ocPortal Tutorial: Correspondence between members
Written by Philip Withnall, ocProducts
Once you've got a community running happily, you'll want to know how to talk to people personally. Whether they've done something wrong, or whether you're talking to them about a personal reward, there are ways to do it discreetly. This tutorial only applies to websites using OCF
. If you're running another forum system, you'll have to consult its documentation with reference to "private/personal messaging". This tutorial covers personal topics and inline personal posts.
Personal topics
The link to start a new personal topic
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Choosing what kind of whisper to use
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Personal topics are very similar in concept to "private/personal messaging" - a common feature among other forum systems. However, when designing OCF, we took the concept one step further, and integrated private messaging with the forum system in a new way. Private messaging systems are usually segregated from the main forum system; different layout, posting mechanisms, etc. With OCF, personal topics are just that: topics. They are simply topics that are marked as between two users, and are shown in a special "personal topics" virtual forum.
Inline personal posts (whispers)
Typing in a personal post
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A personal post as displayed
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Another innovation we have put into OCF is that of inline personal posts (henceforth known as "whispers" for brevity's sake). We thought that maybe forum-goers might want to converse privately, but in the context of a forum topic. It was obviously not possible to move a forum topic to a personal topic, so why not move a personal topic (or posts in one, rather) into a forum topic? Whispers are private posts in a normal topic; marked only for the viewing of a particular user, and nobody else (apart from administrators, and other high-ranking members).
Using personal topics
Starting a personal topic
Creating a personal topic (2)
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Creating a personal topic (1)
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Our new personal topic
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The personal topics link
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Starting a personal topic is rather easy. You simply go to the member page of the person you would like to converse with, and click on the "Start personal topic" link in the "Actions" box at the bottom of the page [Example
]. Alternatively, you could click on the "Whisper" button on the bottom of a forum post by the person with whom you would like to converse; then click on the "Quote post to a new personal topic with this member" option [Example
]. Both methods take you to a standard "new topic" page. Fill out all the fields, and hit "Add topic" to create the personal topic with your chosen conversant [Example
and Example
]. Once your input has been processed, you will be redirected to the newly-created personal topic [Example
]
The new personal topic will have also appeared in your personal topics list, so you can easily access it. To get to your personal topics list, just click on the "Personal topics" link in either the top bar, or the side menu in OCF [Example
]. The page lists all the personal topics you have ever started, or been a participant in, in much the same way as a normal forum [Example
].
As of version 3.0 of ocPortal, it is now possible to start a personal topic with any member without having to bother finding their member profile. All you need to do now is to visit your own Personal Zone, and to select to start a personal topic; you will then be able to type in the username that you wish to send a message to.
Personal topic notifications
An e-mail notification of a new personal topic
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Notification of a new personal message
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When a new post is added by another conversant in a personal topic that you are part of, you will be notified by the system of its presence. If your options allow it, you will be e-mailed about the new post [Example
], and you will always be notified by a little message at the top of the forums [Example
]. The notification message at the top of the forums will disappear once you've viewed the personal topic, or replied to it.
Replying to a personal topic
Our personal topic listed on the personal topics page
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When you receive notification about a new post in one of your personal topics, you'll probably want to reply. You can either click the "Reply" link in the notification message at the top of the forums, which will take you straight to the reply page, or you can go to the topic (via your personal topics virtual forum), and reply to the message just like you would in a normal topic: with the quick reply box, or the reply button [Example
].
Administrating personal topics
Super administrators may access the personal topics of any member from that member's Personal Zone
.
As personal topics behave very similarly to normal topics, they are moderated and administrated in the same way. Please see the "Basic forum moderation" tutorial for information on forum moderation.
Using whispers
Replying to a personal topic
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The button to whisper to a poster
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To post a whisper, click the "Whisper" link at the bottom of a forum post you would like to quote to the respective member. Then select the "In-topic personal post to this member" option [Example
].
Fill out the posting form as you would for a normal post, and submit it. You will be redirected to the correct topic, and see your whisper highlighted in the topic view.
When somebody sends you a whisper, you would be notified on receipt just as you would be notified of a new post in a personal topic.
Administrating whispers
As inline personal posts are just enhanced posts, they are moderated and administrated in the same way as posts. Please see the "Basic forum moderation" tutorial for information on forum moderation.
Concepts
- Personal topics
- Topics visible only to selected participants, listed only in each conversant's "personal topics" virtual forum.
- Whispering
- In-topic posts only visible to the sender, and one specific recipient.
See also
