Understanding Forums

forumA forum is a place where you can have a written discussion about one or more topics. For example, you can ask a question and fellow members can reply to your question. To post a topic or reply to a topic, you must be a logged-in SKABC member. There are three forums--take a look at each one to familiarize yourself:

Within each forum you will find topics. The list of topics in a forum will grow as more members use the forums. Over time, a forum can become a valuable source of information. Not sure how to post something? See Posting and replying to a forum for detailed instructions.

For example, on the General Discussion forum, someone might ask for tips or information about a destination for a kayak trip they are planning. Other members can then reply to a topic and provide their ideas and information, and a conversation is built. This information stays on the forum and can be of use to other people at a later time as well.

TIP: Keep a topic discussion focussed

topic-focusRather than have one long conversation with replies that stray into different subjects, start a new topic for a new subject. It's easier to scan a forum with clear topics than getting bogged down weeding through a long list of unrelated replies.

Why have forums?We created forums to make it easier for SKABC members to connect, ask questions, share information and draw on the experience and knowledge of fellow members. Of course you can do this in person at a meeting or on a trip, but not everyone always makes it to the meetings or goes on the same trips as you do. Forums make it easy to ask a question at any time.

Keeping you in the loop with subscriptions

As a member of SKABC you are automatically subscribed to the forums. This means that any time someone creates a new topic in a forum, you'll receive an email. If a topic is of particular interest to you, you can subscribe to that topic as well. In that case, you will also get an email anytime someone replies to the topic.

You can unsubscribe from a forum or topic at anytime. If you unsubscribed, you can subscribe again at anytime. For details, see Subscribing and unsubscribing.

Posting and replying in a forum

Posting to a forum or replying to a post are fairly straight forward. But if you're new to forums and not sure what it's all about, refer to the following procedures.

Subscribing and unsubscribing

As a SKABC member you are automatically subscribed to the forums when you join or renew your membership. Use the procedures below to change your subscription setting as you like.