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Online Forum Help

Our online forums are an excellent place for you to discuss our articles and other current events or bible topics that may be of interest to you.

Out forums are only available to Omega Times Subscribers.  For more information on how to subscribe, click on 'Subscribe' at the top of the screen.

If you haven't used a forum before, this is a great place to start.  Other subscribers will be happy to answer any questions you have about using the forum.  The following information should help you get started.  Print out a copy so that you can read through it while looking at the actual forum.

Accessing the forum

To access the Omega Times forums, click on 'Subscriber Forum' in the menu at the top of the screen.  If you have already logged into our website (to read the magazine), the forums will be immediately displayed.  If not, a 'login' box will appear.

Logging in to the forum

Type your username and password into the login box, then click 'Login'.

Your username is normally the email address that you used when you subscribed to the Omega Times.

If you are a Print Edition Subscriber and don't have online access

If you subscribed via the Internet: your email address will have been registered with your subscription.  If you don't know your password, click on the link which is displayed about the 'Login' box, and an email will be sent to you with a new password.

If you subscribed via normal mail (snail mail): if you sent us your email address when you subscribed (or if you get the emails from us each time a new paper is put online) then we already have your email address in our system and you can follow the instructions above to get a new password.  If we don't have your email address, please do the following:

  1. Click on 'Contact Details' in the menu on the left hand side of the screen
  2. Click on the email address displayed there to send us an email
  3. Put 'Online Access Request' in the subject of your email
  4. In the body of your email, type your Name, Address, Town and Country and the email address that you want to use to access our online forum and magazine.
  5. Send the email to us.
  6. Please Note: it may take us a couple of days to process these requests.

Reading forum messages

Once you have logged in, you will be presented with a list of the forums that we have available.  You will see our 'General' forum, our 'Article Discussion' forum and our 'Off Topic' forum as shown in the picture below.  Click on the forum that you want to read.

Once you have clicked on a forum, a list of topics in that forum will be displayed as shown in the picture below.

Click on the topic that you want to read - the messages in that topic will be displayed as shown in the box below.  If the topic's messages cover multiple pages, you will see a page selector displayed at the top and the bottom of the pages.

Posting forum messages

To post a message in the forums, follow the instructions below, listed under 'Creating a New Topic' or 'Replying to a Topic'.  If you are posting a message for the first time you will need to do the following:

  1. Click on the message that says: "Please click here to register a nickname so that you can start posting messages."
  2. Read the Forum Rules - it gives a list of rules which helps everyone to use and enjoy the forums.
  3. If you agree to the rules click on the box next to 'I Agree' to put a tick (check) in the box.
  4. Type the nickname that you wish to be known by in the 'Nickname' box.  Note: in a forum, some people prefer to use their first name, others prefer to use a nickname.
  5. Click on 'Submit' to submit your nickname for approval.
  6. If the nickname is already being used by someone else, a message will appear telling you this and asking you to choose another nickname.  If this happens, then choose another nickname, make sure the 'I Agree' box is ticked (checked) and then click on 'Submit'
  7. Once you have done this, you will be returned to the main forum.
  8. Navigate back to the message you want to reply to, or click on 'Create a New Topic' and you will see that a message box is available for you to type your message.
  9. Follow the instructions for posting a message as outlined below.

Creating a New Topic

To create a new topic:

  1. Click on "Create New Topic" at the top right hand side of the list of topics in the forum.
  2. A message box will appear as shown below.
  3. Type a subject name for the new topic in the 'Subject' box.
  4. Type your message in the large message box.
  5. When you have finished typing you message, click on 'Submit New Topic' to put the topic in our forum.
  6. Below the button you will see a help section which has a list of special tags (BBCode) which can be used to highlight your message.

Replying to a Topic

If you want to add your comment to an existing topic:

  1. Scroll down to the bottom of the messages in the topic you are viewing.
  2. Type your reply in the message box (as explained under the 'Creating a New Topic' section above).

'Subscribing' to a Forum/Topic

The best way to keep up with what is happening on the forums is to 'subscribe' to a forum or a particular topic that interests you.  When you have subscribed to a forum/topic, any messages that are posted in that forum/topic get emailed to your email address.

If you subscribe to a complete forum (eg. the General Forum), you get the option to either:

a) have the messages emailed to you individually as soon as they are posted, or
b) have one 'daily digest' email sent to you each day which contains all messages posted on the forum during the previous 24 hours.

If you want to keep a close eye on one particular topic (even if you are already subscribed to the forum) you can subscribe to the individual topic and as soon as a message is posted in that topic you will be emailed with the message content and a link so that you can post a reply if you want to be involved in the discussion.

To subscribe to a forum, just visit the forum that you want to subscribe to and click on 'Subscribe to this Forum', located near the top right hand side of the forum.

To subscribe to a topic, click on the topicthat you want to subscribe to and click on 'Subscribe to this Topic, located near the top right hand side of the topic.

Deleting/Editing a Message

When you view a topic, you will see that any messages that you have posted will have either one or two extra pictures at the bottom right hand side of the message.

 Deleting a message

If you have just posted a message, and then decide that you want to delete it, you need to do this quickly, as once someone has replied to your message, this option will not be available any longer. To delete a message, do the following:

  1. Click on the delete icon.
  2. Your message will be displayed with a box asking if you really want to delete this message.
  3. Click 'Yes' to delete your message
  4. Note: this option is permanent - you do not have access to undelete a message.

 Editing a message

To edit a message, do the following:

  1. Click on the edit icon.
  2. Your message will be displayed.
  3. Edit your message as required.
  4. Click on 'Submit Edited Post' when you are finished
  5. Your message will be updated in the forum.
  6. Note: when you edit a message, a small note will be placed at the bottom of your message to indicate that it has been edited.

Forum Moderators

Our forums are moderated.  Please respect any messages posted by our moderators.