CCC Discussion Forum - Rules

General

The purpose of the CCC Discussion Forum is to provide all interested parties with a means of contributing to discussions on a range of subjects which affect Cumbria, and in particular those which involve Cumbria County Council.

The only requirement to use the forum is Internet access.

The forum is built around the topics page, and new topics can only be created upon direct application to the forum administrator, or via the appropriate topic moderator.

New and/or important topics are generally listed first.

Topics are owned by groups, and each group has it's own moderator(s).
Once created, the management of each topic is controlled exclusively by the relevant moderator.
They decide whether the topic is public or private, what the topic is about, and how the discussions within the topic will be created.
Moderators are also responsible for ensuring that any messages posted to the topic are monitored and that wherever an official CCC response is required that it is promptly (normally within 2 working days) given.

If you want to propose a new topic, use the Contact button on the forum navigation bar to display the contact details of all the moderators and send an e-mail to the one responsible for the most appropriate group for your topic. If there isn't a suitable group you can e-mail the forum administrator.

Each topic is structured so that it can optionally have sub-topics and, within these, discussions (or conversations) are created. The moderator will decide whether discussions can be created by anyone or only by the moderator.
Each discussion will contain a number of messages from contributors, in chronological order, and an "Add a Message" form will appear at the bottom of every active discussion page.

Accessing the Forum

There are four routes into the forum:

• Via the Discussion Forum button on the County Council menu on the CCC website navigation bar;

• Via the Forum button on the navigation bar within a specific sub-web, which will take you directly to the relevant topic for that sub-web or user group;

• Via the CCC website search page;

• By directly typing into your browser's address window www.cumbria.gov.uk/forum which will load the CCC Discussion Forum Welcome page.

Security

Security within the forum is controlled by the moderators. Most topics will contain discussions that are "public" and which require no username/password to either read or post to. In such discussions you can contribute anonymously, but it is preferred if you provide some form of identification.
If you are not a registered user then you should put your name and where you live in the Username box, eg. "Joe Public of Kendal", leave the Password field blank, and optionally put your Internet e-mail address, if you have one, in the Email field.
You are advised to register as a forum user as this carries many benefits, not least the fact that you do not have to type in your full name every time you post a message.

Apart from the public discussions the moderator may apply the following restrictions:

• The discussion can be viewed by anyone, but only registered users can post messages;

• As for above, but only registered users in a specific group can post (see below);

• The entire topic is private (marked with a padlock symbol), and only registered users in a specific group can read or post messages.

Gaining Access to Topic Groups

When users register to use the forum using the self-registration facility they are set up in a "default" group.
However, any topics which have security restrictions for reading and/or posting will be set up in a different group, controlled by a specific moderator.
If you try to access a topic and find that you cannot read and/or post messages, even when you supply your username and password, then you will need to contact the moderator who controls the topic group and ask for your username to be added to the group. It is up to the moderator whether they will agree to your request.
The topic groups are all displayed on the main topics page, and all moderators are listed under the Contact button on the forum navigation bar.
However, don't assume that because you are not a member of a group that you will not be able to access any topics within it. Sometimes topics are in different groups just for the convenience of the moderators and group membership is not required for users. Try to access the topic first, and only contact the moderator if access is refused.

Known Problems

If you access the same discussions in the forum frequently you should be aware of a problem with most PC browsers, which is that they don't always show the latest version of a web page but instead show a copy cached on your PC. To ensure you are viewing the latest version you can force a page refresh, which in Internet Explorer is [Ctrl] & [Refresh].

Creating a Conversation

In some topics, such as Your Comments, anyone can create their own conversation (or discussion - they mean the same thing). Please bear in mind the following points if you choose to take this option:

• Check that there isn't already a conversation/discussion about the issue you want to raise. You may find the Keyword Search button on the forum navigation bar useful for this purpose;

• If you create a new conversation/discussion then, depending on the nature of the issue raised, you should be prepared to "own" the discussion, and others may look to you to "moderate" it. You are advised to register as forum user if you intend to create your own discussions, as this at least enables you to receive an e-mail notification if anyone else posts a message;

• If a discussion that you have created has run its course post a final message explaining why, and then contact the relevant moderator to have the "Add a Message" form disabled. It is recommended that a closed discussion is then left for about a month before being removed from the forum. You should agree with the moderator exactly when this should happen as they will have to do it for you. It is worth taking a copy of the message page (it's just a standard web page) before it is deleted so that you have a copy for your records.

If you create a discussion and want to embed a hyperlink to the legal disclaimer page, it's address is www.cumbria.gov.uk/forum/legal.html.

Tips for Posting

It is normally assumed that when you post a message to an existing discussion it is a response to the message immediately above it. However, this may not always be true. If you want to post a reply to a message that is not directly above where your response will appear, eg. it's in a different discussion or it was say 10 messages earlier in the same discussion, do this:

• Go to the message you want to link to, and then hit the link icon on the first line of the message (it looks like a chain-link). This puts the URL (the address) of the message in the address window of your browser;

• Copy the contents of the address window using Windows Copy;

• Compose your message and when you want to insert your hyperlink type \newurl{PASTED URL, text description}, using Windows Paste to create the PASTED URL;

• You use newurl because you just want the relevant message to pop up in a new window without the user losing their place in the current discussion.

You can use the above technique to create a hyperlink in a message to any part of the forum, not just within the same discussion. If you just want to create a link to a discussion page, rather than a specific message, you only need to use the part of the URL that ends messages/nn/nn.html.

Responding to Messages

If you are responding to a message in an official capacity please ensure that you have the necessary authority to do so.

If a message is posted which requires a direct response from you or a colleague please ensure that this is dealt with in a timely fashion. It is generally accepted that 2 working days is a reasonable target for such responses.

In some cases you may decide that a private response to a message (via email or voice) is more appropriate than a response via the forum. However, don't forget that others may also be watching for the response, and so the private response should be as well as rather than instead of a public response.

Do's and Dont's

Check the grammar and spelling of all messages you intend to post, and the function of special formatting effects, especially hyperlinks. When you post a message you always get the option to revise it before it is finally posted - this is your chance to make sure it looks right.

If you do want to retract a message that you have already posted contact the relevant moderator immediately, and don't leave it until someone has seen it and responded to it.

Don't type your messages in capitals, as in discussion forum "netiquette" this means you are shouting !

Please do not use the forum for personal messages, and don't leave messages that may be seen by others as abusive or inappropriate to the discussion taking place. The forum moderators reserve the right to remove all such messages from the discussion.

Please do not use the forum for selling products or services, or advertising other websites. Links to other websites are acceptable only if they relate directly to the ongoing discussion and will be of genuine benefit to others involved in the discussion. The forum moderators reserve the right to remove any messages containing inappropriate links.

And Finally....

Please read the on-line help pages, and practice with the Test Messages topic if you need to, as it is possible to use a wide range of features in your posted messages which will enhance the effectiveness of discussions.

Further assistance on the use of the forum is available via the Getting Started, Formatting, and Troubleshooting buttons on the forum navigation bar.