Welcome Member,
Our help facility should answer most questions relating to your registration and the use of our gradzone Forums. If you have any further queries, please contact our gradzone Forum Moderator at moderator@gradzone.co.za. We will respond to your query as soon as possible.

Member login and registration

» Why can’t I login?
There are several reasons why this could occur.
First, ensure your username and password is correct. If they are, contact the gradzone Forum Moderator to make sure you haven’t been banned. It is also possible that Gradzone may have a configuration error on our end and we would need to fix it, should this be the case you will be notified accordingly.

» I’ve lost my password!
Don’t panic! While your password cannot be retrieved, it can easily be reset. Visit the login page and click forgot password?. Follow the instructions and you should be able to log in again shortly.

» I registered but cannot login!
First, check your username and password. If they are correct, then one of two things may have happened. (The gradzone Forum does require new registrations to be activated). If you were sent an e-mail, follow the instructions. If you did not receive an e-mail, you may have provided an incorrect e-mail address or the e-mail may have been picked up by a spam filter. If you are sure the e-mail address you provided is correct, try contacting the gradzone Forum Moderator.

» I registered in the past but cannot login any more!
Attempt to locate the e-mail sent to you when you first registered, check your username and password and try again. It is possible the gradzone Forum Moderator has deactivated or deleted your account for some reason. gradzone does periodically remove members who have not posted for a long time to reduce the size of our database. If this has happened, try registering again and becoming more involved in discussions.

» Why can’t I register?
It is possible that gradzone has banned your IP address or disallowed the username you are attempting to register. Contact the gradzone Forum Moderator for assistance.

User Preferences and settings

» How do I change my settings?
If you are a registered member, all your settings are stored in the gradzone Forum database. To alter them, visit your User Control Panel; the link can be found at the top of the gradzone Forum pages. This system will allow you to change all your settings and preferences.

» How do I show an image below my username?
There are two images that may appear below a username when viewing posts. Depending on the used style, the first may be an image associated with your rank, generally in the form of stars, blocks or dots, indicating how many posts you have made or your status on the gradzone Forum. The second, usually a larger image, is known as an avatar and is generally unique or personal to each user. It is up to the gradzone Forum Moderator to enable avatars and to choose the way in which avatars can be made available. If you are unable to use avatars, contact the gradzone Forum Moderator and ask them for their reasons.

» What is my rank and how do I change it?
Ranks, which appear below your username, indicate the number of posts you have made or identify certain users. In general, you cannot directly change the wording of any Gradzone Forum ranks as they are set by the gradzone Forum Moderator. Please do not abuse the gradzone Forum by posting unnecessarily just to increase your rank. The gradzone Forum will not tolerate this and the gradzone Forum Moderator will simply lower your post count.

Posting Issues

» How do I post a topic in a forum?
To post a new topic in a forum, click the relevant button on either the forum or topic screens. You will need to register with gradzone as a member before you can post a message. A list of your permissions in each forum is available at the bottom of the forum and topic screens.

» How do I edit or delete a post?
Unless you are a gradzone Forum Moderator, you can only edit or delete your own posts. You can edit a post by clicking the edit button for the relevant post, sometimes for only a limited time after the post was made. If someone has already replied to the post, you will find a small piece of text output below the post when you return to the topic which lists the number of times you edited it along with the date and time. This will only appear if someone has made a reply; it will not appear if a Moderator edited the post, though they may leave a note as to why they’ve edited the post at their own discretion. Please note that normal members cannot delete a post once someone has replied.

» Why did I receive a warning?
The gradzone Forum expects members to use our facility in line with the set of rules and usage guidelines available on this site. If you have not read these, please visit the rules section which is situated next to the search bar at the top of the forum page. If you have broken a rule, you may be issued a warning. Please note that this is the gradzone Forum Moderator’s decision. Contact the gradzone Forum Moderator if you are unsure about why you were issued a warning.

» What is the “Save” button for in topic posting?
This allows you to save passages to be completed and submitted at a later date. To reload a saved passage, visit the User Control Panel.

Formatting and Topic Types

» What are Smilies?
Smilies, or Emoticons, are small images which can be used to express a feeling using a short code, e.g. :) denotes happy, while :( denotes sad. The full list of emoticons can be seen in the posting form. Try not to overuse smilies, however, as they can quickly render a post unreadable and a Gradzone Forum Moderator may edit them out or remove the post altogether. The gradzone Forum Moderator may also have set a limit to the number of smilies you may use within a post.

User Levels and Groups

» What are Moderators?
The gradzone Forum Moderator is an individual who looks after the forums from day to day. Our Moderator has the authority to edit or delete posts and lock, unlock, move, delete and split topics in any gradzone Forum. Generally, our Moderators are present to prevent members from going off-topic or posting abusive or offensive material.

Searching the Forums

» How can I search a forum or forums?
Enter a search term in the search box located on the index, forum or topic pages. Advanced search can be accessed by clicking the “Advance Search” link which is available on all pages on our forums.

» Why does my search return no results?
Your search was probably too vague and included many common terms which are not indexed by gradzone. Be more specific and use the options available within Advanced search.

» Why does my search return a blank page!?
Your search returned too many results for the webserver to handle. Use “Advanced search” and be more specific in the terms used and forums that are to be searched.

» How can I find my own posts and topics?
Your own posts can be retrieved either by clicking the “Search user’s posts” within the User Control Panel or via your own profile page. To search for your topics, use the Advanced search page and fill in the various options appropriately.
 
CONTACTING US

You may contact the gradzone Forum Moderator should you be experiencing problems that A: Have not been covered in this help section, B: Involve other members where you may want mediation or you may want to raise an issue.
Please read through the list of circumstances which will guide you in contacting the correct person:

For any issues relating to the following, please contact the gradzone Forum Moderator at info@gradzone.co.za

• Login
• Posting
• Formatting
• Membership
• Settings
• Searching
• Forum Accessing

• Your Post Amendments / Deletion
• Offensive Member Responses
• Offensive Posting
• Spam
• Unauthorized Advertising
• Use of another language besides English
• Adult content
• Violence or Abuse
• Unauthorized use of media