CSTN Friends in Travel – Discussion Board Tips
Getting Started
1. CSTN Friends in Travel is a private discussion board for subscribers to Connecting: Solo Travel Network (CSTN). Non-members: Join information
2. Type, or copy and paste the following web address into your web browser's
address (URL) box: http://groups.google.com/group/cstn-friends.
3. Click on the button located adjacent to the address box. OR Press the
Enter key on your computer keyboard. Either of these actions should take
you to a page titled "CSTN Friends in Travel," which looks similar to
the illustration below.
Sign in OR Open a Google Account
4. Select (click on) "Sign in." The sign in/sign out link is located at the top
of the page, right-hand. That will take you to a Google information and
sign in page where you either:
4a) sign in with your Google password in
the box provided on the right-side of the screen only if you already have
a Google account,
OR
4b) if you haven't previously opened a Google account,
scroll down and select the "Create an account now" link.
Selecting 4b) should take you to a Google page where you record your password and choose how you want to communicate with other members.
After completing the join and/or sign in procedures with your GOOGLE password,
you should go directly to the CSTN Friends in Travel Home page as shown
above. Now you can begin.
- My Groups: remembers and provides quick links to other Google Groups
you have previously visited and/or joined. Click on the down arrow to see
the list.
- Favorites: links to messages you have selected for special interest
or for which you want to be advised when updates occur.
- Profile: takes you to a page where you may, if you wish, provide extra information about yourself, including a photo.
- Help: takes you to Google Groups help and information pages.
- My Account: takes you to your Google account where you can edit account
details.
- Sign out/Sign in: select to sign out of CSTN Friends in Travel site.
NOTE: Each time you either sign out or shut down your web browser you must sign in anew with your Google password as outlined about in step 4a.
CSTN Heading Line and Search Functions
Search Example: You are visiting Toronto and wonder if anyone has posted
information or is willing to give you advice about Toronto.
Type the keyword "Toronto" into the white rectangle box to the left of "Search this Group," then click to find relevant messages within CSTN Friends. OR, click on "Search
Groups" to find other relevant Google Groups specific to Toronto.
Search Example: You are interested in finding a travel companion for a trip to Russia. You could type in the search box the keywords "companion," or "Russia," or, more specifically, "companion Russia" to display any messages that contain your
keywords. You may have to try different combinations of keywords to find relevant messages.
TIP! If your keywords turn up nothing in CSTN Friends,
try the Search Groups option to see what Google finds in the rest of the world.
Links and Functions Right Side of Screen
- Home: allows you to go back to CSTN Friends in Travel home page where
you see listed, on the left side, the subjects eligible for discussion
under "Make Travel Friends Here" and links back to Connecting: Solo Travel
Network (www.cstn.org).
- Discussions: allows you to go to the discussions page where you can select
the order and style of viewing messages.
View: Topic List: Displays only
the topic headings, which can then be sorted by "Latest Message," or "First
Message."
View: Topic Summary: Displays topics in a summarized list.
- About this Group: takes you to a page that describes the makeup of the
group: who is allowed to view/post/reply to messages and upload files.
TIP: If you click on any link that takes you away
from CSTN Friends pages, look to the top line to see "My Groups" then click on the down arrow
to display a link back to CSTN Friends.
- Edit My Membership: takes you to a page where you can change your participation
options.
Abridged E-mail: This is the default setting for CSTN Friends in Travel group. A brief summary of new activity is sent via e-mail once a day – nothing is sent if there have been no new replies/posts. Links are included with each summarized post to quickly locate the exact place on the board.
Digest E-mail: Select this if you want to receive complete, rather than abridged, new messages, bundled together and sent to your e-mail address once a day.
E-mail: Select this
if you want to receive each new message as it is posted, no matter the
topic, no matter who posts it.
No E-mail: Select this option if you only want to participate by visiting the CSTN Friends in Travel website. You will not receive email notifications. NOTE: If you have selected this option then subsequently post a message on the board, the only reply function available is the "Reply to Author" option (see Responding and Viewing options below), in which case reply messages will go directly to your registered e-mail address and won't appear on the discussion board.
Discussions Bar Center Screen
- Post a new message: Look for the "+ New Post" Button: Click on this button to display the compose message/topic form
on which you type an appropriate heading, type a message, then click on
the "Post message" button. Shortly, you should see a note telling you the
message has been posted successfully.
Viewing Options
- Click on a topic/message of interest listed under "Discussions" to display
the full text with its heading highlighted by a blue bar.
- Click on "Options"
located on the right side of the heading bar to display the following choices:
Standard View: displays replies one after the other in order of date, and you scroll
down to read them.
View as Tree: adds a frame to the left of the messages'
text boxes that lists all of the messages ordered either by date or by
reply as you prefer. This option is most useful when many replies have
been added so that you can zoom in to a specific reply instead of having
to scroll down the list.
E-mail Updates to Me: Click on this option when
you want to receive immediate e-mail notification of any replies to a specific topic.
Close this Topic: Select when the message becomes irrelevant.
Display this Topic First: Select to have this topic remain at the top of the Discussion
list, regardless of age.
Replying to Messages
- Click on a topic/message of interest listed under "Discussions" to display
the full text with the message heading highlighted by a blue bar.
- Message Box Options: Click on "More Options" to reveal a string of choices:
Reply: displays the original text with white space above the first line
of text where you can type a reply, then click "Send," or "Discard" if
you change your mind. You should momentarily see a message saying "Your
post was successful." Shortly, your message will be available for all members
to view. NOTE: The "Reply" option will not be available for messages over 60 days old.
Reply to Author: proceeds as above, except the reply will be
sent directly to the author's e-mail address and will not be available
for public view. NOTE: "Reply to Author" is the only option available for messages over 60 days old.
Forward: allows you to send the message to other e-mail
addresses aside from group members.
Print: allows you to print a message.
Individual Message/View Thread: toggles between specific postings within
a thread (all messages pertaining to one topic).
Show Original: displays message in either "parsed" or plain text.
Remove: allows author to remove
one or more message(s) within a thread.
Report This Message: should it
ever happen that someone has posted an offensive message or reply.
Find
Messages By This Author: brings up all messages from any topic/discussion
previously posted by the same author.
- Questions, Concerns, Privacy Issues: Go
- CSTN Friends in Travel: Go
