This book provides instruction on getting around in eXtremePPC.com. The following topics are covered (please let us know of any unanswered questions you might have):
Registering as a user
To add or edit certain content on eXtremePPC.com, you have to first be registered as a user. (Currently "anonymous" users are restricted to forum posts only.)
Look for a small form called “User login” in the upper left corner of the home page. Click the link that says "Create new account".
The next page that comes up will provide information on the site's policies for registration. After reading them, to register, enter a user name of your choice and an email address to which you have access and hit "submit". Then check your email account. Within a few minutes, you should get an automatically-generated email confirming your registration and giving you an initial password to use. Now you're ready to log in.
Logging in
Before you can add or edit content (other than forum postings), you will need to log in. If you haven't already done so, register as a user, see above. Then proceed to the eXtremePPC home page and locate the "User login" form in the upper left corner of the page. Enter your user name and password and click "submit".
When the new page loads it will include a new block with your user name at the top. This menu allows you to manage your user profile and to start entering and editing content.
As a registered user, you can change settings to control information about yourself and also your use and experience of the eXtremePPC site. To see what tweaks you can make to your account, log in and then follow the menu links: my account » edit account
Account Settings
Different information is available to be edited here depending on what features your site administrator has installed.
Password
Enter in a new password in both fields to set it. eXtremePPC sends you a default password that is often hard to remember, so it is recommended that you change your password to something you can easily remember.
Signature
If desired, you can set a default signature. This will be copied into new comments for you automatically, but may still be edited.
Time zone
You may also set your profile to reflect your actual time zone. This will cause all dated content on the site to display in local time, according to the offset you enter here.
Theme
A "theme" is the basic look and feel of the eXtremePPC site. Currently, users can select from the default theme or an alternate theme. If desired, you may select the alternate as the default theme for your account.
As a registered and logged-in user, you're ready to start posting content.
Permissions
What types of content you can create or edit depends on the privileges that have been assigned to the "role" or user group you're a member of. In general, to find out what you can do:
eXtremePPC typical content types
There are various types of content that can be posted to eXtremePPC. Content that can be posted by most registered users include: Forum posts, images, polls, and book pages in addition to comments.
To post content, you simply select the desired content type (which invokes the associated input form), enter your desired text, and click the submit button to post the form.
Topics/categories/terms
Content on eXtremePPC is organized using categories to allow for searches across all content types. When you're adding content, you will find a drop-down list of topics. By selecting one, you choose which site category is most closely associated with your posted content.
Comments allow you as a user to interact with the content on a site--to respond to an article, offering your own ideas, additions, or critique.
Posting comments
When you read an existing blog post or other content entry, look for comment-related links at the bottom of the article. If you're not logged in, this will read "login or register to post comments". When you do log in, you should see "Add new comment". Click on the link and you're ready to comment away.
Etiquette
Comments can be a great way of enriching a community site--but they can also lead to unfriendly, even harassing exchanges. As with any communication, it's important to try to ensure that your comments are respectful and constructive.
"Threaded" comments
Comments on eXtremePPC are "threaded". This means you can comment directly on an article--or you can reply to an existing comment. If you reply, your comment will be indented to show that it is part of that discussion.
Click "create content" on the Admin menu to get to the menu for adding content.
You'll be presented with a list of types of content you can create. Notice that a description of each type
of content is provided on the right side of the main page.
Click on "blog entry" at the bottom of the "create content" menu. You'll get the "blog entry" form. From here, it is just a matter of filling in the form and posting it.
Admin stuff
At the top of the form is some administrative stuff. If you're not sure what to do, just look at the "Allow user comments" bit. eXtremePPC supports discussion/comments on postings--but such comments are not always appropriate. If your post is one that could be usefully commented on, keep the default "Read/write". Otherwise, choose "read only" or "Disabled".
Title
The title is straightforward enough. Try to be descriptive and catchy.
Topics
Next comes the "Topics" pull-down menu. This is the category that your post will be associated with. What you're seeing when you pull down the menu is all of the categories available for organizing content on the website. So, choose the appropriate categorization for your post and continue down the form.
Body
The "body" field is where you put the main content of the page. If you've typed this into a word processor or HTML editor, just copy and paste it into this field. Alternately you can just type straight in. For the most basic page, just type and include double line returns (hit enter twice) at the and of each paragraph.
You can optionally format your entry in friendly old HTML. But hey, if you're a novice, don't worry--that's not as difficult as it sounds. Here's a quick primer:
If you want something to be bold, just enclose it in tags, like this:
<b>This text is bold</b>
Note that there is always an opening tag (no forward slash) and a closing tag
(a forward slash before the tag name, indicating that you are turning it "off").
To make something italic, put it in "i" tags:
<i>This is in italics</i>
To put things nicely in paragraphs, enclose them in "p" tags.
<p>This is a paragraph.</p>
To make bullets, first open a list with a "ul" tag (that stands for
"unordered list"), then put each list item in "li" (yes, for "list") tags. Don't forget at the end to close off your list
with a closing "ul" tag. Here's how it looks:
<ul>
<li>This is the first bulleted item</li>
<li>This is the second bulleted item</li>
</ul>
And to make headlines, use "h" tags, using numbers as
appropriate. That is, for a first-level headline, use "h2"
(we're starting at 2 because these are really sub-headlines and shouldn't be
bigger than the original page title). For a second-level headline, use
"h3". And so on! Example, with a paragraph after it:
<h2>This is the Headline</h2>
<p>And here is the paragraph</p>
That wasn't too painful, was it?
Decide where you want the "teaser" (the part of the main text used
in links to the article) to end. If you do nothing, the software will
choose a breaking point for you, like at a paragraph return--but it's better to
decide yourself, to make sure the breaking point is appropriate. You do
this by typing in:
<!--break-->
The "teaser" will end at the point you put the
<!--break-->.
And you're set! You can preview the page you've prepared by hitting "Preview" (recommended, and sometimes required) or you can bravely or recklessly just go ahead and publish it by hitting "Submit".
Activation of this new feature is simple:
To send a Private Message do one of the following:
To read your Private Messages:
xman "How come everything I think I need always comes with batteries?" -- John Mayer