Visit The Lighting Portal web site at www.thelightingportal.ucdavis.edu. In the upper right corner, there is a “Login” box that permits new users to register. To view the forum area, click the “Forum” button in the main navigation. If a user is not logged in as a registered user, the forum will recognize that user as a guest. At the top of the page, there are links to the “Login” and “Register” pages. New users are encouraged to register and participate in The Lighting Portal Forum by posting questions, links to beneficial resources, and information on pressing topics related to lighting efficiency.

Registration is required for users to participate in The Lighting Forum, to add comments to the other sections of the site, and to add content to The Lighting Portal Calendar.

Users have the choice to remain anonymous when registering a new account. A pseudonym can be created for the user name identification in order to keep real names confidential during online presence and posts. This may be of interest to many users when creating a new account on The Lighting Portal in order to keep the source of information and topics neutral.

A forum is a public meeting place for open discussion of various topics. Online, a forum may also be referred to as a bulletin board or discussion area. Forums come in all shapes and sizes. The main objective is to provide an area where users can interact with questions, answers, and discussions on a given topic – in this case, lighting energy efficiency. Each topic can hold various related posts, similar to a discussion. The main topic and all its subsequent replies are grouped together to make it easier to keep track of the “conversation.” This related set of posts is referred to as a “thread.”

There are Web etiquette practices for the proper use of online forums. Professional use of the discussion boards is required by The Lighting Portal, and those who register agree to abide by these rules. The rules are also listed in the Code of Conduct in the “Rules” section of the Lighting Forum. Common violations of these practices include spamming, advertising topics not related to lighting or energy efficiency on the forum, and using derogatory or offensive language. Postings on The Lighting Portal with this type of content will be removed. View the “Rules” page within the forum to see the official Lighting Portal Code of Conduct.

Forum use varies on difference websites. The Lighting Portal requires a visitor to register in order to participate in the discussion board. In general, it is required to create an online identity (user name) to be used on the forum and as the Login ID; this can be a fictional name to maintain anonymity. While some forums are free, others have a paid membership requirement. Participating in The Lighting Portal is FREE. Be sure to read the privacy policy before creating an identity online.

Some forums allow “Guest” access so it can be viewed before joining. This is a good way to check out a forum before deciding to join. The Lighting Portal allows any guest to view the Forum, but guests are not able to actively participate in the Forum dialogue or add comments to other parts of the site. Visitors will need to Login to be able to participate.

To register to the Forum, use the “Login” box in the top right corner to create a user ID and password. This will allow access to the Forum, read what has previously been posted, start new threads, and reply to existing discussions.

A discussion topic, also called a “thread,” is made up of two or more related posts within a topic and related replies. On the other hand, a comment is an individual post. The Forum and General Website Discussion categories are built to host threads of conversations, while the iSource comment submission area is dedicated to individual posts of information.

Content may be contributed in a few ways. The topics of the contributed information determine where to start. The Forum is currently divided into two main categories: The Lighting Forum and General Website Discussion. The Lighting Forum category is then split into separate sections to delineate between different, broad topics. Within each section, dialogues cover different aspects to topics (e.g. section “light sources” could contain threads on new products, research questions, troubleshooting, applications, etc.).

To begin a new discussion topic (i.e. “thread”) within the Lighting Forum and General Website Discussion areas, click the “New Thread” button from within one of the section headings (see diagram). A form will display where the user may enter a title and information or comment. The new post may be previewed by clicking “Preview.” If the thread preview is acceptable, click “Submit,” otherwise click “Cancel” to delete the form.

Another valuable way to participate is by replying to an existing discussion thread. Replying to a current thread can be made as either a quick reply, or a regular reply. A quick reply will post as a statement within the discussion thread already started. A regular reply will post a new discussion box as a reply to the previous topic.

To begin a new discussion topic (i.e. “thread”) within the Lighting Forum and General Website Discussion areas, click the “New Thread” button while in one of the section headings. A form will display where the user may enter a title and information, then click on the submit button to post.

Registered users can post documents and images as attachments to posts. Under the text box on the reply page, there are two upload boxes: one for image files and one for other files. Browse for the file you would like to attach and click “Open” to insert the file into the form. To preview the post as it will appear online, press the “Preview” button. To delete the attachment in the post, highlight the file name with the cursor in the upload box, and press delete. If the information and attachment are correct, press “Submit” to send the information to be posted online, otherwise press “Cancel” to delete the form and begin again.

If posts in the forum or other areas of the Website appear to be damaging to the Lighting Portal or violate The Lighting Portal Code of Conduct, please make a note of the time and place where the event occurred and contact the Webmaster at mablevins@ucdavis.edu immediately.

RSS is a set of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts. An RSS document, which is called a “feed,” “web feed,” or “channel,” contains either a summary of content from an associated Website or the full text. RSS makes it possible to keep up with favorite Websites in an automated manner rather than checking them manually.

RSS content can be read using software called an “RSS reader,” “feed reader” or an “aggregator.” The initials “RSS” are used to refer to the following formats:

Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)
RDF Site Summary (RSS 1.0 and RSS 0.90)
Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91)

RSS formats are specified using XML, a generic specification for the creation of data formats.

Click on the orange square icon on the lower right corner of the Lighting Portal Forum pages to be taken to a subscription form. There is a “Submit” button to allow subscription to the RSS feed. A “feed” of new information posted to the site will be sent directly after subscription.

Become a subscriber to topics of special interest on The Lighting Portal. A subscriber will be enabled to receive notices when new information is posted to the topic and be provided access to view posts specifically on that topic. While in a thread of information in the forum, next to the option to “Reply,” there is a “Subscribe” button that can be clicked. This will add your profile to a group of subscribers on the particular topic.

How do I know if a website offers feeds?

When you first view a website, Internet Explorer will search for feeds. If feeds are available, the Feeds button will change color and a sound will play.

How do I view a feed?

When you visit a webpage, the Feeds button will change color, letting you know that feeds are available. Click the Feeds button, and then click the feed you want to see. To get content automatically, you should subscribe to a feed. Click Related Topics to learn how to subscribe to a web feed.

How does a feed differ from a website?

A feed can have the same content as a webpage, but it's often formatted differently. When you subscribe, Internet Explorer automatically checks the website and downloads new content so you can see what is new since you last visited the feed.

How can I automatically get updated content?

You can receive content automatically by subscribing to a web feed. When you subscribe to a web feed, you set the interval at which Internet Explorer will check the website for updates. Once you've set an interval, Internet Explorer will automatically download the most up-to-date web feed list. Click Related Topics to learn how to subscribe to a web feed.

How can I view my subscribed feeds?

You view feeds on the Feeds tab in the Favorites Center. To view your feeds, click the Favorites Center button, and then click Feeds.

Can other programs display my subscribed feeds?

Yes, Internet Explorer provides the Common Feed List to other programs. This allows you to subscribe to feeds with Internet Explorer and read them in other programs, such as e-mail clients.

The most common time users have difficulty logging in is on the first attempt. When registering, make sure a confirmation email is received. If the confirmation email has not been received, see the instructions below. Within the email, there is an activation link that has to be clicked in order for new accounts to become active and for Login to be available. Make sure to open this email and click on the activation link. Log In should then be accessible. If the activation link was clicked, and there is still an issue logging in, email the Webmaster at mablevins@ucdavis.edu.

If a confirmation email has not been received, please check spam and junk mail folders to see if it was routed there. If the confirmation email still can not be located, try re-registering to ensure email address is entered correctly. If the email address entered has already been registered—meaning that it was previously submitted into the system—an error message will appear. If the email address was submitted correctly, and the confirmation e-mail has not been received, please contact the webmaster at mablevins@ucdavis.edu.

Categories may be suggested in the General Website Discussion forum, through the “Missing Something?” topic. To do this, create a new thread to post suggestions of valuable topics and information that may be missing from the forum. The site administrators will review this area regularly, and create new categories and sections to house the new information.