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What is a messageboard?
It's an area on a Web site where people can exchange thoughts, ideas and messages about common areas of interest. On other sites, you might see messageboards referred to as 'bulletin boards' or 'forums'.
What's a Live chat?
In a Live Chat you can have a one to one with celebrities in real time. Put your questions forward to be answered by the guest.
What's a Chatroom?
Chatrooms are virtual spaces (cyberspace) where people enter text in real time. Chatrooms can run over several hours and some may be open all the time.
How can I stay safe online?
Know where your children are surfing and learn about the Internet with them. Keep the computer in a family room. Bill Thompson of the BBC’s WebWise Campaign is a parent of two children, aged 9 and 7. He lets them use the Internet, but when his daughter is fourteen it will be a lot harder to make sure she's safe - on or offline. Read Bill’s tips and hints:
Be very wary of meeting people ‘in real life’ you have got to know in the chatrooms, they may not be who they say they are! If you feel uncomfortable, leave the room.. Children and teens should never organise face to face contact without their parent or carer’s permission, and then only when they can be present.
Don’t reveal personal details such as your address, telephone number, credit card numbers or passwords in public discussion areas.
The BBC Chatrooms and Message Boards are moderated and our Live Chats are ‘pre-moderated’ (questions are picked out for presentation to the guest) so you should be in a safe and friendly environment.
Ask the hosts and moderators for help and assistance if you need it by typing your request into the text entry boxes.
All the BBC public discussion areas have rules, which you agree to by taking part or registering. These are in place to promote good quality discussion and debate.
How are the BBC messageboards organised?
Each messageboard will include a number of topics about relevant areas of interest. Each topic will contain many different discussions.
What's the difference between a 'Messageboard', a 'Topic', and a 'Discussion'?
A 'messageboard' is made up of different, but related, discussion 'topics' within a specialist area of interest. Within these 'topics', dozens, or hundreds of different discussions are taking place... these discussions will be made up of a number of messages. The hierarchy of these structures are Messageboard -> Topic -> Discussion -> Message.
What do the 'See all discussions' and 'See latest messages' buttons do?
When you click on a messageboard topic that you'd like to participate in, you'll then be shown a list of the first 25 discussions that are happening within that topic. Most of our community members find that this helps them find discussions of interest very easily, and prevents you from having to read discussions that you might not be so interested in.
However, if you would like to read all of the messages that have been posted in the most recent discussions, then you can click on the 'See all discussions' button. If you like to periodically check to see the latest messages to be posted to a topic that aren't necessarily ordered by what discussion they appear in, click on the 'See latest messages' button. Try all three of these viewing options out to see which works the best for you!
Can I read messages without registering?
Yes, you can read all of the messageboards, but you won't be able to join in the conversations. If you want to join in, just login or register to write messages.
How do I register?
Click on the register link at the top left hand of any messageboards page, and click through to the 'Registration' form. You will be taken through the whole process of how to use the messageboard in 3 short steps. After the registration process you can return to the homepage to start adding or replying to messages straight away. For more information on this, please read the "How to use the message boards" section.
How do I log in?
Enter your username and password in the 'Login', button at the top of any messageboard page.
How do I leave a message?
You have to register and/or log-in, if you haven't already. After you've registered, you can click on either 'Reply' (to an existing message) or choose 'Start a New Thread' to begin a new discussion. For a step-by-step guide on registering and posting messages, click here.
What if I want to change my message?
After compiling a message, a preview page gives you the chance to post, edit or cancel your original text. Once you've clicked 'post your message', it'll be sent to the messageboard. For a step-by-step guide on posting messages, click here.
Can I use HTML tags in my message?
No, you're not able to use HTML on the messageboards. We do however, allow you to format your message. To demonstrate, if you wanted to emphasise the word "cheese":
Typing /cheese/ would turn the word into italics, i.e. cheese.
Typing *cheese* would make the word bold, i.e. cheese.
Typing _cheese_ would underline the word, i.e. cheese.
Typing _*cheese*_ would underline and bold the word, i.e. cheese.
Typing /*cheese*/ would turn the word into bold italics, i.e. cheese.
Typing /_cheese_/ would turn the word into underlined italics, i.e. cheese.
Typing */_cheese_/* would turn the word into bold underlined italics, i.e. cheese.
Don't go overboard with this - please make sure that your message can easily be read by others.
Why hasn't my message appeared yet?
There are three possible reasons why this could be happening:
1. Message boards aren't open 24hours, they are normally open from 9am to 10pm on weekdays and 10am to 10pm on weekends, but this varies for some boards. Click on the 'Opening Times' button on the top of the message board to see what times that board is open for. If you post outside of these hours then the message won't appear until the next day.
2. If your message seriously breaks the House Rules, the moderator or host may have to delete it. If this happens, you will receive an e-mail inviting you to post again once the material causing difficulty has been re-worded or removed. Remember the Three Golden Rules: No telephone numbers, No web or email addresses, and treat others with respect.
3. When you first apply for membership on our boards, we place your details on our system, then send you out another email that you need to reply to, to confirm that you've got a valid email address.
Between you registering and responding to the email, you are placed on a "Pre-moderated" status. This means that you'll be able to post messages on the boards, but they will placed in a queue for a moderator to check that the content is within our message board rules, then they'll be posted to the board. This obviously will result in a delay in your message being posted.
Now - if you *have* responded to the registration email and you are still being pre-moderated, then there may be a problem with your registration. Some ISP's and free email sites (AOL, MSN, for example) don't quote the original email's message body when replying to an email.
Try registering again using the same username and password - the two things to remember are:
Do not alter the email in any way - just reply to it without changing any of the contents. If your email client deletes the message body, try copying and pasting the message into your replying e-mail, or forwarding the email back to the BBC. Make sure that the registration code we're looking for is in the email - it look's similar to "D=13db18d04dbd1cb8212b108ff1f111dde21b558430a87040d2308c6296f47c4u".
If you're still having problems, try using a different email program, or signing up for a free web based email address.
Why can't I register properly? / Why do I keep getting the "Oops" page?
When you first apply for membership on our boards, we place your details on our system, then send you out another email that you need to reply to, to confirm that you've got a valid email address.
Between you registering and responding to the email, you are placed on a "Pre-moderated" status. This means that you'll be able to post messages on the boards, but they will placed in a queue for a moderator to check that the content is within our message board rules, then they'll be posted to the board. This obviously will result in a delay in your message being posted.
Now - if you *have* responded to the registration email and you are still being pre-moderated, then there may be a problem with your registration. Some ISP's and free email sites (AOL, MSN, for example) don't quote the original email's message body when replying to an email.
Try registering again using the same username and password - the two things to remember are:
Do not alter the email in any way - just reply to it without changing any of the contents. If your email client deletes the message body, try copying and pasting the message into your replying e-mail, or forwarding the email back to the BBC. Make sure that the registration code we're looking for is in the email - it look's similar to "D=13db18d04dbd1cb8212b108ff1f111dde21b558430a87040d2308c6296f47c4u".
If you're still having problems, try using a different email program, or signing up for a free web based email address.
What is a Host?
Hosts encourage discussion and make sure everyone has their say, they also make sure everybody keeps to the House Rules.
What is a Moderator?
Since the BBC messageboards are read by people of all ages, we like to make sure that none of the messages will offend anyone. To ensure this, moderators read every message that's posted to the BBC messageboards, and will reject any unsuitable ones.
What do the terms pre-moderated and post-moderated mean?
Most messageboards are post-moderated - this means that when you post a message it will go live immediately, and a moderator will read it ASAP to check that the content of the post is within the house rules. Occasionally a board will be pre-moderated, which means that when you post a message, it will not go live until a moderator has read, and approved it's content.
Pre and post-moderation can apply to individual members. If you don't reply to the registration email, you are automatically pre-moderated. If you break the house rules a number of times, you will be pre-moderated for an amount of time. Normally though, you will always be post-moderated.
What is the 'Alert A Moderator' link for?
If you see a message that you think breaks the house rules, and you would like to quickly bring it to the moderators attention, then please click the 'Alert A Moderator' link. You will be asked to fill in a form, giving a reason why you think the message should be deleted. This form is only for serious complaints about messages, namely that it is obscene, abusive, threatening, unlawful, harrassing, defamatory, harmful, profane, racially offensive, or otherwise strongly objectionable.
Please do not use this form to complain about such things as spelling errors, differences of opinion / humour, or multiple postings etc. It should not be used for general queries or technical support - if you have a question or technical problem, please use the Members' Centre messageboard. Misuse of the 'Alert A Moderator' form will be taken seriously.
Where can I find information on the Radio 2 playlist, Kat from Eastenders' clothes, etc.?
Unfortunately we messageboard producers are unable to assist you in these matters, as the BBC is a big organisation and we're only a small part of it. We don't get to mingle with the BBC celebrities or programme producers. Your best chance for finding out information about a celebrity or a programme is to go to the most relevant messageboard, and ask the host or the messageboard regulars if they can help you.
The messageboards don't seem to be working properly. Who should I contact?
You can E-mail us at messageboards@bbc.co.uk. Put "messageboard Problems" in the subject line.
Why has my message been removed?
If your message seriously breaks the House Rules, the moderator or host may have to delete it. If this happens, you will receive an e-mail inviting you to post again once the material causing difficulty has been re-worded or removed. Remember the Three Golden Rules: No telephone numbers, No web or email addresses, and treat others with respect.
What will you do with my e-mail address?
Your e-mail address is confidential and will not be used for any other purpose than that of identifying you as a messageboard member. The BBC will not publish or provide your email address to anyone. We use it to provide you with a unique ID for logging onto the site as everybody's e-mail address is different. Some BBC Web sites may wish to send you information via your email address, but they will ask your permission first. The BBC follows recommendations listed in the Data Protection Act 1998.
Do BBC messageboards use cookies?
Yes, The BBC messageboards do use cookies, which means that after registering or logging in to a messageboard, you can leave and visit other BBC sites and still be logged in to the messageboard system. The messageboards will work without cookies, but you will need to log in again if you leave and visit other BBC sites. If you want to turn your cookies on and off, you will have to do this through your browser options.
What if I have a question that isn't answered here?
If your question isn't in the FAQ, ask our technical gurus on the Technical Terrors messageboard.
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