29th & Askew Neighborhood Block Club

Discussion Questions and Protocol

Discussion Forum Questions

1. Why are there topics from other places showing in my Discussion Forum?

Neighborhood Link intends the Discussion Forum to be a place where we can talk about what it means to live together as a community, whether in your neighborhood, your town, as part of a larger Metro area, or the whole country. To this end, each website displays 20 pages of topics. These topics always begin with postings made in your neighborhood, then widen out to nearby areas, and beyond.

The breadcrumb trail at the top of the page displays your location.   Every topic displays a tag with the neighborhood name, city, and state so there is no confusion. If you are interested in how other neighborhoods have handled problems or would like to share your expertise with others locally or around the country, you may want to read posts made further out than your neighborhood. If you want to know only about your area, please read only those posts tagged with your neighborhood's name.

2. What is the Respect-o-Meter and how does it function?

The Respect-o-Meter assigns each user a rank based on the quality of that person's participation in all areas of Neighborhood Link. If you are helpful, respectful of others, and promote community, you'll be ranked high. Typical of most online ranking systems, we are intentionally vague about the specifics.  This deters people from 'gaming the system'. Rankings will be assessed and changed periodically by the server.

3. How is the Discussion Monitored?

Each post has a "Report" link below it. Clicking that link will send that post to the Neighborhood Link Flagging System for review. This is an automated system which reviews the post and determines whether it should be retained or removed. If the post is removed, its text will be replaced with the words, "Removed by the Neighborhood Link Flagging System" and the date.

4. Can I view only topics posted on my location?

Yes, if you'd like to see messages posted just in your neighborhood, you can change a Preference setting in your Profile to do so. This will change the topics displayed for you on this computer. On the Discussion Forum, click your username and you'll get to your Profile page. Click the "edit" link. At the bottom of the page you'll see a "Discussions - browsing" drop down menu. Choose "restricted" and click "Save." When you go back to the Discussion page, click the Refresh button on your browser and the display will show only topics posted where you are.

5. How can I make the text size larger in the Discussion Forum?

You can make the text size for the Discussion Forum larger by changing the preference on your Profile page. On the Discussion Forum, click your username and you'll get to your Profile page. Click the "edit" link. At the bottom of the page you'll see a "Discussions - text size" drop down menu. Choose "larger" and click "Save." When you go back to the Discussion page, click the Refresh button on your browser to begin viewing the text larger.

6. How do I put up a picture next to my username?

Click on your username under the "Sign Out" link and you'll be taken to your Profile page. Click "Update Photo" and Browse your computer for the image you would like to use. When you find the image, click Open and you will see it in the box next to "Update Photo." Click "Go" and the image will be uploaded to the server. Once the file is finished uploading, click the Reload or Refresh button on your browser to see your new picture. Our video will walk you through the process.

7. How are Discussion Topics ordered? Do I have to wade through all the pages so I don't miss anything?

Discussion topics posted in your location (neighborhood or town) will show up first. They are ordered most recent post first. So, if someone has just replied to a post which was created yesterday, that post will show up at the top of the page. Once all the posts from your neighborhood have been displayed, you will see topics from the areas nearest you which have discussions.

8. Where can I find the most recent reply to a topic?

Replies are ordered by date, so the most recent reply will always be at the bottom. Since there may be many pages of replies, you can quickly skip to the end by clicking on the last page number listed above and below the posts. When replying, you may find it helpful to use the "Quote this post in your reply" feature so people will know which part of the conversation you're replying to.