Welcome!
(Read this already? Jump straight to the Family Forum!)
We have set up the Family Forum as an online place for people to meet people and share interests and concerns, ask questions, and offer advice. We will also invite experts to share their knowledge, lead discussions, and answer questions. This is the place for individuals with disabilities, family members, friends and providers to get together.
This page will let you know all about the forum, how it works, and what you need to do to get started.
What is a Forum?
It is free 24-hour online meeting place where people from all over the country, actually the world, can come together on a website to exchange information and ideas by posting messages about issues of importance to them.
How Does All This Work?
Let us explain.
It takes a bit of talking, so get comfortable. The overview provided here is intended to get you set up with the basics so that you can read discussions, post replies, and create your own topics in the forum.
This is a beginner's guide. If this is too basic, check out the guide provided by Simple Machine Forums, the company hosting our forum website, at http://kinforums.org/family/index.php?action=help.
First Stop: Register
To register, click this link http://kinforums.org/family/; it should open in a new window.
At the top of the screen, click Register; it is written twice and you can click on either one: on the left menu bar of the screen or in the top right corner.
You need to create an account so that you can login to the Forum and also so that you can identify yourself in the discussions. Afterall, people need to know who's talking. And this information will help you keep track of what you've read, no matter where you are or what computer you're using.
If you choose, later on, you'll be able to fill out a personal profile and use the built-in personal message system to communicate with other users. You'll also be able to subscribe to e-mail notifications, monitor your forum activity and more. Many people share their profile as a way of letting others know a bit about them, although this is up to you; if you choose not to do this it is ok too. Read more about profiles here.
For now, you just need to enter a username, email address and password.
- The username can be anything you want but make sure you can remember it. The simplest choice is to use your first initial and last name. In this case Jane Smith would be jsmith. Keep in mind that your username and comments will be public, though only members can read your profile and write in the forums. So if you'd like to maintain more privacy, create a username that is less personal.
- Use the e-mail address you check most often because you may choose in your profile to receive e-mail notifications on forum activity. You can also use this e-mail address to login to the Forum if you can't remember your username. *Note: You can choose whether or not members in the forum who can click on your profile can see your e-mail address and contact you. If you check the box, the only people who can see your address will be you and the administrator of the forum (KIN’s information specialist).
- Pick a password that’s easy for you to remember but hard for others to find out. Including lowercase, uppercase, and numbers is best practice.
- The visual or audio verification is here to make sure you’re a real person. It is a security device. You can either type in the letters that you see or request an audio version to type in what you hear.
- Need to agree in order to talk. This is a family forum, a place to talk openly and comfortably. Anybody can read the forum discussions but anyone who wants to answer questions and make posts, must click the box at the end of the page, agreeing to keep the conversation welcoming, respectful, honest, and friendly.
Back to Table of Contents
Login to the Forum
After you've finished the registration process, check your inbox for the activation email. Once your account is activated you can login on the home page.
You always have a choice of how to login. On the left side of the page you'll see a menu bar. Clicking on Login will take you to a Login screen (like below) and from there you'll enter your username and password.
Minutes to stay logged in is the number of minutes your computer keeps you logged in the Forum before expiring and asking you to login again. This is just in case you share a computer (like in a library) and forget to logout. You might prefer to check Always stay logged in if you have your own computer.
You can also enter your username and password directly from the top right of the screen on the home page.
Back to Table of Contents
Main Menu
You're in! Let's get familiar with your space. The main menu will be present at the top of the page, no matter where you are in the forum.
Back to Table of Contents
Modify Your Profile
When you registered for the Forum you created a basic profile with your username and password and also decided whether or not to share your e-mail address with the public. Modify your profile is where you can add additional information about yourself that you'd like to share with others. Click Profile in the menu at the top left of the home page.
*Want to skip the profile settings and start or join a discussion? Click here to start exploring the forum.
On the left you’ll see a menu of items relating to your profile. Feel free to explore these on your own, however, the most important settings for our purposes are in the Modify Profile box.
- Account Related Settings: This is where you can change your e-mail address (if you were to get a new one, for example) and Forum password if you need to. You can also change the name that is displayed on your posts (called your "display name"). If you change your display name, however, you still have to use the original username used to login to the forum. Click "Change Profile" to save.
- Forum Profile Information: You can add a variety of personal details to present yourself to others. Maybe you want to post a photo or write a little bit about yourself where it says "Personal Text". You might want to tell where you are (what city and state, for example) in the "Location" box. If you have a personal website, a blog, or work for a particular organization, you can share the name and website at the bottom of this box.
Click "Change Profile" to save.
- Notifications and E-mails: We’re all busy folks and may not have time to sign into the forum at whim to see who’s answering our questions. So, you can choose to hear about forum activity right in your e-mail inbox. Here are some of the options….
Check the 1st box if you want to receive announcements from the person/people who created the forums in which you participate.
Check the 2nd box if you only want to receive e-mail notification of the first reply you get to a post of yours. Many people may reply to your post. In order to receive an e-mail notifying you of each reply, leave this box unchecked. This e-mail message will include a link to go directly to that topic in the forums and see the reply. It is important to reply to posts you make as you may have received a question about your post, and you will want to answer it as soon as possible to build a level of trust amongst other forum members.
Check the 3rd box if you want to know about your own activity (posts or replies) in the forum. Again, it is very important to answer and reply to posts made in a topic you are involved in.
Check the 4th box if you would like to have the replies to your posts sent directly to your inbox. You will not be able to continue the forum conversation from your inbox. You must return to the actual internet forum to reply to any messages.
Click "Save Settings" to finish.
Congrats! You’ve set up your profile! Let's start using the Forum.
Back to Table of Contents
Explore the Forum
*We're in the process of making this forum better for you so you may notice some differences between images in this tour and what's on the actual forum site. However the tips provided here apply just the same. Thank you for your patience as we reorganize!
Take a look at the board index below our logo and welcome message. This is your starting point for seeing all the different discussions going on. We've grouped discussions loosely using the categories and subcategories from the
Build Your Knowledge page of our website.
Clicking on the arrow or the name of the category will open or close a category. With the category open you see the boards, or subcategories, where you can read or post your topics, which are questions and comments for discussion.
Both the folder and the name of the board are clickable, and will link to the related topics that have been posted by other members of the forum.
.png)
From here you can either read topics that have already been posted (written) or start a new one. To read a topic posted by someone else, just click on subject line.
If you read a post that is offensive or wrongly-placed, you can report it to the KIN staff.
To reply to a topic, click on either the reply at the top of the message or at the bottom.
For the basic purpose of entering your comments, just type into the empty box provided. There are a lot of extra options to enhance your message, much like you'd find when creating a message in your e-mail program. The most useful of these is the hyperlink button. This allows you to insert a web address and link to it in your post. Just type in the URL address, highlight it and then press the button indicated by the green arrow in the below image.
If you'd like to get notified of any additional replies to this particular discussion, click on the arrow under the comment box where it says Additional Options. Check the box that says "Notify me of replies". Ready to go? Click the button that says Post at the bottom of the page and you're all set.
Are you done with this topic and want to return to the original board or category or all the way back to the home page? Take a look at what's called the breadcrumb to see where you've come from.
Back to Table of Contents
Starting a new topic or posting
Perhaps you've come to the forum because you have a specific question. Please post your questions or messages in the appropriate category and subcategory.
Start from the main category index and decide the category where your question best fits. Then click on the appropriate subcategory. If none of those subcategories fit your question, you can either place it in the General subcategory or send us an e-mail (familysupport@aed.org) and we'll set up a subcategory that fits as soon as we can.
Starting a topic is much like replying to one. Click "New Topic" to open up the message window.
Start by filling in the subject line. Keep it short and specific because this will tell other users what your post is about.
Click in the large empty box to write your question or comment. This is not a place to write an article or long opinion piece so again, please be as clear and to-the-point as you can. Once you've finished, press Post at the bottom.
If you need to make changes or additions to your post, open the topic and click Modify on the right side.
If for whatever reason you would like to delete a post you've made, just open the topic and click on the Remove button on the right.
Need more help?
Do you have a question that wasn't answered here or would you like one of KIN's technical specialists to walk you through the process over the phone?
Send Margie an e-mail at familysupport@aed.org or give her a call at (877)535-7575 and she'll help you out.
Back to Table of Contents
Our forum program was built by Simple Machine Forums, also known as SMF. To learn more, visit their home page at http://www.simplemachines.org/