Forums are used to organize discussions on related topics. Students and Instructors click discussion links to access a forum from the main Discussion Board page. When a discussion is started within a forum it is called a thread.
Double-click on a forum link to access a discussion forum.The forum opens and the discussion threads within the forum appear.
The table below details the functions available within a forum.
To . . .
click . . .
start a new discussion thread
Add New Thread. The Add Thread page will appear.
view all messages
the View all Messages up arrow. All messages will be shown.
view unread messages
the View Unread Messages down arrow. All unread messages will be shown.
see all the threads and responses
EXPAND ALL (+). All threads and responses will appear.
see only the threads
COLLAPSE ALL (-). The topic threads will appear.
read a message
a link to a message. The message will appear along with any available options for modifying the message, removing the message, or responding to the message.
Send an email to the author of a thread
the name of the person. The email program associated with the browser is activated and an email will appear with their name in the To: field.
view tool bar
Options tab. The options tool bar will appear. These options are described in the next table.
archive a Discussion Board thread
Click Here for Archives.
resort the list of messages
the drop-down arrow and select one of the following options to Sort By:
Author: to have the messages sort by author.
Date: to have the messages sort by the earliest date. This is the default.
Subject: to have the messages sort by the subject.
The table below describes the functions available on the Options tab.
then . . .
select all threads and posts in the forum
click Select All.
unselect the posts selected
click Unselect All.
unselect the threads and posts that have been selected and select the threads and posts that have not been selected
click Invert.
mark posts as read
select the posts and click Read.
mark posts as unread
select the posts and click Unread.
view multiple threads or posts
select the posts and click Collect.
lock a thread or post
select the post and click Lock. Participants can view but not reply to a post that is locked.
If a thread is locked, all of the posts within the thread are locked. The thread must be unlocked, for the posts within to be unlocked.
unlock a thread or post
select the posts and click Unlock.
remove a thread or post
select the posts and click Remove.