Terminilogy and Organization
used in the Rotation.org Ideas & Lesson Exchange

(Technical Troubleshooting Tips also on this page)

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Understanding the terminology of the Exchange takes some getting used to.

The "Exchange" is what's commonly referred to as a "message board." We named it "The Exchange" a long time ago. But... the software which creates the Exchange has some of its own terminology. The Exchange is a group of CATEGORIES.

Each Category is made up of "FORUMS." Forums can also be called "Topics" or "Discussions." In fact, the Exchange software mixes and matches the terminology a bit. Within the FORUM Topics are the individual POSTINGS (messages/questions).

Any member can create a new Topic within a Forum, or reply to someone's message in a Topic. except in certain areas.

A "POST" or "POSTING" is something you create by clicking the REPLY link in a Topic you wish to add your comments to. We want you to REPLY as often as possible to share your good ideas. Just make sure you look to see if your subject has been addressed before, or your topic is already being discussed elsewhere. With thousands of users, we need to keep things organized.

And don't worry, if you make a mess of things, you can almost always Edit or Delete your own posting, or the Coordinator or one of our Moderators can do it for you. Just yell for help if you are unsure where to post something, or if you put it in the wrong place. Look for the little Folder icon with the pencil eraser on it, in the corner of your posting.

 

More Organizational Details...

Community Page = Where you see the Worm reaching out to God
This is a place for general announcements. Click *Enter* on the Worm graphic, or click the Ideas & Lesson Exchange link to go to the Categories Page.

Categories Page = Where you see all the main areas to explore.
This is what most people think of as the "main menu" of the Exchange. The Help Exchange is at the top. It is technically called a "Forum." A Forum is a grouping of similar Topics.

The "Lesson Exchange" categories are also on this Main Categories page. The Lesson areas are really a list of Categories, such as, Genesis, and Holy Week. When you enter a lesson Category, you see a listing of the FORUMS in that Category. For example, Genesis has an Abraham Forum. Within the Abraham Forum you see many individual postings.

FORUMS = Each Category has a sub-set of areas to explore called "Forums." It is the Forums which actually contain all the individual topics and postings. Example: In the Help Forums you see groups of postings organized by subject. In the Help Exchange Category is a Forum titled "Lesson Help....I need, I'm looking for." Dig down into that forums' topic and post a question. In most cases you'll get responses back over the next week or so from folks around the continent.

 

Handy TOOLBAR Features

You can see the blue tool bar in the image above. It appears on every page of the Exchange.

"FIND" is the Exchange's "search" function. It is very powerful in that it can scan the entire Exchange content.

Want to View All the New Postings Since Your Last Visit? ...click "FIND" and "New Since Last Visit"

Looking for Help on a Certain Issue or Story?
Go to the obvious Category/Forum, or use the FIND feature to search the Categories, Forums and Topics for what you need. Use FIND before asking the Coordinator for help or posting a question on the Exchange.

My Space
This is the place to modify your membership profile or contact email address.

Click "Notify" on the top toolbar of the screen at the page where you want follow the discussion.
Email Notification will be sent to your membership's email address when someone replies to your Question.

Rate it
When you're viewing a particularly excellent posting, click Rate It and select how many "stars" (actually checkmarks) this posting rates so others can benefit from it too.

MISC.

Who is EVE?
Eve is the name of the software which operates the Exchange. A sub-program of Eve is named UBBx. Eve has some other options which are not currently being used by Rotation.org

Who is rotation.INFOPOP.cc?
Infopop is the name of the company which made Eve and hosts our Exchange on their servers.

Technical and Registration Help
Select the UBBx Help Files at http://rotation.infopop.cc/eve/faq ...This link is also found on our Community Page.

Security and Privacy
We require that every registered member provide the Exchange with a valid email address. This email address is visible to other members of the Exchange, however, it can't be "harvested" by email robots. No one can view your password, not even the Coordinator and Webmaster for the website and the Exchange.

Who's Behind the Exchange?
The Exchange software/server time is paid for by supporters of this website. Become a supporter, not just a taker or lookey-loo. Contribute your ideas, be helpful to others, post your lessons. It's what this website is all about.

Our Coordinator is a paid part-time position paid for from donations to the website. The webmaster (Neil MacQueen) and Moderators of the Exchange are all volunteers.

TECHNICAL TROUBLESHOOTING:

1. PROBLEMS with EXCHANGE FEATURES or ACCESS
If you have TECHNICAL problems with the Exchange, your pop-up stopper software may be interfering with it, or your browser could be out of date. Exempt this site from your pop-up program. Update your Internet Browser. Older versions of Netscape or AOL or IE can't manage some Exchange features.

2. PROBLEM WITH REGISTRATION, LOG-IN, Email or PASSWORD

Anyone can use most of the Ideas and Lesson Exchange. Some areas or discussions or features, however, may only be available to those who register. To register, click "join" on any of the Exchange pages. In addition, there are several "private groups" of Rotation educators working in restricted areas on special CE content. One of those groups is the volunteer Writing Team. Check with our Coordinator for more details.

When you register, you are asked for a valid email address. Don't mistype it, or try to spoof it. You must REPLY to that email confirmation which the Exchange will automatically send to that address -in order for your registration to be complete.

If you forget your PASSWORD, or don't remember your USERNAME, or you missed the validation email, go to LOGIN/JOIN or My Space and click "Lost Password." This will email your registration details again with your username and password. http://rotation.infopop.cc/eve/myspace

Please remember: Passwords are cASe SenSiTIve
If you typed "Knucklehead" when you originally registered,
you must always capitalize the K when you type the password.

If your Email Address Changes, please open up MY SPACE (found under "GO" on any Exchange page), and UPDATE your profile info.

If you have previously registered, but forget either your Username or Password, and now no longer have the email which you originally listed in your registration... you're out of luck. Just create a NEW REGISTRATION. (But read on...)

If the Registration process says "sorry, someone is already using that email address or username" then it means your registration still works and is on file, ...and you just don't remember the correct password or username. You'll need to contact the Coordinator to have your password "reset" and registration details "resent" to a new email address. It's time consuming, so try not to forget your info.

If you get really stumped, you can ask for help. Email our Resource Coordinator at coordinator@rotation.org.

The Coordinator can only RESET your password to a new temporary password. The administrators of the Exchange can never see your password. It's protected.

Please note: Inactive registrations are cleared from the membership listing each year. If you do not visit more than once a year, your registration will be cleared and you'll have to rejoin.

For more explanations about the Exchange and Registration Help, go to the UBBx Help Files at http://rotation.infopop.cc/eve/faq

For additional technical questions about this website, contact webmaster@rotation.org

July 2004