1) go to www.iom3.org/forums - this lists all forums available to you

2) click on a forum of your choice e.g. IOM3 members’ forum

3) discussion topics or "threads" within that forum are listed down the left hand side – click on a thread to view it

4) topics are shown with the original post at the top and the subsequent comments/replies in chronological order beneath it. Authors are identified by their surname (if a member) or other username (if not) and all comments are dated and time-stamped

1) go to a topic of interest as in point 3 above

2) to reply to the main post, click “add comment” beneath the main post; to reply to a specific comment within the existing thread click “reply” beneath that comment

3) enter your comment/reply in the “comment” box; note that if you don’t enter a subject in the “subject” field above it, one will automatically be created by the system based on the first few words of your reply

4) if you wish, tick the box saying “Notify me of follow-up comments posted here” (you will get an email if that happens)

5) optional – click “preview” to preview your comment without publishing it

6) to post your comment to the board and make it live, click “post comment”

1) go to the forum of your choice e.g. General discussion

2) click “post new forum topic” at the top of the forum’s index page

3) in the “subject” field give your topic a clear and helpful title to enable users to quickly identify the nature of your discussion or enquiry

4) in the “body” field enter the full text of your topic

5) when finished you can preview your topic with the “preview” button if required

6) to make the topic live click “submit”

• Click “Watch this topic” beneath the main post of any existing topic to be notified by email whenever comments are posted there by other users
• This topic will then appear in your “threads” page under “My alerts”
• To stop watching the topic click “Stop watching this topic” under the topic itself or untick the box adjacent to the topic name in the “threads” page in “My alerts”

• go to My profile / My alerts
• go to Content types
• tick “Forum topic”
• to also receive alerts on all comments on all topics on all forums tick “on updates” and “on comments” boxes
• tick "Save"