If you've never used bulletin board or forum software before, this may seem a little confusing the first time. But you'll catch on, read this and I'm sure you'll find it very powerful. You can access the Equipping the Saints Bible Study Forums at http://www.armorbearers.net/forums/
If you've already registered, but lost your password click here.
Even though you've signed up for the e-mail portion of the Bible study, you must register separately to participate in the Forum.
You can read others' comments as a guest, but to participate yourself you need to register. This involves three steps:
Find the "Register" link at the top of the webpage.
After you click on this link you'll see a place to register. Please enter your full name, such as "John Doe" (spaces in your name are okay). Then enter a password that is between 3 and 32 characters long. Be sure to write down your name and password some place safe so you'll have them even if your computer crashes. :-)
Incidentally, though you'll enter your e-mail address, it won't show up on the bulletin board, so your privacy will be protected.
Check your e-mail immediately and look for a message with the subject "Registration at Equipping the Saints Bible Study Forums". Scroll down the message to find a link. It's right after the line that reads:
"To activate your account, simply click on the following link"
If you're using AOL, you may need to copy and paste the link into your web browser.
Here's what the login screen looks like:
Now log in using your name and password (the ones you just entered on the registration screen). Unless you're using a public computer, let the program "remember" you so next time you won't have to re-enter your name and password.
If you want to add your comments to a particular topic, click on the "Reply" button at the bottom and top of the webpage. (Note, the "New Topic" button is disabled at this point to help us keep a handle on spam.)
A window pops up with a space where you can type your message. The buttons at the top of the screen allow you to add boldface, italics or even different fonts to your message. The bottom line in the message I've shown is in boldface. The program has entered [B] and [/B] to indicate that. The actual boldface will show when you "Preview Post" or "Add Reply." To learn how to use these, just experiment and preview the results.
You can also add smiley faces ("emoticons") to your messages, if you like, just for fun.
While logged in, you can add a picture to your postings if you like. Click on the "Profile" link at the top of the webpage.
Under
"Forum Profile Infomation" at the middle left side
of the "Your Control Panel" page. You are welcome to use avatrs to
represent yourself, if you don't have a pic at this time. The word "avatar"
as used here is a cartoon character or symbol that represents you, and is intended
to have none of the religious or philosophical meaning sometimes associated
with the word. You can select from one of the included pictures that you like,
or upload your own.
Of course, there's no need to do this, but just in case you want to - have fun. Enjoy.
When you've figured out how to use the forum, you may introduce yourself to others in your Bible study. To do this, go to the main forum page (www.armorbearers.net/forums). Then look for your Bible study name (there are sometimes several Bible studies going on at once), and the link that says "Introduce Yourself here". For the Armorbearer Coach Mini-course Bible Study, Introduce Yourself here, then click on the "Reply" button to introduce ourself.
