If this is your first time on the WebBoard you will find you are already familiar with its structure. The WebBoard is organized in an outline format, just like the outlines we created in school???
Each WebBoard is a collection of Forums. A Forum is a common area of interest for a group of people. When you enter a WebBoard you will be presented with a list of Forums to choose from. Examples of Forums might be the forum on surgery, or on multi-media, or the restructuring of education.
Each Forum is home to a list of topics. Topics are subjects of interest within a forum. Topics may be stated as subject categories, or as explicit questions. In either case they are the trigger to stimulate responses from Forum readers. Topics are numbered 1, 2, 3 .... , etc. For example, in a Forum on the restructuring of education a typical topic might be how to involve parents in the education of their children.
Each Topic generates Responses that are appended to the topic.
Responses are added to each Topic area and numbered accordingly.
For example, if in a Forum on education, Topic number 3 is how
to involve parents in the education of their children, Responses
to that topic would be numbered
3.1, 3.2, 3.3.... , etc.
Finally, the WebBoard allows you to comment on someone else's response to a Topic. These comments are posted as Responses and inserted at the appropriate place in the Topic area. For example, if you comment on Response 3.2, your comment will be numbered 3.2.1 and appear right under 3.2. In this way the conversation that is important to a particular Topic is clustered logically with that topic. You do not have to search through a long list of responses to find the information that is important to the Topic of interest.
WebBoard provides two different tools to help you to find your way in a Forum. Each tool presents a different view of the Topics and Responses.
The Outline View provides you with a table of contents for the Forum. In the Outline View the Topics and Responses are presented in indented outline format. You simply select a Topic or Response of interest to you, click on it, and you are taken to that section of the Forum.
The Activity View provides you with a list of Topics or Responses that have been added during the last thirty days. This view allows you to quickly check for new discussions that might be of interest to you. If you find something of interest you just click on it and your are taken to that section of the Forum.