ASSOCIATION OF JUNIOR LEAGUES INTERNATIONAL, INC.
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        HOW TO USE THE FORUMS IN AJLI INFO-SYSTEM

The Forums in AJLI Info-System are unusual and potentially powerful areas for sharing information with League members, staff, and service providers. A forum can be a "virtual conference" where you can attend "at your pleasure". Because a computer based forum is so unique, it can take some getting used to. Here's how to start monitoring a forum on a regular basis, both to contribute to it and learn from it.

From the TOP (Main) Menu, choose menu letter C, <ENTER> for the Forums. You'll then see the Forum menu:

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
¦+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+--------------------------+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-¦
¦+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-¦ AJLI INFO-SYSTEM Forums +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-¦
¦+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+--------------------------+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-¦
¦+-+----------------------------------------------------------+-¦
¦+-¦A Affinity Groups N Training & Development+-¦
¦+-¦B Association Strategic Planning O BBS Administration +-¦
¦+-¦C Communications/Marketing/PR +-¦
¦+-¦D Community Programming +-¦
¦+-¦E Equity +-¦
¦+-¦F Financial Management +-¦
¦+-¦G Fund Development +-¦
¦+-¦H Governance (Bylaws) +-¦
¦+-¦I League Administration +-¦
¦+-¦J Membership Issues +-¦
¦+-¦K Multicultural Strategies +-¦
¦+-¦L Strategic Planning & GCA +-¦
¦+-¦M Technology X Exit to Previous Menu +-¦
¦+-+----------------------------------------------------------+-¦
¦+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+--+-¦
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
Please enter your selection:

You can choose any of the menu letters to begin browsing a forum. For example, let's look at the BBS forum by typing O, <ENTER>. Then you'll see:

Your current Forum is /BBSADMIN: BBS ADMINISTRATION AND ASSISTANCE

R Read messages
W Write a message
Q Quickscan Menu
F Filescan
S Select a new Forum
X Exit from Forums

Select a letter from this list, or ? for more info: R
There are several choices here. For now, choose R to (R)ead forum message. Then you'll be asked how you'd like to read them, with this screen:

You can select the messages you wish to read in the following ways:

S ... scan through messages one at a time
L ... list messages non-stop
K ... keyword-search for specific messages

Enter your choice (just hit RETURN to "scan", or ? for help): S

These are options for moving quickly or slowly through forum messages. To get started, let's move slowly, by choosing S, <ENTER>, to (S)can each message. Then you'll see:

Enter message number to start scanning at, or ? for help
(No new messages: also, hit F for first or L for last): F

If you choose F for the First message in this forum, you'll see the introductory greeting by the Forum Operator:

FORUM HEADER: /BBSADMIN Created 18-FEB-93 10:03
Forum-Op: Sysop
Forum Topic: BBS ADMINISTRATION AND ASSISTANCE

Welcome to the BBS Administration Message Area! Please leave any
questions about the BBS in this section. Your ideas for
improvements/changes to the system are welcome.

(R)eply, (E)mail reply, follow (T)hread, (P)revious or (N)ext message? T

Let's look at these choices:
Reply would allow you to type a public message right now to the message you've just read (even this "introductory message"). As you see a forum message that interests you, you should reply so that others can read your opinion. Don't worry--you can always rewrite your message as you're working on it, just as with email.
Email reply won't be posted publicly in the forum. Instead your message will go to the email box of the person who wrote this message (in this case, the Forum Operator). If you had a comment you wanted to make "off the record," use this.

T
hread is perhaps the most unique of your choices:
Think of forum messages as strands of fabric held together by an electronic "thread." You can move between older and newer opinions by BBS users--all connected by the "thread." The comments in a thread message will usually (but not always!) be based on the issues or comments brought up in an earlier message in this thread. You can take this thread almost anywhere you want to, with your ideas and opinions. You can also pose new questions based on the other threaded ideas. Or you can respond (more than once) to someone else's response to you.
Previous or Next message are new messages, not connected to the message you're looking at. They can be the basis of a thread; or if no one is moved to reply, they'll stand alone.

If you choose Thread, you'll see the Thread Menu:

Thread (F)orward, (B)ackward, or to (P)arent (? for help):

Threading Forward or Backwards will move you to a later or earlier response. You won't have any messages to thread backwards to if you're starting on the Parent message of the thread. If you're deep into a thread of message, the Parent menu command can get you right back to the thread's first message. Don't be surprised if the Parent doesn't seem related to the thread message you just read! Just like conferences and gab sessions, ideas can fly fast and furious!

In any case, at the last message you'll see:

You have reached the end of this thread. Enter N for the next message
in your original sequence (before you started threading), or X to exit.

(N)ext, (P)revious, follow (T)hread, or (R)ead this message?

If you were at a thread's beginning, and entered P for Previous, you'd see:

You have reached the earliest retained message in this thread. Enter N
to move on to the next message in your original sequence, or X to exit.

(N)ext, (P)revious, follow (T)hread, or (R)ead this message?

To read another message, hit N, <ENTER>, for the next message. Again, this could be the start of a new thread, or a solo message or reply.

Date: Wednesday, October 6, 1993 9:28am /BBSADMIN
From: Elizabeth Shortal-nyhq Msg#: 7560
To: Melissa A. Cohill-200
Re: What does attach file to message mean?
(Reply to #7364)

The question which a user receives after writing an e-mail or forum
message (Would you like to attach a file?) refers to .........[see /BBSADMIN forum for the rest of this message]

(R)eply, (E)mail reply, follow (T)hread, (P)revious or (N)ext message

Note the message number in the upper right hand corner of each message. If there's a message you'll want to return to, you can always jot down its number--and the name of the forum it's in, which is right above its "Msg #".

REPLYING TO A FORUM QUESTION

In checking into one of the forums I include in my Quickscan, I noticed this message:

Date: Thursday, July 7, 1994 11:23am /BBSADMIN
From: Patty Eagar-315               Msg#: 20197
To: Sysop
Re: downloading

I haven't been able to figure out how to download files, BBS messages people send me, etc. So I end up copying everything I need longhand, when I'd much rather have a printout I could share with the people who might need it.............................Tell me where I need to look, or who I need to call, for this information...Thank you!

(R)eply, (E)mail reply, (F)orum-Op, (T)hread, (P)revious, or (N)ext? r

I (R)eplied to this message, but had to split it into two replies (because "line noise" on the phone line I was using that day almost cut me off from my modem connection):


Date: Sunday, July 10, 1994 10:04pm /BBSADMIN
From: Andy Polon-test Msg#: 20611
To: Patty Eagar-315
Re: downloading
(Reply to #20197)

Topic: downloading
+----------------------------------------------------+
¦ ^X (Control-X)=line editor, ^R (Control-R)=help ¦
¦ Hit any other key to start editing ¦
+----------------------------------------------------+
Dear Patty,

Your question is a good one. Let's separate two things:

1) Downloading a data file
2) Capturing your email messages to you in a "Log File."

1) You can download computer data files from this BBS, such as the files in the Libraries. How you do it depends on your Communications Software. For instance, if you have an IBM styled computer, Procomm Plus allows ou to use a Modem transfer method called "Z-Modem", which helps smooth out the file transfer.
But when the BBS warns you "Begin Download" you must tell your computer to do the same. On IBM styled computers, we usually do this by hitting the computer's "Page Down" key. Other computers (such as Macintosh and other Apple computers, etc) may use anther another key to start the transfer.

****I'm experiencing some phone line noise which is threatening to disconnect me , so I'll finish this message to you in antther note.

Andy Polon

Date: Sunday, July 10, 1994 10:17pm /BBSADMIN
From: Andy Polon-test Msg#: 20612
To: Patty Eagar-315
Re: downloading
(Reply to #20197)

Patty,

This is Part 2 of my reply to your message 20197:

2) How to "capture" the text of your email messages, forum threads,
etc., so you don't have to write them by hand..............

Again, your communications software on your computer (the program that
dials this BBS) is the key here. Most have a "Log File" feature. This
is a capturing of everything you see on-screen when you're connected to
a BBS, such as this one.

To continue my example of Procomm Plus on an IBM styled computer:

a) Just BEFORE I read my messages, I begin a LOG FILE by hitting the
(N)onstop, (Q)uit, or (C)ontinue?combination of ALT-F1 keys.
b) I name the log file something special so I can find it later...such
as TUES.MSG (this tells me "Tuesday's messages")...when prompted.
I've named it using the rules for MSDOS files.
c) I then read my messages, knowing Procomm is "echoing" the text to a
file titled TUES.MSG in the same directory as my Procomm files on my
hard disk.
d) when I've finished reading my messages, I END the Log File by hitting
the ALT-F1 key combination again.
e) After logging off the Info-Line, I exit Procomm, check the Procomm
directory to make sure I have TUES.MSG, and use my favorite word
processor to read it.

Andy Polon

        CONFIGURING YOUR QUICKSCAN

If you regularly check the Forums for new messages, you'll find the Quickscan a useful tool for browsing the Forums you care about the most, and finding the newer messages at the end of threads. Let's return to the menu you see when you choose a Forum from the Forum Main Menu:

Your current Forum is /BBSADMIN: BBS ADMINISTRATION AND ASSISTANCE

R Read messages
W Write a message
Q Quickscan Menu
F Filescan
S Select a new Forum
X Exit from Forums

Select a letter from this list, or ? for more info:

Type Q, <ENTER>, to enter the Quickscan menu:

Select a letter from this list, or ? for more info: q

Quickscan functions:

S ... scan through messages and/or files
L ... list messages and/or files
K ... keyword-search for messages and/or files

C ... configure your quickscan

Select a letter from the above list, or ? for help:

Type c, <ENTER>, to configure your quickscan. You'll see a message such as this:

Your quickscan now contains the following Forum(s):
/COOKBOOK /BBSADMIN /RECRUIT /MEMMULTI /COMPUTER /TECHNOLO /TELECOMM

+ ... add a Forum to your quickscan
- ... delete a Forum from your quickscan
V ... view the Forums now in your quickscan
K ... configure your quickscan keywords

Enter K, V, + or -, or ? for more info:

Type -, <ENTER>, to delete specific forums from your current quickscan group.
If ALL the forums are currently listed in your quickscan, and you'd like to "start from scratch," type "-ALL", <ENTER>, to empty out your quickscan group. Then you can add specific forums by browsing through them from the Forum Main Menu, and noting the forum name on the screen. Or use the Forum Name List at the end of this document.

You can also configure quickscan keywords so that you can search new messages for key phrases or words when you use quickscan. For example, from the quickscan configure menu, choose K:


+ ... add a Forum to your quickscan
- ... delete a Forum from your quickscan
V ... view the Forums now in your quickscan
K ... configure your quickscan keywords

Enter K, V, + or -, or ? for more info: K

Here how to add the keyword "cookbook." Entering K, <ENTER>, from the quickscan menu will show this screen:


Your quickscan keywords are now as follows:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Enter a line number to change (1-5), X to exit, or ? for help: 1

Enter a new keyword list, or ? for help: cookbook

Your quickscan keywords are now as follows:

1. cookbook
2.
3.
4.
5.

Enter a line number to change (1-5), X to exit, or ? for help:

Now you can X out of this menu.

FORUM NAME LIST
/PALS Presidents & Leagues Sharing (Mid-Size)
/lpoll Presidents of Little Leagues
/BPOLL Presidents of Large Leagues
/ADVERT Advertising
/ANNIVERS Anniversary Ideas
/COLMEDIA Collaborations with Media
/PRFUND PR Support for Fund Raising
/PRPRACT PR Practices
/PUBLICAT Publications
/ADVOCACY Advocacy
/CHILDHEA Child Health
/CHILDWAT Child Watch Visitation Program
/PARTPROG Partnership For Progress
/TOPCALST "TOP" for California
/TOPCOMMD "TOP": Community Model
/TOPSTMOD "TOP": State Models
/WOM2WOM Woman To Woman
/COLLABOR Collaborations
/AGING aging
/CHILDWEA Child Welfare
/COMMSERV Community Services
/CRIMINAL Criminal/Legal Svcs
/CULTURAL Cultural Affairs
/EDUCATIO Education
/ENVIRONM Environmental
/FAMPRES Family Preservation
/HEALTH Health
/VIOLENCE Violence
/WOMEN Women
/DONEINAD Done-in-a-day Projects
/EVALUATI Evaluation
/FOCUSING Focusing (Community Impact)
/RESEARCH Research
/SPACS (State Public Affairs Committees)
/BUDGET Budgeting
/FINFRCST Financial Forcasting
/INSISSUE Insurance Issues
/INVESTME Investment
/TAXEXEMP Tax Exempt
/UBIT        Unrelated Business Income Tax /ANNCAMPA Annual Campaigns
/COMFEDCA Combined Federal Campaign
/COOKBOOK Cookbooks
/CORPSOL Corporate Solicitiation
/ENDOWFND Endowment Funds
/GENFNDDV General Fund Development
/FOUNDSOL Foundations Solicitation
/BALLS Balls/Dinner Dances
/EVALFRE Evaluation Of Fund Raising Events
/FESTTREE Festival Of Trees
/FOLLIES Follies
/GOLF Golf Events
/HOLIBOUT Holiday Boutiques
/PRODSALE Product Sales
/RUMMAGE Rummage
/SHOWHOUS Show Houses
/STOREOPN Store Openings
/TOWNHALL Town Hall Lecture Series
/GRANTSMA Grantsmanship
/PLANNGIV Planned Giving
/TEAROOMS Tea Rooms
/BBSADMIN BBS Administration/Assistance
/ASSBYLAW Assn. Bylaws, Policy, etc.
/LEABYLAW League Bylaws, Policies and st. rules
/RESOLUTI Resolutions
/COUNCILS Council Systems
/PERSMGT Personnel Management
/PROPMGT Property Management
/ACTIVES Actives
/INTTRANS Integrating Transfers Into Your League
/MULTISTR Multicultural Stragegies
/NOMINATI Nominating
/PLACEMEN Placement
/PROVISIO Provisionals
/RECRUIT Recruitment, Retention
/SUSTAINE Sustainers
/MEMMULTI Membership Multiculturalism
/CROSSFUN Cross functional Teams
/INTROGCA Introing GCA To Your League
/ROLEGCA Role of the League Leaders in GCA
/GCALEAST GCA & League Structure
/OSA Organisational Self Assessment (OSA)
/OTHERSTR Other Strategic Planning Approaches
/COMPUTER Computers
/TECHNOLO Other Technology
/TELECOMM Telecommunications
GENERAL TRAINING
/GCOLLABO Collaborations
/FACILITA Facilitation
/GMEETMGT Meeting Management
/MOTIVATI Motivation
/MULTICUL Multiculturalism
/BOARDORI Board Orientation
/CONFLICT Conflict Resolution
LEADERSHIP TRAINING
/LMEETMGT Meeting Management
/LMENTOR Mentoring
/SPOKESPE Spokesperson
/TEAMBUIL Team Building
PROVISIONAL TRAINING
/PMENTOR Mentoring
/PROVCOUR Provisional Courses
/PROVPROJ Provisional Projects
/MEMRECFO Membership Records Forum
/LPOLLFOR League Polls and Questionnaires Forum
/AJLIQUFO AJLI Questionnaires Forum
/VOLUNTAR Voluntarism Message Area
/THRIFTS Thrift Shops
/TOPGENL Teen Outreach (General)
/MULTCOLL Multicultural: Collaborations
/MULTCOMM Multicultural Communications
/MULTPROG Multicultural Community Programing
/MULTDIAL Multicultural Dialogues on Diversity
/MULTFUND Muticultural Fund Development
/MULTLEAG Multicultural League Adminiatration
/MULTMEMB Multicultural Membership
/MULTMULT Multicultural Education & Resources
/MULTSTRA Multicultural Strategic Planning for the
/MULTTRAI Multicultural Training & Development
/EQUITY Equity

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