Search: | Advanced Search

ASQ Discussion Boards Help/FAQ

Welcome, Guest Log In Guest Settings Help/FAQ

• What are discussion boards?
  
• How is discussion board content organized?
  
• Do I have to log in to use the discussion boards?
  
• What are the different ways to view topic pages?
  
• How do I create a topic or post a reply?
  
• How do I search the discussion boards?
  
• What are watches?
  
• How can I format the text of my posts?
  
• How do I check the spelling of my message?
  
• What are reward points?
  
• How do I assign reward points to a topic?
  
• What are the rules for assigning and awarding points?
  
• Who is a "Sustaining Member"?
  
• Who is an "Organizational Member"?
  
• Can reward points be assigned to the Sustaining Member or an Organizational member?
  

What are discussion boards?
Discussion boards allow you to share ideas, opinions and information quickly and easily. Organized by topics in an easy-to-follow format, discussion boards are designed so you can quickly locate information, find other knowledgeable users and participate in conversations.

How is discussion board content organized?
The content in ASQ discussion boards is structured as follows:

• Discussion Board Categories: Categories represent a collection of discussion boards as well as other categories. Often, categories are used to organize discussion boards into a tree structure so members can find the right discussions more easily.
• Discussion Boards: Discussion Boards are the areas where individual discussions take place as a listing of topics.
• Topics: Topics (also known as "threads") are the discussions that consist of one or more messages displayed as a list, or in a tree structure of messages and their replies.
• Messages: Messages are the individual discussion posts made by community members.
• Replies: Message replies are posts in response to other messages and are organized in a flat or threaded mode.

Do I have to log in to use the discussion boards?
You must log in to see all discussion boards. Some discussion boards may be available to the public.

What are the different ways to view topic pages?
You can view the threads of a discussion topic in three ways, "Tree" view, "Flat" view or "Threaded" view.

• Tree view – This is the most compact view. It provides an outline view of the Discussion Topics only.
• Threaded view – This view provides a way to maintain the relationship between the posts (who was replying to whom), while viewing all the responses.
• Flat view – In the "Flat" view the responses to the original topic are listed in chronological order. In this view you can read through all the responses to the original posting in sequence, but you lose the "Threaded" character of the discussion, since some of the later responses may not refer to the original posting but to comments made by others who replied earlier.

How do I create a topic or post a reply?
To start a new topic, choose the appropriate discussion board and select Post New Topic. Type your topic header in the subject line and type a message in the message box. Before you are about to post, you can spell check your message by clicking on Spell Check. You can also choose to watch the topic (which will add it to you watch list, and allow you to receive email notifications when new posts are made) by clicking the Watch This Topic box.

When you are satisfied with your message, you can preview your message to see how it will appear when posted by clicking on Preview. Or you can post your message without previewing it by clicking Post Message.

To post a reply to a topic, select the reply icon next to the message you would like to reply to. If you want to respond to specific text from the original message, click on Quote Original, and that will add the text from the original post in your message.

How do I search the discussion boards?
From the main page of the discussion boards, type your term(s) into the search box, select which discussion board(s) you want to search, and click the Go icon.

When you are in a Discussion Board page, you can click on Search Discussion Board to use an advanced search page where you can narrow your search by specifying a date range.

What are watches?
A watch notifies you if the topic you are interested in has been updated. Notifications may be sent through the web or e-mail.

To add a topic to your watch list, click on the Watch This Topic link at the top of the topic page. Click on Stop Watching Topic to end the email notifications. After 30 days, inactive watches automatically expire.

To see the current list of topics you are watching, click on "Your Control Panel" then "Watches". From this screen you can choose to receive email notifications when new posts are made. Just click on Add Email Notification next to the topic for which you want to be notified.

You can delete a watch by clicking in the Delete tick box for the watch you want to delete, then clicking the Delete button.

How can I format the text of my posts?
To format your message text, there are three buttons for Bold, Italics and Underline. Clicking on these buttons will add tags to the message field.

For example, typing: "This is [b]bold[/b] text, and this is [i]italicized[/i] text" will appear as "This is bold text, and this is italicized text" once you post the message.

How do I check the spelling of my message?
To check the text of your message for proper spelling, just click Spell Check on the post screen.

If our spell check dictionary doesn't recognize a word in your message, it will appear in a box. You can correct it yourself by simply typing over what is displayed. If the dictionary has any suggestions, you will be able to see them in the suggestion box.

To choose one of the suggestions, simply select the suggestion you'd like to use and click on the Change button for each of the words you would like changed.

When you are finished checking your entire message, click on Post Message to save your changes and post the message with your spelling corrections. If you want to continue editing your message, hit Go Back or Edit to return to the post message area.

What are reward points?
Reward points are a virtual currency users can use to encourage others to answer their questions. Topic authors can decide to assign a certain number of points to their question and then reward the best answer (or answers) with all (or some) of the points. Simple calculations are then done to compute the topic users (by reward point) in certain categories or overall. Reward point summaries are displayed in each user's profile page.

How do I assign reward points to a topic?
The author of a discussion topic can assign points to their topic. The author can choose to award the best responses to that question with all of the points or some. The points can be awarded all to a single user's response or partially awarded to several users' responses.

After submitting a topic, the author will see a star symbol and the following text: "0 reward point(s) assigned to this topic. Assign reward points to encourage others to reply to your topic."

What are the rules for assigning and awarding points?
The author of a discussion topic can assign points to their question as an incentive for other members to respond. The author can choose to award the best responses to that question with all of the points or some. The points can be awarded all to a single user's response or partially awarded to several users' responses. Points awarded in the discussion topic are deducted from the points the author assigned to the topic. In addition, there are a few other rules:

• Topic authors cannot assign points to themselves.
• Users can remove the points assigned as long as there haven't been any replies to their question. This might be necessary if the author assigned the points in error.
• Users can assign points to a question at a later time to encourage others to answer.

Who is a "Sustaining Member"?
The person posting the message is an employee at an organization that holds a site-specific Sustaining membership with ASQ. The name of the organization is not displayed because the employee is participating as an individual. The opinions expressed in the message are those of the individual whose name is displayed in the message.

Who is an "Organizational Member"?
The person posting the message is an employee at an organization that is participating in the pilot program of Organizational membership with ASQ. The name of the organization is not displayed because the employee is participating as an individual. The opinions expressed in the message are those of the individual whose name is displayed in the message.

Can reward points be assigned to the Sustaining Member or an Organizational member?
Yes, ratings can be assigned. However, ratings accrue to the employers' membership, not the specific employee posting a message. Because numerous employees may be posting messages to the discussion boards via a membership held by the same employer, the rating may not be an accurate reflection of any one individual or their postings.