This page complements the Quick Start [0] and How Can I ... [0]pages.
About me
About me is the place under your personal menu where you can create and update your account settings, and your profile, by clicking the edit tab. Only available when you login. See also: Account settings, Password? [0], Personal menu, Profile
Account settings
Account settings enable you to change your email address and password, enable your contact form, and upload a personal picture. Available at the edit tab in about me, which is under your personal menu when you Login. See also: About me, Contact form, Log In? [0], Password, Personal menu
Administrator
Behind this site is a human being - well, several - who have over-riding permission to edit content and manage how the site works. Get in touch via the contact link, top right of the page. See also: Permissions
Blog entry
A blog entry is an item of content you can create in post a message under your personal menu, when you log In. See also: Blogs? [0], Categories? [0], Comments, Edit, My blog, Personal menu, Post a message, Reply, Submit, Tags? [0], Topics
Blogs
Blogs are web sites consisting of items (blog entries) that may be text, photos, videos, or audio. These items are usually organised in date order with the most recent at the top of a page. Items may be categorised by topics or tags so that they can grouped on more than one page. The items on a page can be read in the usual way through a web browser and also using a newsreader? [0]. On this site everyone registered has their own blog. Blog posts are displayed in recent posts, in each user's blog, and also on pages relating to community groups and tags. See also: Blog entry, My blog, Newsreader
Categories
Categories help organise blog entries and other content. When you post a blog entry you can categorise in two ways: choose from a list of fixed topics, or add your own keywords? [0] under Tags. See also: Blog entry, Topics
Comments
A comment is a message that can be added under a blog entry or at the end of a page by clicking the comment link. After writing your comment, you can preview or post the comment to the site. You can edit comments that you have created. If there are already comments, you either create a new one, or reply to an existing comment. See also: Blog entry, Reply
Community Groups
When you initially register, you will have the option to sign up to Policy Unplugged's different community groups. When you subscribe to a community group, you will be shown in the list of participants for that community group. You may also sign-up for new community groups as they are launched. See also: Subscribe
Contact form
You can contact other site users by finding their profile through Our Community or by Participant list in the individual Community Groups, and then clicking the contact tab in the profile. If they are accepting emails, you can send a message from there. If you wish to accept emails this way, go to your account settings (under about me in your Personal menu) and tick the appropriate box near the bottom of the page if it isn't ticked already. See also: Account settings, Community Groups
Download
To download is to transfer content from the site to your computer ... while to browse is to view content on the site, through your web browser, without any transfer. You can download files in Cool Reads, or when attached to the end of blog entries and pages, by clicking on them. See also: Files, Podcasts? [0]
Edit
You edit content when you create a blog entry, a comment or a page - or go back to revise something that you have created. When creating a blog entry, for example, you can create a title, and then the body of message. In the body you can add some formatting by using the bar under the body message box. In order to edit an item you have created, click on the title and when it loads into a new page, click edit. See also: Blog entry
Files
On this site, by files we mean documents that you can upload or download to share with others or to read. You can upload files to Cool Reads through your personal menu, and you can also upload files as attachments to your blog posts. To do that, create a blog post through your personal menu, and then in the blog entry window scroll down to find file attachment. See also: Download, Upload
Log In
In order to use the site fully you need to register and then Log in through the LogIn/Register? [0] link in the left sidebar. When logged in? [0] you will see your Personal menu giving you options to post a message, edit information in about me and see your personal blog items under my blog. If you can see your personal menu - but not Login/Register you are already logged in. See also: Account settings, Login/Register, My blog, Password, Personal menu, Registration? [0], Upload, Username? [0]
Login/Register
This is how you get into the site. In the left sidebar you will see the Login/Register link (if not, you are already logged in and should see your personal menu ... and can skip this until next time). Click Login/Register and you will see a space for your User Name and your Password. If you have these, fill in the spaces, and click Log in. If you have never registered, and want to do so, click Create new account under the Log In button, and follow the instructions. If you have registered, but lost your password, click Request new password and follow the instructions. See also: Log In, Password, Personal menu, Username
My blog
Everyone on the site has their own blog. The my blog link appears under your personal menu when you Log In. If you click my blog it take you to pages that list all the blog entries that you have created, and gives you the option to post a new blog entry. You can also see all your most recent posts under the section Recent Posts. Others users can see the same pages by going to your profile via the Our Community section and the participant list for the Community Groups that you have subscribed to, or clicking on your name wherever it appears on the site. See also: Blog entry, Blogs, Community Group, Log In, Personal menu, Profile, Subscribe
News Feeds? [0]? [0]
On this site the items on a page - usually blog entries - are automatically bundled together into what's known as a news feed. These feeds are shown as an icon under Syndicate? [0] at the bottom of the left sidebar. Right-clicking the icon allows you to copy a URL (e.g. http://channel4education.policyunplugged.net/rss? [0].xml) that can be fed into (or subscribed) to a newsreader. Content from the site can then be read in the newsreader without having to visit the site. Feeds can also be fed to an aggregator. See also: Newsreader, RSS, Syndicate
Newsreader
A newsreader, feed reader or news aggregator is a piece of software or a web site that enable you to view news feeds from blogs and other sites offering RSS. See http://www.bloglines.com for a web-based newsreader or wikipedia for a longer explanation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggregator [1]. See also: Blogs, News Feeds, RSS
Password
In order to use the site fully you need to Log In with a username and password. If you are registering yourself, choose a memorable password when you register via Login/Register. You can change it later by Logging In, clicking About me under your Personal menu, then the edit tab and account settings. If you have registered and lost your password, click Login/register in the left sidebar and Request new password. See also: About me, Account settings, Log In, Login/Register, Username
Permissions
Permissions define what you can do on the site. When you register on the site your permissions are increased - you can create content through your blog, and upload files. The site administrator can set up different categories of users with different sets of permissions. See also: Administrator, Registration
Personal menu
Your Personal menu appears under your user name in the left sidebar when you Log In. From there you can change account settings and profile under about me, and find all your blog entries under my blog. If you can't see your personal message, login via the Login/register link in the left sidebar. See also: About me, Account settings, Blog entry, Log In, Login/Register, My blog, Personal picture, Post a message, Profile
Personal picture
During registration you can add a picture of yourself that will appear beside your profile. You can also do this after registration by clicking About me under your Personal menu, and then the edit tab. Scroll down to Upload picture. As indicated there, you need to find or create on your computer an image not bigger than 85x85 pixels, and under 30 kB. If you have done that, click Browse, navigate to the image on your computer, and select it. The file path will appear in the small window under Upload picture. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Submit to upload the picture and save any other changes to your profile. To see how others see choose Our Community and find your name and click. See also: Personal menu, Profile
Podcasts
Podcasts are audio files that you can download and play on an iPod or other mp3 player. You will find podcasting under audio in the right sidebar. More at wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasts [2]. See also: Download
Post a message
Post a message is the place under your personal menu where you can create and upload content, including blog entries. You need to Login in to do this. See also: Blog entry, Personal menu, Upload
Profile
Your profile is information about yourself that appears in Our Community list and also in Participant lists for the Community Groups that you have subscribed to. You can add profile information to the site when you register, or when you update information at about me. To do that, choose about me in your personal menu, then click on the edit tab and under that profile. You will find guidance on filling in the details. You can also add a picture - see Personal picture in this glossary on how to do that. See also: About me, Community Groups, My blog, Personal menu, Personal picture, Registration, Username menu, Personal picture, Registration, Username
Registration
In order to use the site fully you need to register. See Login/Register. See also: Log In, Permissions, Profile, Username
Reply
When someone has added a comment to a blog entry or page, you will see a reply link that enables you to add your message directly under the comment. Or you can add a new comment if you have a different point to make. See also: Blog entry, Comments
RSS
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is the technical means by which news feeds work. When available on a blog it allows you to subscribe to the news feed(s) that contain the blog content together with other metadata like tags. The main RSS news feed for this site is available under syndicate at the bottom of the left sidebar. Others are shown in the site map (top of the page menu). See also: News Feeds, Newsreader, Syndicate
Submit
In order to complete the process of creating a blog entry on the site, uploading a file, or carrying out a similar action, you need to click the submit button at the bottom of the page where you are adding the content. See also: Blog entry
Subscribe
When you first register, you will be invited to subscribe to the different community groups that are available on the Policy Unplugged website. You can go into you account settings at any time to remove yourself from a community group or to add yourself to a new community group. When you are subscribed to a community group, you will appear in the list of participants for the community group. See also: Community Group
Syndicate
Syndication is the process of publishing and subscribing to news feeds from a blog or similar site using RSS. News feeds for this site are available under syndicate at the bottom of the left sidebar. See also: News Feeds, RSS
Tags
Tags are words that are linked to blog entries and other items so that they can be organised. Unlike topics that are fixed, tags are not. Site users can add any tag they like. See also: Blog entry, Topics
Topics
Topics are ideas or themes, and on this site we have provided a set of pre-defined categories that you can use to organise your blog entries under topics. When creating a blog entry you will see a drop-down menu of topics to choose from. To view topics look under the topics heading in the right sidebar. The other way to categorise content is by using tags. See also: Blog entry, Categories, Tags
Upload
To upload is to add content to the site from your computer. You do this through the post a message section that gives options including blog entries and file upload. You need to be logged in. See also: Files, Log In, Post a message
Username
You need a username and a password to Log In to the site. If you register yourself through the Login/Register link in the left sidebar, you can choose your own username. Firstname Lastname is fine - or anything else. Either way please fill in your profile when you register. See also: Log In, Login/Register, Password, Profile, Registration