Boards are a key element of Ancient Worlds since they are where the members of this virtual world meet and interact.

Getting Started on the Boards

First go and look for "AW Central".  From this central Board you will find a dedicated discussion board called, "Welcoming Newcomers"  Here you will find a thread called "Introductions" where you can open a new message and introduce yourself.  Most messages go something like this:  "Greetings, everyone!  My name is Eridu Gilgamesh and I am a new resident of Mesopotamia.  I have heard so much about this place and I am excited to be here.  I am majoring in Ancient History at USC.  I look forward to talking to many of you.  See ya!" You will also find at this Board an area devoted to Newbie help and other topics which may be of interest to newcomers.

As well as announcing yourself centrally, you will almost certainly find a Board in your World where you can also make your arrival known. This is your chance to start meeting some other members of AW who may have similar interests. You will also almost certainly find that your World has a Welcoming Committee, who will post a personal welcome at your home on your message board and give your some links and contacts. All of this is part of trying to make you feel part of the community here at Ancient Worlds. However, in posting at Boards do remember the discussion threads are sorted in descending chronological order, so the newest stuff is up at the top, and the oldest stuff is down at the bottom.  Start at the bottom and work backwards.

Next, you will want to spend some time "cruising the boards."  You will find many interesting discussion groups and message threads to read.  You will probably want to post a message or two to the free boards, and write down the names of the Special Groups that capture your interest.  While reading the discussion boards, you will notice that the author's name is highlighted.  By clicking on the author's name, you can proceed right to their home page to discover more about them.  You can also leave a message for them at their home page!

Groups, Discussion Boards and Posting

There are countless boards, representing countless topics. These boards are topic oriented threaded message conversations.

There are various types of Boards and Groups which exist at Ancient Worlds. There are two kinds of discussion boards, Public and Special Interest Groups.

A public board tends to be described as a "Board". There are some of these created at site level and each World has its own public Boards as well. Visit AW Central to get a quick overview; if you look on the left hand side of the page you should see the main public boards with the AW boards at the top and the World public boards below them. The Special Interest Groups are called "Groups." and can be accessed via The Hall of the Groups of Ancient Worlds. As you will see from the Hall of the Groups of Ancient Worlds the Groups are divided into three categories: Academic Centres, Historical RR and RolePlay Groups. These categorisations are also used at World level for the Groups there.

You are permitted to browse around and read postings from all of these areas.  As a member of Ancient Worlds, you are permitted to participate in the Public Fora - you can post your own messages as well as reading them. Anyone can participate in the Public Boards of each World; however, you must become a member of the Special Interest Groups to gain authorship privileges.

Choosing a group takes you to its main screen.  From here, you are able to view a list of the members of the group, read the postings, or sign up to become a member.  The message threads can be quite interesting and can take hours to go through.  Unlike other messaging systems, however, AW does not "indent" threads - so sometimes, it can be a little difficult to follow.

To become a member, you need to apply to each group you're interested in.  As a Novice (and indeed as a Citizen), you will be limited to membership in only one board.  So, obviously, most Novices spend a lot of time "shopping around" until they find the Special Group that most interests them.  If you decide that you wish to leave a Group, there is an option allowing you to "Unsubscribe," freeing up a slot so you can go join something else.  In order to Apply to a Group, a user would go to the main page for that Group, and towards the bottom of the screen click on "Apply." Usually the user is asked to give a brief statement as to why they wish to join the group.  You also agree to pay a joining fee which is deducted from what is in your cashbox and is non- refundable if you leave the Group.  After a day or two, upon review by the Group Supervisors, the individual is either admitted or denied.  If admitted, this means that the individual will not only be able to read the message threads of the Group, but they will now be able to post their own messages, thoughts, and ideas as well.  They will also find the Group membership fee deducted from their cashbox at their home!

You will also notice, against the names of Group members in the membership list, the word "more" and against their name in posts the label saying "Group Profile". Both of these take you to a page which gives details of the individual's Group membership activity including access to the various posts they have made. This can also be quite useful to you in terms of tracking your own activity within the Group.

[Posted by Frontinus Sempronius and based on The Beginner's Guide]

AW official pages on Discussion at Ancient Worlds

Last updated 22 January 2006