Post Options



When posting either a new topic or reply, there are several post options that are available to you. You can view these options by selecting the Options tab from the section below the posting form. Depending on the permissions the board administrator has assigned to you or whether you are posting a topic or reply, these options will be different.

Figure 5.6. Posting Options

Posting Options

The options presented while creating a reply.

The default status of these options will depend on your Posting Defaults settings on the User Control Panel's Board Preferences page.

  • Disable BBCode: If BBCode is enabled on the board and you are allowed to use it, this option will be available. Checking this box will not convert any BBCode in your post content into its respected output. For example, [b]Bolded text[/b] will be seen in your post as exactly [b]Bolded text[/b].

  • Disable Smilies: If Smilies are enabled on the board and you are allowed to use them, this option will be available. Checking this box will not convert any of the smilie's characters to their respected image. For example, ;) will be seen in your post as exactly ;).

  • Do not automatically parse URLs: When entering a URL directly into your post content (in the format of http://....com or www.etc.com), by default it will be converted to a clickable string of text. However, if this box is checked when posting, these URLs will stay as a standard string of text.

  • Attach a signature (signatures can be altered via the UCP): If this box is checked, the signature you have set in your profile will be attached to the post provided signatures have been enabled by the administrator and you have the proper permissions. For more information about signatures, please see UCP Signatures.

  • Send me an email when a reply is posted: If this box is checked, you will receive a notification (either by email, Jabber, etc) every time another user replies to the topic. This is called subscribing to the topic. For more information, please see UCP Subscriptions.

  • Lock topic: Provided you have moderation permissions in this forum, checking this box will result in the topic being locked after your reply has been posted. At this point, no one but moderators or administrators may reply to the topic. For more information, please see Locking a topic or post.

5.4.4.1. Topic Types

Provided you have the right permissions, you have the option of selecting various topic types when posting a new topic by using Post topic as. The four possible types are: Normal, Sticky, Announcement, and Global. By default, all new posts are Normal.

  • Normal: By selecting normal, your new topic will be a standard topic in the forum.

  • Sticky: Stickies are special topics in the forum. They are "stuck" to the top of the first page of the forum in which they are posted, above every Normal topic.

  • Announcement: Announcements are much like Stickies in that they are "stuck" to the top of the forum. However, they are different from stickies in two ways: 1) they are above Stickies, and 2) they appear at the top of every page of the forum instead of only the first page of topics.

  • Global: Global, or Global Announcements, are special types of Announcements which appear at the top of every page of every forum on the board. They appear above every other type of special topic.

You also have the ability to specify how long the special (stickies, announcements, and global announcements) keep their type. For example, an announcement is created and specified to stay "stuck" for 4 days. After the 4 days are over, the announcement will automatically be switched to a Normal topic.