1. The basic idea

APBoard is a discussion forum. A forum is a place where people write messages that stay visible and can be answered later. You do not have to be online at the same time as other people.

The forum is divided into areas so that every discussion has a sensible place. The most important words are easy once you have seen them once:

• A category is a large group of boards.
• A board is a place for one topic area, for example announcements, questions, or a specific project.
• A topic is one discussion inside a board. It starts with the first post and then other people can reply.
• A reply is an answer inside an existing topic.
• A profile is the public page of a user. It can contain a pinboard, recent activity, and profile information.

2. Registering, logging in, and staying logged in

To write posts, reply, manage your profile, or use private areas, you need an account. Registration starts with your email address. APBoard sends you an email with an activation link. Open that link and choose your password.

After activation you can log in with your email address and password. If you tick remember me, your login lasts longer on the current device. Only use that option on your own computer, phone, or tablet.

If login fails, APBoard shows a general error message. This is intentional. It protects accounts because outsiders cannot test whether an email address is registered.

• If the registration email does not arrive, check the spam folder first.
• If an activation link no longer works, it may have expired or already been used.
• Use a password that you do not use on other websites.
• Log out on shared devices when you are done.

3. Finding your way around

The main navigation at the top links to the important public areas. Some links only show useful content when you are logged in, because private data and writing functions require an account.

Most pages use clickable titles. If a board name, topic title, username, or button looks like a link, you can open it to see more.

• Home takes you to the main forum overview.
• Members shows the member list. You can search, sort, and open profiles from there.
• Online shows users who were recently active, unless their privacy settings hide this information.
• Messages is the area for private messages when private messaging is available for your account.
• Usermenu contains your own settings, including account data, profile data, privacy, post display, and pinboard posts.

4. Reading topics and writing replies

Open a board to see its topics. Open a topic to read the discussion from top to bottom. Long boards and long topics can have several pages. Use the pagination links to move between pages.

If you are logged in and have access to a board, you can create a new topic from that board. A new topic needs a clear subject and a first post. Choose a subject that tells other people what the discussion is about.

Inside a topic you can use the fast reply editor at the bottom. Write your answer, check it once, and submit it. Your reply appears in the topic after it is saved.

• Stay on topic. If you want to discuss something different, start a new topic in the right board.
• Use a short and meaningful subject for new topics.
• Quote only what you need when answering. Long unnecessary quotes make topics hard to read.
• A locked board or locked topic cannot be used for new normal user posts.
• If you cannot see a board or cannot reply, your account probably does not have the required access rights for that area.

5. Using the editor and uploads

The editor is the large text box used for topics, replies, profile text, signatures, and pinboard content. It lets you write normal text and, depending on the field, use formatting such as links, lists, emphasis, and simple structure.

Upload rules are shown near the editor where uploads are allowed. APBoard checks file type, file size, and image dimensions. Images are processed safely before they are stored.

If an upload fails, check the file type and size first. A file can be rejected even when its name looks correct, because APBoard also checks the real file type.

• For profile pictures, use a normal image file such as JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, AVIF, or BMP if the installation allows it.
• For cover images, the image must match the required cover size shown by the profile form.
• For pinboard teaser images, use JPEG, PNG, or WebP. The image is cropped to the teaser format.
• Do not upload files that are unrelated to your post or profile.

6. Subscriptions, notifications, and likes

When you are logged in, topics can show a subscribe or unsubscribe button. A subscription means you want to follow that topic. If notifications are enabled for your account, APBoard can email you when there is a new reply.

Replies can also have a like action. A like is a small signal that you found a reply useful or agree with it. It is not a reply and it does not replace an actual answer when you have something to say.

• Use Subscribe in a topic when you want to follow future replies.
• Use Unsubscribe when you no longer want updates for that topic.
• Use Usermenu -> Notification Settings to control email notifications.
• Use likes sparingly. If your response needs words, write a reply instead.

7. Members and online list

The member list helps you find people. You can search by name, sort columns, open a profile, and, when available, start a private message from the action buttons.

The online page shows users who were recently active. It can also show where someone was last seen in the forum. This depends on privacy settings.

Privacy settings apply to these lists. If a field is hidden, you may see an empty value or a placeholder instead of the real information.

• Use the search field if you know part of a user name.
• Click a column title in the member list to sort by that column.
• Click a username or profile button to open the public profile.
• If someone is missing from the member list, they may have hidden themselves from that list.

8. User profiles

A profile is a public user page. It can show a cover image, profile picture, username, member information, a pinboard, recent activity, and an about me section.

What you see on another profile depends on that person's privacy settings. What other people see on your profile depends on your own privacy settings.

• Pinboard shows blog-style posts written by that user.
• Activities shows recent forum activity, such as posts in topics.
• About me shows the profile text when it is visible to you.
• The profile picture and cover image are managed in your own profile settings.

9. Your account and profile settings

Open Usermenu -> Account Settings to change basic account data. Open Usermenu -> Profile Settings to change the information shown on your profile and in posts.

Changes usually take effect immediately. If something still looks old, reload the page once.

• Account Settings: change email address, public name, language, style, timezone, date format, and time format.
• Profile Settings: upload your profile picture and cover image.
• Profile Settings: enter birthday, zip or postal code, city, country, gender, quote, about me text, and signature.
• Profile Settings: add optional social links such as website, Matrix, Mastodon, Friendica, Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram.
• Password Settings: change your password. You need your current password for this.
• Post Display: choose which profile fields should appear next to your forum posts.

10. Privacy settings and post display

Privacy Settings control who can see your profile information. Each field has a visibility level. Hidden means nobody else sees it. Logged-in users only means guests cannot see it. Public means everyone who can open the page can see it.

These settings affect profiles, the member list, the online list, and post sidebars. They also affect your own forum posts when other people view them.

Post Display is separate. Privacy decides whether a field may be shown at all. Post Display decides whether an allowed field should appear next to your posts. A hidden privacy field stays hidden even if Post Display is turned on.

• Visible in member list controls whether you appear in the member list.
• Last login controls last activity and last location display.
• About me and signature control whether those rich text fields are visible to others.
• Email is hidden by default. Only make it visible if you really want other people to see it.
• After saving privacy settings, open your public profile to check what the page looks like.

11. Pinboard posts

The pinboard is your personal blog area inside your profile. It is useful for longer updates, announcements, notes, or articles that belong to you rather than to a forum topic.

Manage your own pinboard under Usermenu -> Pinboard. You can create posts, edit them, delete them, and decide whether each post is published or still a draft.

Published pinboard posts appear on your profile. Draft posts stay in your pinboard management area and are not shown as public posts.

• Title is the main headline of the post.
• Subtitle is optional and appears below the title when set.
• Teaser text appears in the profile list before the Read more link.
• Teaser image is optional and is cropped to the pinboard teaser format.
• Content is the full article shown on the pinboard detail page.

12. Common problems

Most problems have simple causes: you are not logged in, you do not have access to that board, an upload does not match the rules, or a privacy setting hides the information.

If something still does not work after checking the list below, contact the forum team and describe exactly what you tried, which page you were on, and what message you saw.

• I cannot reply: log in first, then check whether the topic or board is locked.
• I cannot see a board: your account may not have access to that board.
• My upload fails: check file type, file size, and image dimensions.
• My profile data is missing: check Privacy Settings and Post Display.
• Times look wrong: check timezone, date format, and time format in Account Settings.