This information is provided to answer many questions you might have about finding your way around and participating in the discussions at the New Café. It may seem like a lot to absorb, but we ask you to keep two things in mind:
1) Over time, you will likely learn about and want to utilize a variety of the features and tools that are available. Many of these enable you to individualize your experience of the New Café. But, you do not need to know most of the information below in order to navigate, read and post.
2) While the New Café may seem big and a bit confusing at first, it only takes a few visits to become familiar and comfortable with the basics.
We continue to define good New Café netiquette (New Café etiquette) as we participate. We prefer guidelines to rules; however, New Café management and hosts request civility, as outlined in our User Guidelines and will refuse access to users who violate the New Café's definition of civility found there.
Some general guidelines include:
Do not use the New Café only to pitch your product or service. Feel free to recommend products and services in the course of conversation, but do not offend New Café members by coming in only to sell something.
Use restraint in creating new topics. Avoid creating a topic for a quick question, or creating many new topics in a short time period. Open a topic and let the discussion develop naturally before starting another topic. Topics that have been inactive are not considered "dead" unless in an archive sub-conference. Rejuvenating an existing topic with a new posting is a common and appreciated practice, and hosts may be requested to revive any archived topics.
Avoid mass erasing of your postings. Use the erase button for fixing errors or deleting a posting you regret. Mass erasing creates holes in the discussion for other users.
Consider moving extended personal conversations to e-mail. Many users lurk (read without posting). If you find yourself in an extended discussion with just one other user, consider moving the conversation to e-mail. Other users may feel negatively about joining into what amounts to a personal conversation.
For additional information, review our Copyright policy.
Motet is the web forum software in use in the New Café.
Chances are, if you are reading this FAQ, your current browser works well with Motet. An important benefit of Motet is that it works well with almost any browser available: Internet Explorer, Netscape and any of the Mozilla-based browsers, and Safari, among others.
Motet works quite will with non-graphical browsers such as Lynx and many of the browsers you may use via cellular phone. You may use these to participate in the New Café. Remember that Motet's context-sensitive help uses graphical imagemaps, so the Help function will be unavailable.
Forums are broad subject areas or themes (e.g., Home) that contain multiple topics (e.g., Entertaining, Yardwork, Gardening).
Topics are devoted to a specific subject area, and contains the postings from individual users (e.g., "I love to entertain," "I am a master gardener.").
Posts appear chronologically in each topic as users discuss the topic with each other. Posting is the process of publishing your post text for all other users to read. Posts that you make will remain on the site indefinitely for users to read.
How do I use the Hotlist feature?
Use the Hotlist feature to select one or a group of Forums that you want to visit regularly.
To set up and organize your Hotlist:
1. Click the Settings button.
2. Under Forums Hotlist, click Edit Your Forums Hotlist.
3. Follow the instructions on this window to add, delete, and organize your Hotlist.
To add a Forum as you read in the New Café:
1. Click Add This Forum to My Hotlist in the upper left-hand of the Forum's home page.
Note: This option disappears from a Forum's home page if the Forum is already on your Hotlist.
-Or-
1. Click Settings.
2. Under Forum Hotlist, click Add [Name of Forum] to your hotlist.
