You can search for posts based on username, word(s) in the post or just in the subject, by date, and only in particular forums.

To access the search feature, click on the "search" link at the top of most pages.

You can search any forum that you have permission to search - you will not be allowed to search through private forums unless the administrator has given you the necessary security rights to do so.

The simplest sort of search you can do is probably used most often. It lacks the fine-tuning that advanced searching can do, but it requires less input on your part.

Clicking on Search brings up this search box:

For a basic search, just enter the word(s) you want to search in the box and click on Go (or hit the Enter key). Your results will come back as a list of relevant threads. When you read any of those threads, the search terms you choose will appear as red, bold-faced text. That makes it easier to find what you're looking for within threads and posts.

Searching is limited to words longer than 3 letters. This means if you're looking for CWC, the search engine won't return any results. You can search for wildcards, though, using the asterisk (*). So if you enter hair in the search box, you will only get results for the word 'hair'. If you enter hair*, on the other hand, you'll get any word starting with those letters: hair, hairs, hairsticks, hairy, etc. (Note: if you search for dry*, you won't get 'dry', because the search engine ignores 3 letters or less. But you will get all words longer than 3 letters that start with dry: dryness, drying, etc.)

Note: some common abbreviations are searchable, even if they're 3 letters or less. The complete list changes from time to time, but it can't hurt to try an abbreviation and see what results you get.

There are lots of ways to make searches more effective. To do an advanced search, first click on Advanced Search:

One of the most useful features of Advanced Search is limiting your results to relevant posts instead of relevant threads. Then you don't have to wade through a whole thread just to find the post(s) in it that you wanted.

Other relevant search options are:

• number of replies
• user name of poster
• date posted
• which forum (aka board) it was posted on
• whether to search in just thread titles or in entire posts

You can combine one or more of these advanced search functions to fine-tune your search.

For example, if I want to find posts about the cloverleaf bun from three months ago or older on the Mane Forum, I would:

• enter cloverleaf* in the Key Word(s) box (I could enter cloverleaf, but using the asterisk will find close matches, too)
• choose 3 months ago and and Older in the Find Posts from section
• choose Show Results as Posts
• choose The 'Mane' Forum in Search in Forum(s)

If your search requirements don't find anything, you can always click the back button on your browser and refine your search request. For example, maybe I asked for posts/threads in the last week but didn't find any, so I can go back and search for posts/threads within the last month instead.

Aside from the regular search, you can also search members. Click on Members List in the navigation bar at the top of the website:

That will take you to the Members List, which looks like this (at the top, anyway):

Now click on Search Members and you'll get a search form different from the Advanced Search. This one lets you search for the info that people have in their profiles, which is handy for finding people with the same hair type or length as yourself.

The downside to the Search Members function is that it can only find information in profiles if people have entered it. Still, it's useful in its own way.

Yes! To send an email to another member, you can either locate the member you want to contact on the member list, or click the button on any post made by that member.

This will usually open a page that contains a form where you can enter your message. When you have finished typing your message, press the [send email] button and your message will be sent instantly. Note that for privacy reasons, the email address of the recipient is not revealed to you during this process.

Note that if you can not find an email button or link for a member, it either means that the administrator has disabled email functions for this forum, or that the member in question has specified that they do not wish to receive email from other members of the forum.

Another useful email function is the ability to send a friend a link to a thread you think they may find interesting. Whenever you view a thread, you will find a link somewhere on the page which will allow you to send a brief message to anyone you like. Your referrerid is added to the link you send, so if your friend registers on this forum as a result of viewing the link you sent to them, your referrals total will automatically be credited!

Registered members may also be able to send messages to other members of this forum using the private messaging system. For more information about private messaging, click here.

If the administrator has enabled the Private Messaging system, registered members may send each other private messages.

Sending Private Messages

Private messages work a little like email, but are limited to registered members of this forum. You may be able to include vB Code, smilies and images in private messages that you send.

You may send a private message to a member of this forum by clicking the 'Send A Private Message' link in the private messaging section of your user control panel, or by clicking the button in a member's posts.

When you send a message, you have the option to save a copy of the message in your Sent Items folder.

Private Message Folders

By default, you will have two folders in your private message area. These are the Inbox and the Sent Items folders.

The Inbox folder contains any new messages you receive, and allows you to view all the messages you have received, along with the name of the person who sent the message to you, and the date and time the message was sent.

The Sent Items folder contains a copy of any messages that you have sent, where you have specified that you wish to keep a copy of the message for future reference.

You may create additional folders for your messages by clicking the 'Edit Folders' link.

Each folder has a set of message controls which allow you to select messages, then either move them to one of your custom folders, or delete them completely. You may also have a button which allows you to forward multiple messages from a folder to another member of the forum.

You will need to periodically delete old messages, as the administrator has probably set a limit to the number of private messages you can have in your folders. If you exceed the number of messages specified by the administrator, you will not be able to send or receive new messages until you delete some old messages.

Whenever you read a message, you will have the option to reply to the message, or forward that message to another member of the forum. You may also have the ability to forward that message to multiple members of your buddy list.

Message Tracking

When you send a new private message, you may have the option to request a read-receipt for that message. This will allow you to check whether or not a message has been read by its recipient by viewing the Private Message Tracking page.

This page is divided into two sections: unread messages and read messages.

The unread messages section shows all messages that you have sent with a read-receipt request, that have not yet been read by their recipient. The time of the last activity of the message recipient is also shown. Messages in this section can be cancelled if you decide that their contents are no longer relevant, or for any other reason. Cancelled messages can also be restored to active status if the administrator has enabled this feature.

The read messages section shows all messages you have sent with a receipt request that have been read and acknowledged by their recipient. The time that the message was read is also shown.

You may choose to end the tracking on any message you choose by selecting the message and clicking the [end tracking] button.

When you receive a message with a read-receipt request, you may have the option to read the message while denying the read-receipt request. To do this, simply click the 'deny receipt' link rather than the title of the message, if it appears.

The member list contains a complete list of all the registered members of this forum. You can view the member list ordered alphabetically by username, by the date that the member joined the forum, or by the number of posts the members have made.

The member list also has a search function, which allows you to quickly locate members according to categories you specify, such as searching for all members who have joined in the past week etc.

The calendar functions in a way similar to the forums in that there can be multiple calendars. One calendar could hold just events that you are able to see, while another may list birthdays.

There are two types of events on the calendar: normal events and recurring events.

Normal Events span the time frame from when the event starts until the event ends.

Recurring Events repeat over a set period of time based on certain criteria. Examples would be an event that occurs on the first Monday of every month and an event that occurs every Monday and Wednesday.

The administrator may have enabled registered members to post events, but usually this is not the case. You can most likely post your own private events that are only viewable to you.

Birthdays may be shown on the calendar if the administrator has enabled this feature. Your birthday will automatically be shown on the calendar if you have entered the date of your birthday in your profile. Note: if you do not enter the year of your birth when you edit your profile, your age will not be shown on the calendar.

If you enter your birthday, your name will also appear on the main forum page when it is your birthday.

Announcements are special messages posted by the administrator or moderators. They are designed to be a simple one-way communication with the users. If you wish to discuss announcements, you will have to create a new thread in the forum, since you cannot reply to announcements.

You may find a small menu on thread pages which allows you to 'rate this thread' with a number between 1-5.

Casting a vote for threads you view is entirely optional, but if you think that the thread is superb, you might rate it as a 5-star thread, or if you think that it's unspeakably dismal, you might choose to rate the thread with a single star.

Once enough votes have been cast for the thread rating, you may see a set of stars appear with the title of the thread in the thread listings. These stars reflect the average vote cast, and can allow you to quickly see which threads are worth reading if you are on a very busy forum with a lot of threads.

The administrator may have enabled referrals, which allows you to be credited for any new users you invite to the forum.

You gain referrals by promoting The Long Hair Community Discussion Boards using your unique referral link. The link you should use as your referral link is this:

http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/index.php?referrerid=0

Each time someone follows this link to The Long Hair Community Discussion Boards and registers as a new member, your referral count will be incremented by one. The number of referrals you have can be viewed in your profile.

Your administrator will have more information on any prizes or rewards that may be given out for referrals. Please be courteous when promoting The Long Hair Community Discussion Boards by not spamming other web sites with your referral link just to gain referrals.

1. Linear Mode (Oldest First) - In this mode, posts are displayed chronologically from oldest to newest. Posts are shown in a flat mode so that many posts can be viewed simultaneously.
2. Linear Mode (Newest First) - This is the same as the above mode, except that posts are ordered in an opposite way (newest first).
3. Threaded Mode - In this mode, a tree is shown along with every post. This tree allows you to see the relationship each post has to others, in terms of who responded to whom. Only one post is shown at a time.
4. Hybrid Mode - This mode is a mixture of the linear and threaded modes. The post tree is displayed like in the threaded mode, but multiple posts are displayed simultaneously like in the linear modes.

The administrator may have enabled RSS syndication, this allows you to view newly created threads in guest viewable forums without visiting the board.

The feeds are currently provided in two formats, RSS and RSS v2. The differences are as follows:

• RSS 0.91 - This feed is based on a standard written by netscape and provides a link and the title of the thread.
  http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/external.php?type=rss
• RSS 2.0 - This feed contains title, author, date and the contents of the first post of the thread.
  http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/external.php?type=rss2

To add this to MyYahoo click here.

The forums to which this applies can also be limited to specific guest viewable forums by adding another paramater to the URL containing the forumids as follows:
http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/external.php?type=rss2&forumids=123

If you would like the content to be generated for multiple forums you can seperate the forumids by commas.