QRG - Adding Topics to Discussion Forums

Adding a new topic to a discussion forum is just a special case of adding content anywhere in the wiki. See the Quick Reference Guide on Editing Page Content for tips and techniques on editing, where to put your content, spell check, and labels.

Before you add a new topic, search the wiki for similar information using the Search Box in the upper right corner. The main PIUG Discussion Forum contains a Search Box specific for that forum as well. It is usually preferable to use an existing forum topic on essentially the same subject than creating a new one. If you are not the author of the similar forum topic, simple add a new comment to generate an email notification message and new collaboration on the topic. If you did create the original topic, simply edit it with updated information and save it without checking the "[]Minor Change?" box. An email notification message would be distributed to all space, forum and page watchers and existing comments would still be part of the topic.

Also consider if the information should be a Blog Post (aka "news item") rather than a forum topic. The PIUG blog is most appropriate for press release-type information and simple announcements that generally specifically asking for feedback or discussion, although comments on blog posts are possible and encouraged. Blog posts are added with "Add Blog Post" link in the left-side navigation bar. See the Creating and Watching PIUG Blog Posts Quick Reference Guide.

Adding a new forum topic

Go to the main discussion forum page and click on the Add Topic link or the the Add forum topic link below the forum's topics table. Do not use the Add New Page link in the left-side navigation panel because this frequently results in the new page not being added to the discussion forum. Using that link puts the new page in the navigation hierarchy as a child of the page you are currently viewing. You or an admin would then have to move the page in the hierarchy.

Problem with pasting content from Microsoft Word

The main problem users have is pasting content into the wiki editor Rich Text tab from Microsoft Word or other word processors and then having residual Microsoft coding beginning the topic page. This code usually begins as:

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face 
Unknown macro: {font-family} 
@font-face 
...
Unknown macro: {mso-style-unhide} 
p.MsoPlainText, li.MsoPlainText, div.MsoPlainText 

Avoid this either by (1) using a text editor as the source of your pasted information or (2) editing the content using the Wiki Markup to remove the offending code before saving the page.

The first entry on QRG - Editing Page Content reminds users to "use all three tabs: Rich Text, Wiki Markup, and Preview. Create your text in the Rich Text tab, check it in the Preview tab, and make corrections in the Wiki Markup tab. Wiki markup is fairly intuitive and very helpful for making your entry look as you wish." When you use the Wiki Markup tab, a "Helpful Tips" box is provided, but you need to move far down the page to find it.

Use spell check

Since the Confluence wiki application does not come with spell check, use alternatives such as Google Toolbar spell check for either IE or Firefox, or Spellbound for Firefox.

Further editing the forum topic

If you subsequently edit your forum topic, be sure to check the "[]Minor Change?" box to avoid having another email notification message distributed unless you have significantly changed the page content.

Getting an email notification of your own postings

Use the "Settings...Manage my Email Notifications...Notify me on my own Postings" top menu bar item and check the "Notify on my actions" box. Most users would also want to have checked the "Subscribe to daily updates" option as well.