There are different message boards in which to place your message. Select the right (or closest) message board and click on that link. You will first be able to see all the messages already posted by people. They are arranged according to "threads", which are like different conversations. You can click on the Post Message link or you can scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will see a form to fill out to post a new message.

You must fill out your name, your email address, and the Title or Subject of your post. Then you type in the message box (you can keep typing towards the right within the box).

Once completed, press Submit (only once!) and wait for the system to show you what your post looks like. It is now done. To see the message within the original list, simply hit the back button and hit Reload and you will see your message as the top (and newest) message!

First, you must click on the message you want to reply to and read it. Scroll to the bottom of the message and you will see a form to enter a reply (their message is already set up in the form so you can type after their original message). Don't forget to enter your name and email address. This time, leave the subject just as it is (so it can be connected to this same "thread" when posted). Keep their original message there and type your at the bottom of their message, skipping a line to show your new paragraph is a response.

Once completed, press Submit (only once!) and wait for the system to show you what your post looks like. It is now done. To see the message, simply hit the back button twice and hit Reload and you will see your message right under the original message (but indented to the right to show its a response).

Within a message you are reading, if you want to send a private email to that person, click on their hot-linked name and an email form will pop up for you to send them an email. (Note: Not everyone puts their valid email address...)

Unfortunately, once you've posted a message, only the moderator can erase it. Simply an email to moderator@folksonline.com and they will be happy to remove it for you. In the meantime, you can go ahead and try posting the message again with your corrections.

An error message will appear if you have forgotten your name or email address. This error screen gives you the chance to fix it and resubmit it. If a server message comes up (i.e. Document Contains No Data, Document Not Found, etc.), it means there is a problem probably at our end of the connection or as a result of heavy server loads/activity. Simply email moderator@folksonline.com and we will attend to it as soon as we receive notification. Sometimes, one just has to wait until the server is not as busy.

A couple of things could have happened. It could be the message board was getting pretty filled up with messages and the older ones were erased (we try to keep at least one month's visible but on active boards that is not always possible). Or maybe your post was deemed to be off-topic, inappropriate, an unnecessary attack on someone, an uncalled for off-color post, or an ad. These are typically removed by the moderator. Sometimes we err in those posts we delete. If this is the case, we apologize. We are just trying to keep the quality of the messages high and minimize garbage posts.

• Don't cross-post your message into multiple message areas. Select the topic that most closely matches the topic of your post and put a post in that chat area only.

• Lurk and read the other messages for a while and get a feel for what type of messages people are posting before posting yours.

• Do not type in all capital letters (is considered to be shouting or a sign of anger). Do not "flame" people either publicly or privately via email. A flame is typically a nasty personal attack on a person for saying something you either didn't agree with or thought was stupid. There is enough of that on the Internet, don't do it here.

• Do not use these forum areas as your personal marketing vehicle to sell products or services (whether they "free" leader offers or not). All advertisement and off-topic posts will be removed by the moderator.
• There will always be hormonely challenged individuals scanning the web (and all over the Internet for that matter), to find forums where they can post sexually explicit emails. Web forums are not immune to this. Do not ever reply publicly (or privately, though their email is rarely a real one anyway). Just ignore them. The moderator will be swinging by and will delete them as soon as the group is periodically reviewed for appropriateness and relevance throughout the day. These low-denominator posts are a fact of life on the Internet and all we can do is strive to minimize them.