Registration and Logging In
"Why can't I login?"
"Do I need to register?"
"Lost Passwords"
"I Registered in the past but can not login"

User Preference and Forum Settings
"How do I change my forum settings?"
"Forum Times and Dates are not set to my local time"

Posting Issues
"How do I post a message in the forum?"
"How do I delete posts?"
"How do I edit posts?"
"How do I add a signature to my post?"
"How do I create a poll?"
"Rich Text Editor (WYSIWYG) posting issues"

Message Formatting
"What are Forum Codes?"
"Can I use HTML?"
"What are Emoticons (Smileys)"
"Can I post images?"
"What are closed topics?"

User Groups
"What are Forum Administrators?"
"What are Forum Moderators?"
"What are Usergroups?"

Private Messaging
"I cannot send Private Messages"
"I cannot send Private Messages to some users"
"How can I prevent someone from sending me Private Messages"

To register, click on the Register link, read the Forum Rules and Policies and click Accept. Next, complete the Registration Details (items with an asterisk (*) indicates required fields), and click Register. You will see a message like this:

Thank-you for registering to use BoatUS Boat Groups

Your Forum Membership needs to be activated!

An activation email will be sent in a few moments to the email address you gave when registering.
Click on the link in this email to activate your Forum Membership.

Check your inbox for the activation email from BoatGroups@boatus.com, which will include your user name and password. To activate your membership for the Forum click on the link in the email or copy and paste it into your browser address bar. This will take you back to the Forum and you can now start posting messages.

SPAM BLOCKER NOTE: If you use a spam blocker program, please ensure that you have added BoatGroups@Boatus.com to your acceptable email addresses prior to registering so that your confirmation email does not get rejected.
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"Forum Times and Dates are not set to my local time" The time used in the Forums is that of the server time and date, if the server is located in another country then the times and dates will be the local times of that country. To change the Times and Dates to your own local settings then simply edit My Preferences through your Boat Groups Preferences menu, and set by how many hours the time is offset from your own local time.
NOTE: The Forums are not designed to adjust between standard and daylight saving times, so you may need to adjust the time in My Preferences by another hour during these months.
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"How do I post a message in the forum?"
1. Log in with your user name and password.
2. Click on the Boat Groups brand you would like to post under (SeaRay reviews, for instance).
3. Next, Click on the New Topic button on the top-right.
4. Fill in the form that pops up with the Subject Title (i.e. what your topic is about), and then type your message/question in the larger box below it.
5. If you want to be notified when someone replies to your message, be sure to click Email Notify me of Replies
6. When you are finished, click on Post New Topic.
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"How do I delete posts?" Unless you are a Forum Moderator or an Administrator you can only delete your own posts and only if the forum has been setup with the relevant rights for you to be able to delete your post. If someone has replied to your post then you will no-longer be able to delete it.
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"How do I edit posts?" Unless you are a Forum Moderator or an Administrator you can only edit your own posts. When you edit your posts depending on the forum setup, it will display the username, time, and date of when the post was edited at the bottom of the post.
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10. "How do I add a signature to my post?" To add a signature to the bottom of your posts you need to first create a signature in My Profile through your Boat Groups Preferences menu. Once you have done this you can add your signature to the bottom of your posts by checking the Show Signature checkbox at the bottom of the posting form.
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"How do I create a poll?" If you have sufficient rights to create a poll in a forum you will see a New Poll button at the top of the screen on the forum and topic screens. When creating a poll you need to enter a poll question and at least two options for the poll. You may also select whether people can vote multiple times or just once in the poll. Once you have filled out the form, click the Post New Topic button to publish your poll.
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12. "Rich Text Editor (WYSIWYG) posting issues" If you are using Internet Explorer 5+ (windows only), Netscape 7.1, Mozilla 1.3+, Mozilla Firebird 0.6.1+, and if the forum administrator has enabled it you should have a Rich Text (WYSIWYG) Editor to type your messages with. If you find that you are having problems posting using the WYSIWYG editor then you can disable this WYSIWYG Editor by simply editing your profile and selecting to turn off the WYSIWYG Posting Editor.
NOTE: a WYSIWYG Editor allows you to manipulate text with formatting buttons, instead of editing html manually.
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"What are Forum Codes?" Forum Codes allow you to format the messages you post in the forums. Forum Codes are very similar to HTML except tags are enclosed in square brackets, [ and ], rather than, < and >. You can also disable Forum Codes when posting a message. Click here to view Forum Codes that are available in the forums.
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"Can I use HTML?" HTML cannot be used in your posts, this is done for security reasons as malicious HTML code can be used to destroy the layout of the forum or even crash a web browser when a user tries to view a post.
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"What are Emoticons (Smileys)?" Emoticons, or Smileys, are small graphical images that can be used to express feelings or show emotions. You can see them next to the posting form when posting a message. To add an emoticon to your post then simply click on the emoticon you would like to add to your post.
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"Can I post images?" To post an image, open a New Topic (or Post a Reply) and click either the
Add Photo button if the image is located on another web site, or the Upload Photo button if the image is on your computer.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Images must be of the type, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, and have a maximum file size of 100KB.

When you are finished, click the Post Reply button.
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"What are closed topics?" Closed Topics are set this way by forum administrators or moderators. Once a Topic is closed you will no-longer be able to post a reply in that topic or vote in a poll.
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"What are Forum Administrators?" Forums Administrators are people who have the highest level of control over the forums, they have the ability to turn on and off features on the forums, ban users, remove users, edit and delete posts, create users groups, etc.
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"What are Forum Moderators?" Moderators are individuals or groups of users who look after the day to day running of the forums. They have the power to edit, delete, move, close and unclose, topics and posts in the forum they moderate. Moderators generally are there to prevent people from posting offensive or abusive material.
NOTE: If you feel a user is being abusive or posting offensive or inappropriate material, you can contact the Moderator by clicking on the Report! Button in the offending post.
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"What are Usergroups?" Usergroups are a way to group users. Each user is a member of a usergroup and each group can be assigned individual rights in forums, to read, view, post, create polls, etc.
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"I cannot send Private Messages" There maybe several reasons for this, you are not logged in, you are not registered, or the forum administrators have disabled the Private Messaging system.
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"I cannot send Private Messages to some users" This maybe because the person you are trying to send a Private Message to has blocked you from being able to send them Private Messages. If this is the case you should receive a message informing you of this when you try to send them a Private Message.
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"How can I prevent someone from sending me Private Messages" If you find that you are getting unwanted Private Messages from a user, you can block them from sending you Private Messages. To do this go into the Private Messaging system and go to your buddy list. Go to add the user as a buddy, but instead choose the option from the drop down list Not to message you, this will prevent this user from sending you anymore Private Messages.
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If you have any questions not answered here, please contact the Forum Administrator at BoatGroups@boatus.com