Frequently Asked Questions - Posting Articles

To make a clickable link that will take you to another page, you have two options:

1. Just put in the link as it stands, e.g. http://www.bmwmotorrad.co.za, and the system will turn it into a link, or
2. If you want to make some text become a link, highlight the text with your mouse, then click the little chain link (chain link - geddit?).  In the URL box of the dialog that pops up, put the web address you want to link to.

Tip:
I find the link in my browser (in a separate tab or browser window), copy it (ctl-c) and then select the text I want to turn into a link, click the chain link icon, then paste (ctl-v) the URL into the URL box.

A story is just an article with a teaser. Right now the site isn't completely set up for stories, but it boils down to tagging the story as relating to certain categories, and possibly putting it in a menu.

Our aim is to have stories under the 'Articles' section. The Articles page will be similar to the home page, with lists of recent content and indexes into articles about biking safety, riding techniques, the physics of motorcycling, etc.

Also consider the 'Book' content type. It allows you to add pages with prev/next, and up/down links, so you can write an article with 'chapters' and 'sections' and you can move bits around as appropriate.

These content types will still have the option of 'comments' so people can discuss the content, but the intention is that this is much more for reference and as a resource than a fireside chat like the forum content.

Put 2 single quotes around the text you want emphasized (italicized), ''like this''.

Netiquette is etiquette for the internet - the rules and manners that apply when you do things on the internet. A lot of it is just obvious good manners, but some of it is not obvious (especially to beginners), and some is specific to a given community.

General Forum Netiquette

1. Do not hijack threads. This is the same as interrupting a conversation in polite company, except worse:
2. # The threads in a forum are designed to allow others to find the information they are looking for easily. If you post content in a thread that is not related to that thread, you not only make the thread irrelevant, you also make it impossible to find whatever information you contributed.
3. # If you need to post something that is not related to other existing threads, create a new thread with a meaningful title.
4. Do not use ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. In web-speak this is the same as shouting. It is considered poor form if you couldn't be bothered to type properly (this goes for SMS-style spelling, consistently bad spelling in general, and failure to structure your content using paragraphs, proper sentences, bullets and headings. If you don't care, why should we care about what you have to say?

BMW Motorcycle Club Forum Netiquette

This is specific to our website (i.e. these are our rules and if you don't like them go somewhere else):

1. Keep it clean - the occasional expletive may be tolerated when used entertainingly, but gratuitous swearing, blasphemy or poor taste will not be tolerated. Many companies and homes have content filters on their web browsers that will block pages perceived to be inappropriate. If you put such language into your posts you are guaranteeing that very few people will be able to see it.
2. Keep it useful.
3. # What seems witty and clever in the heat of the moment may look childish and stupid in the cold light of day a few weeks from now. Before you post, ask yourself whether your contribution is adding to a magnificent site, or diluting it with noise.
4. # For comments that are directed at a small audience and that do not contribute to the site and other users in general, consider using the [http://bmwmotorcycleclubcape.co.za/messenger Messenger] in the right menu bar.
5. Keep it friendly. Remember, the web is forever. Many prospective employers will scan the web for information on candidates - if you would not want your post to appear on your CV, don't do it.

The table below shows the shortcuts (acronyms) you can use to put smileys in. Even though all you will see while you are editing is the shortcut, when it gets displayed the system will subsitute a picture.

Smiley	Acronyms	Description
	:) :-) :smile:	Smiling
	;) ;-) :wink:	Eye-wink
	:( :-( :sad:	Sad
	:D :-D :lol:	Laughing out loud
	}:) }:-) :evil:	Evil
	:P :-P :tongue:	Sticking out tongue
	:O :-O :shocked:	Shocked
	:? :-? :puzzled:	Puzzled
	8) 8-) :cool:	Cool
	:jawdrop:	Jawdropping!
	:sick: :barf:	Barf!
	:beer: :)B	Cheers with a beer
	:cross: :angry: >:(	Angry frown
	:thumbsup:	Thumbs up smile

Please Note

All the images in this answer can be opened larger, in a new popup window, by clicking on them.

Inserting Images into a Post

1. Start the 'Add Image' screen

At the bottom of the text box where you type in the article is a little image with a plus sign icon. Put your cursor in the text box where you want the image to appear, then click on the icon (see 1).

2. Click 'Upload' on the popup

You need to click the upload button (see 2) to get to the image upload screen (see 3).

Now you will get a pop-up window that allows you to enter a title for the image and choose a file off your PC hard drive.

3. Browse your hard-drive to find the image

The image must be on your PC so that you can find it here and upload it to the website. Also make sure it has a filesize of less than 800kB. Click 'upload' to go and find the image (see 4).

4. Choose the image file on your PC

Then click OK or 'Open' on the 'find file' window (see 4), so that it closes and the name of your image file is left in the text field next to the 'Browse...' button (see 5)

You should end up with a screen that looks like 5.

5. After choosing the image to upload, enter the title

Now, you must scroll to the bottom of the popup window. Ignore all the detail and focus only on the buttons at the bottom (see 6).

6. Scroll to the bottom to click 'Submit'

Now, you get to set the display properties of the image in your post. If you don't select the properties, you will get the default settings, which are a half-screen width image, floating left in your text, that will popup a full-size image in a new window if you click on it.

The properties screen is shown in 7.

7. Setting image display properties

The New screen looks like this

With the new screen, sensible defaults have been set and all you need to do is click the 'insert' button. The detail below is not recommended unless you have good reason to change the defaults by clicking on the advanced options line.

The controls on this screen work like this (follow the numbers):

1. Title defaults to the title you entered on the previous screen, but you can delete it or change it. This becomes a bold caption under the image.
2. Description becomes some centered text under the image - leave it blank if you want
3. Size has some preset dimensions that it will automatically resize your image to:
4. # Thumbnail is 100 pixels wide, (about a sixth of the width of the white area on this site's pages.
5. # Preview is 200 pixels wide,
6. # Half300 is 300 pixels wide, which is half the width of the text area. This size is ideal for adding pictures to your post if you set the picture to float left or right and have the text wrap around it.
7. # Full600 is the full width of the text area. This size should be centered. Be aware that filling your post with fullsize pictures will make it load slower - it is better to use half-size pictures so that readers can choose which ones they want to see full size and can click on them.
8. Alignment tells the system if the image should align left, right, centered, or not at all. Fullsize images should be centered, and smaller images should be left- or right-aligned.
9. Link decides what happens if a user clicks on the displayed image. The default is to open a fullsize image in a popup window. But you can set it to:
10. # Not a Link which does nothing when clicked
11. # Link to Image Page which opens the image in the same browser window on its own page within the site,
12. # Open in Popup Window which opens a fullsize image in a popup window, or
13. # Go to URL which lets you link the image to something else entirely (for e.g. a site where you can buy the bike shown in the image)
14. Insert mode - leave as is
15. Click Insert to insert the image into your post

You will end up with the following image placeholder inside your post:

8. The image placeholder

This placeholder is ordinary text. You can edit it if you know what you are doing, to change properties of the image that is displayed. You can also move it around in your post by cutting and pasting it to a different part of the text.