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Read a few discussions and get a feel for the site before you start posting messages. You should also check there isn't already a similar discussion going on before you start a new one.

Look for a discussion you're interested in. If it's got lots of recent posts you're more likely to get a reply.

If you can't find a discussion that interests you, you can start your own on most of the forums, by clicking the 'start discussion' button. Before you start a new discussion, it's always best to check if there are similar discussions already and please make sure that you stick to the subject matter. Off topic contributions may be removed. As well as the standard terms and conditions, messages posted to our boards are subject to the terms and conditions of the site.

You can edit and delete posts you've made. Just make sure you're signed in and click on the edit or delete button next to the post.

The forum is moderated on a daily basis. We use post-moderation which means we review all messages after they have been posted and remove those which break the Terms and Conditions. Our forum is not pre-moderated, meaning nobody checks your message before it is posted to the forum, so your message will appear on the board immediately.

We have terms and conditions in place to protect the people using the site and make it more enjoyable. They allow us to remove messages which:
- Might offend others
- May cause legal problems
- Break copyright. Only post your own words on the board, don't copy and paste from websites or other sources. This may be breaking copyright.

If you've started a discussion or found one that you're interested in click on the watch symbol .
It will then appear in your - 'My watched discussions' tab in the site navigation

People you meet online may not be who they seem. They can post information about themselves which may not be true and encourage you to build up a picture of them which is misleading.

If another user is abusive to you or makes you feel uncomfortable, you should contact us by using the report button. Please don't report anything just because you don't agree with it!

You can link to other sites from the boards by typing in a URL, e.g. http://www.newnaturalists.com

Use these to show how you are feeling. They're especially useful to show you're joking as people can't read the same tone into written messages as they can when you're talking to somebody face to face.