by Susan Quilty

Created on: July 12, 2009

Helium's community forums are a great place for new and veteran members alike. Information is shared between members and Helium staff regarding site announcements, member questions, and an message board based help desk. The community is also a place to ask for writing critiques or simple socialize with other members.

By taking some time to understand how the community forums work, you can find answers to your questions more easily. It is also helpful to consider some basic message board etiquette prior to jumping into the online discussions. Here are some tips to help you make the most of your community forum involvement:

1. Explore the community forums and find the most appropriate section for your questions or comments.

While Helium's community forums do evolve and are occasionally restructured, there are some basic categories that are designed to address various Helium activities and concerns. Getting Started is the place for new members to introduce themselves; Help Desk on the Boards answers questions about technical issues and general problems encountered at Helium; and the Writers Critique Forum lets you ask for feedback on a specific article.

In addition to the general Helium-wide forums, there are boards for each specific channel as well. These forums may be the place to ask questions about writing in a particular channel, but they are also for simply discussing the shared interest. Members can also visit The Helium Cafe to discuss all things non-Helium.

2. Read the board policies prior to posting in the forums.

The first forum listed explains Helium's board policies. By understanding the rules, you can avoid getting into trouble. While the Board Policies forum explains the rules and guidelines for the community forum, there may be more specific information listed in each forum. For example, there are additional guidelines posted in the Help Desk on the Boards forum.

3. Search the community forum before asking questions.

Common questions are asked over and over in the Helium message boards. Before asking a question, search the forum to see if it has already been answered. This saves you time in waiting for a response and keeps Helium staff and veteran members from having to answer the question for the umpteenth time.

The community search is located towards the top right of the screen, below the Helium site-wide search. Searches will be limited to your location in the community forums. If you want to search the whole forum, search from the

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