sticky

Administrators and Moderators have the ability to designate threads as "sticky". Sticky threads remain at the top of the thread listings and can only be moved by Administrators and Moderators.

Locked

When a thread is marked as "locked", members will only have read-only access to it.

Quote

This function allows users to reference other users' messages while making it distinct from their own. To post message with a quote, find the message you would like to quote and click on the quote button. Please use this function sparingly.

Do you use cookies?

This bulletin board uses cookies to store your username and password. These cookies are stored on your browser. Cookies are not used to track your movement or perform any function other than to enhance your use of the bulletin board. If your browser does not support cookies, or you have not enabled cookies on your browser, this time-saving feature will not work properly.

Once again, should you have any other questions, please feel free to email us at info.forum@studentawards.com