Receiving email notices when there is a new post to a topic or forum is called “subscribing.” Many forum users want to receive an email notice when there is a new post to a topic they have started or contributed to. Some would like to receive an email anytime there is a new topic in a forum they’re interested in. However, automatically opting a user in to receive emails to a forum or a topic is considered spamming, so this board, and many others, require you to “opt-in” to receive email notification of new posts. There are a few ways to handle this. Each is described below.
Subscribing to a Forum
This is the shotgun approach, but it’s a good way to keep current if you’re too busy to check on a forum regularly and click the “View new messages” link. For the sake of this example, let’s say you want to subscribe to the Classic Cougar Community Discussion forum.
- Login to the Forum
- Click on Board Index
- Click on Classic Cougar Community Discussion under “Cougar Community.”
- Scroll down to the light-blue bar at the bottom of the page and click the “Subscribe Forum” link.
That’s it! You’ve subscribed to the Classic Cougar Community Discussion. You’ll receive an email when a new topic is created.
Subscribing to a Topic You’re Reading
- Make sure you’re logged in.
- Click the “Subscribe topic” link in the light-blue bar at the bottom of the page within the topic itself
Subscribing to a Topic You’ve Started
When you’re composing your post, scroll down to the “Options” at the bottom of the page and make sure that “Notify me when a reply is posted” is checked.
Automatically Subscribe to All Topics You Post
If it’s a hassle to remember to check the “Notify me when a reply is posted” checkbox every time you post, and you’d like the box checked automatically for you, follow these steps:
- Make sure you’re logged in.
- Click the “User Control Panel” link right below “Board Index” in the upper-left section of the page.
- Click the “Board Preferences” tab.
- Click “Edit Posting Defaults” in the left column.
- Set “Notify me on replies by default” to “Yes.”
- Click “Submit” to save your changes.
Manage Your Subscriptions
Getting bombarded by too many email notifications? You can cancel subscriptions to particular topics or to forums via your User Control Panel.
- Make sure you’re logged in.
- Click the “User Control Panel” link right below “Board Index” in the upper-left section of the page.
- Make sure you’re on the “Overview” tab and click the “Manage Subscriptions” link in the left column.
- The forums and topics you’ve subscribed to are listed. In the right column labeled “Mark” are checkboxes beside each entry. To unsubscribe from a forum or topic, check the corresponding “Mark” checkbox and click the “Unwatch Marked” button at the bottom right of the form. There are “Mark All” and “Unmark All” links down there, too, if you want to use them to check/uncheck a lot of “Mark” checkboxes.