Growing Bolder Community

What is a forum?
A forum is the main "container" for a series of discussions. Discussions are places for members of groups to come and share stories, talk about tips, debate about news stories, and much more. Each group has one forum, which holds an unlimited number of discussions. You can access the forums page at http://growingbolder.com/forum, and see what other people on the Web site are talking about.

A lot of the forums correspond to groups I've seen. What's that all about?
Forums are automatically assigned to the group when it's started, and they're assigned to the same category.

Help! What do all these words mean?
The Growing Bolder Forum page is set up in a chain format, so everything follows the other. To know how to navigate the page, you should familiarize yourself with all the important terms. Don't worry, you won't need to carry around a dictionary with you, just revert back to this list if you get lost!

• Group Moderator: A group moderator is the person who started the group and therefore oversees all actions of their group. They are the only ones with the access to start a forum or delete posts or discussions.
• Forum: A forum is the start of the process. Each group automatically gets a forum named after it. The forum, which corresponds to a certain group, houses all the discussions and posts. It's where the magic happens.
• Discussion: A discussion is a conversation. It's where a question is asked, an idea is discussed or a new point is made. Then, group members chime in and continue the banter by adding posts to the discussion. If enough people join in on the fun, it could become a Popular Discussion and show up on the Forums home page. Unlike a forum, any group member can start or contribute to a discussion.
• Post: A post is the equivalent of a comment. Each discussion is made up of a series of posts. They are the heart of a discussion. Any group member can post something to contribute to the discussion.
• Reply: Read something you liked? Saw a post you totally disagreed with? Well, reply to it! A reply is what keeps the debate or conversation going in a forum.

What do the icons mean?
Anyone who starts a discussion can assign an icon to it, marking it as a discussion topic, an idea, a question or a hot item. The icons are just to call a member's attention to the discussion.

What is a Popular Discussion? Forum?
Popular discussions and forums are those with the most replies and comments – so if you want to see your forum move up on the page, make sure you get a good debate going!

I'm not happy with someone's post. Can I delete it?
If you're not happy with someone's post, you may not delete it. If it's offensive, you can report it by clicking the "report" button, and Growing Bolder staffers will review the post. You can also send a message to the group's moderator, and ask him or her to delete the post. But the best bet may be to post a comment of your own, explaining why you disagree with the original post! That way, all of the other members of GrowingBolder.com can share their opinions.

How do I change the category my forum is under?
The forum category must match the group's category – so it can't be changed. The discussions don't necessarily need to match the category; however, so if you want to talk about your favorite sports team in the Sewing group, you can do that!

Where can I find all the forum topics?
You can find all of the forum topics at http://growingbolder.com/forum.

How do I delete my forum? Post?
Only a moderator may delete a post, or a discussion. You can suggest a change or an edit by sending a message to the group's moderator.You can delete a post that you've made in a forum -- just hover over the "reply" button and you'll see all of the possible options. Please note that if you delete or edit your post, there will be a message letting other members know that the original post has been modified.

I made a mistake. Can I edit my post?
If you made a mistake on a post, the best thing is to make another post, correcting it. So if you spelled something wrong, you can make a new post that says "oops! I meant boat, not boart." If you would prefer to edit the original post, you can hover over the "reply" button for a list of options. You'll be able to edit your post, but there will be a message at the bottom, letting other members that your post has been modified.

Can I favorite a forum or a discussion?
You can make any discussion in GB Forums a "favorite" just by clicking the yellow star at the top of the discussion. That way, you can check the latest posts by clicking on your "favorites" page – found by clicking "myhome."

How do I start a discussion?
To start a discussion, just go to the group's forum page, and click the link that says "start a discussion." You can pick the title, write the first post, etc. If the moderator has never started a discussion, you can send him or her a message, asking her to start one. Once that's been done, any member of GrowingBolder.com may start a discussion in the group.

What's the difference between a forum and a discussion?
A forum is the main "container" for a group of discussions. There's only one forum per group. But there is no limit to the number of discussions.

How do I reply to a comment?
To reply to a comment, just click the "reply" button at the bottom of any of the previous comments. You'll be taken to a new window where you can write whatever you want – agree, disagree, make a new point, tell a joke, etc. Then, members can reply to your post, or reply to anyone else's by doing the same thing.

How can I start a forum?
If you want to start a forum, you need to become the moderator of a group. That's easy to do – just sign in using your individual profile information, and click "myhome" at the top of any page. Under your picture, you'll see a box marked "Things To Do." One of the options is "Start a Group." Go ahead and click the link and follow the directions. You'll become the moderator of that group, and then you can start the forum. Click "myhome" again and look for the link that says "moderate account" under your picture. That lets you sign into your new group moderator profile – select the name of the group that you just started. For example, if your profile is SusieSews, and you started a group called Sewing Friends, you'll click the Sewing Friends link. (You can update your information here just like you do with an individual profile – change the picture, add links, etc.) The minute you started the group, Growing Bolder started a forum for you, but it's empty – so click "myhome" again and then click the link to start a new discussion. You can start as many discussions as you want, and so can other Growing Bolder members!

Who can start a forum?
When moderators start a group, they also automatically start a forum for that group. There's no more work! Any member of GrowingBolder.com may join in the discussions that are housed inside the forum, or start a new one. Don't see a discussion you like? Start a new one! Don't see a forum you like? Start a new group and a new forum.

How do I find an old forum post?
To find an old forum post, you can just click on the Forums page at http://growingbolder.com/forum and find the discussion you're interested in. You can also go to the group's page and find the forum from there. If you see a discussion that you know you will want to follow, you may want to mark it as one of your favorites by clicking the yellow star at the top of the page. This will put it in your favorite folder, which you can access by clicking "myhome."