Web 101: March 1998, Discuss Concerns, Issues Using Bulletin Boards

NEWS SERVER. Click the link news server on the main navigation table of Lawn & Landscape Online, and a page appears with a list of specific discussion bulletin boards to which a question can be posted, hot topics of discussion pursued and where insight and expertise can be offered.

When using the bulletin board, read and post messages often, checking back regularly to watch the thread of discussion build. It may take a few posts to really get the ball rolling on a particular topic, but when it does, there’s no telling how far the discussion will go.

Using the news server is not difficult. Follow the links to the news server page, then choose the preferred board. After a topic has been chosen, click on the link to that board. If using Netscape as a browser, the news reader will open automatically, unfolding in an external viewer that looks like an e-mail program. Microsoft Internet Explorer works much the same way as Netscape in terms of reading newsgroups, except Outlook Express, the mail program, must be installed to read the groups.

In both cases, the commands are listed in a menu bar at the top of the page and the posted messages are listed chronologically by topic, with the sender’s e-mail address. To read a message, double click on the line in which it appears and the message will pop up like an e-mail message. To respond to a message, there are a few options. You can respond to the author of the message by sending a post to his or her e-mail address (click reply on the menu bar), by posting a reply to the entire news group (post reply on the menu bar) or by sending a message to the individual and the group (post and reply on the menu bar).

When replying to a post, the response or responses that are in direct reference to a particular topic will appear in a tree underneath the original message, indented from the left margin. Anyone reading through the newsgroup knows the branched posts are related to the original post. If posting on a new topic, however, a message will appear first, and all subsequent posts on the topic or replies to the new post will appear branched beneath it.

CONFERENCE SERVER: When connected to the Lawn & Landscape conference server, one can create or join rooms according to a specific topic, and discuss all aspects of the topic with other members of the industry who have joined the room.

The original intention in creating the Lawn & Landscape conference server was to open a venue for online discussion forums featuring industry experts who have agreed to log on at specific times to discuss pressing issues and offer expertise on a variety of topics. In the future, these forums will be prepared by the staff at Lawn & Landscape magazine and will be announced both online and in the magazine.

To access the conference server, follow the link by the same name from the Lawn & Landscape site. From there, a box will pop up requesting some information before connecting to the server. Type in a nickname or a handle that is going to be used, an e-mail address (optional) and the name of the room wishing to join, preceded by a #. For example, if you want to join or create a room called labor, type in #labor in the room category of the box.

When connected to the specific room, a list of everyone else in the room appears in the upper right hand corner of the box. When someone speaks, his or her name appears in the main dialogue box, followed by the message. To join the conversation, simply type in the dialogue space at the bottom of the box and press enter when finished. Your name will not appear on your own screen, but it will be preceded by the symbol >. It will appear to the others as the nickname chosen when the first connection was made.

To send someone a private message, click on the name of the person to which the message is going to be sent and type a private message in the dialogue box below.