by Rachelle de Bretagne

Created on: January 19, 2011

The Helium community forum is a place where members can go and acquaint themselves with other members, but the main purpose of the forums is to provide information to people who need it. On first approach, it looks pretty much like a standard forum, and it's only when you have navigated the maze that you realize the significance of the different areas. It's a welcoming place, but it is important to know where to post and what is appropriate. For those a little shy about posting for the first time, members are indeed helpful and friendly and introducing yourself is certainly the best way to acquaint yourself with forum procedures and features.

The rules

The rules of the forum are straightforward. Self promotion is not the purpose of the forum, but you can use it in a polite manner to ask questions about any element of your Helium experience where questions arise. When answered, politeness is expected and members should always remember that flaming or getting angry doesn't serve much purpose. Writers are passionate people, though stemming that passion and using the forum constructively to gain information or to discuss things which concern you is a much better way to go forward.

The sections of the forums

These are divided, so that people can understand their significance. For example, the main areas are for introducing board policies, followed by Introducing yourself to the forum. This area is the area used by new members to say Hello and to ask questions. The new member guide will answer those questions as will other members, and try to inform new members and help them to settle in.

Where the sections get complex for a member approaching the forums for the first time, is in the central region where the subdivisions are marked Help desk, Content Questions and Rating discussions. Because of the popularity of talking about ratings on certain articles, the ratings discussions allow writers to discuss elements about the rating system which are common among the membership. The content and help areas are divided by what kind of question needs to be asked. For example, the Help desk is for members to ask Helium questions which concern them and which may be of a technical nature, whereas the Content questions should be confined to questions upon actual content on the website.

News from Helium

This area can be used to read up on news of things happening on the website and members can pose questions concerning that news.

Marketplace areas

There are two distinctly different

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