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I don't have a clue how to use this site

Question asked by elvan on Jan 26, 2017
Latest reply on Jan 29, 2017 by KMC56

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Alright, I have been away and I am completely befuddled by this new format. I will make a decision at some point about whether or not I can continue here. I am not interested in gaming, quitting smoking is not a game, it is a one day at a time journey, perhaps I do not understand what has happened. I certainly do not understand the idea that there have to be so many rules. For one thing, many people, myself included, use capital letters to emphasize the importance of what we are trying to say, I do not think it comes across as anger. I also am profoundly offended that I am expected to alter my form of communicating and I am supposed to agree to certain conditions in order to be part of a community...yes a community that is supposed to be supportive and helpful to others. I feel as though I need to take some sort of course to be able to remain a part of the community. To read that Thomas, who is one of the most powerful contributors to this site, has decided to leave, is seriously devastating. I went away for a little over a week, I could not keep in touch because I had no wireless access. I have clicked on community help over and over again and nothing happens. Oh...do I have to agree to something first? Is that the issue. I am not using capital letters but I am feeling angry and I am not sure what I am supposed to do from here. I expected to return to the site and be able to easily move into the new format. I was not expecting so many changes. I am tired, I do not easily adapt to changes, I apparently need to take a course to learn how to use this site for the purpose I thought it was originally designed to do, I am sad.#@

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Jennifer-Quit-05-01-14 Jan 26, 2017 2:11 PM
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Ellen - This is only the second full day with the new site. Many who had a negative response at first are now putting their energy into learning how to navigate here - it really is not as bad as you think. There are many good things about the new platform. Do not give up before you even get started. I will help you any way that I can - I am not an expert - but I can find my way around.

The guidelines that we agreed to are not new - they were always a part of this community. I do not think that you or anyone else will be reprimanded because of using all caps occasionally.

WELCOME HOME ELLEN!

Look above at what is possible to emphasize something. Look at this as an adventure!

I will be happy to give you my number and I would be available to help tonight by phone.
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- joedice711 @ Jennifer-Quit-05-01-14 on Jan 26, 2017 2:34 PM
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  hi ellen! I feel the same way you do.......... but im willing to give it a try.. i,m so computer unsavy you would not believe.. jen is right and she will help you out.. your one of the main rocks around here we need you. I,m not around much but I always love to read the blogs.... everyone loves you ellen.
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Mark Jan 26, 2017 2:35 PM
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elvan Welcome back from your vacation. I hope it was relaxing. Sorry that you have come back only to become stressed. We certainly didn't intend on that.

The site has changed a bit and there are a wide variety of opinions at this point. We're soaking up all that feedback so that we can continue to improve. The old site had to be replaced and we looked at all the options and picked the best solution based on the feedback and needs of the community.

You are absolutely right about this not being a game. Yes there are quests so that people go through the different capabilities of the website to learn how to utilize the functionality available. It's not to indicate one person is better than the next. We're all equals. The more you know about the site and how to interact, hopefully the more able you are to benefit from interactions from others to quit.

There are rules to protect the members of the community. Unfortunately some people(usually the minority) think that when they're online that they can do anything because it is anonymous. When people act out against others, that's not ok. Quitting is hard, it's evident. I've read lots of posts on it. The CAPS rule is so that people don't get into shouting matches at each other. That's not constructive. Certainly if someone wants to provide emphasis on something then that's okay. We have some great formatting options now on the site that allows you to call out certain things. That's completely OK. Scientifically speaking it would be difficult to read a whole post in CAPS. Frankly, my head would hurt and I would probably stop after the second line. It takes more brain power to read all caps than it does lowercase because we read shapes, not letters.

As with all online communities there are rules you must accept to be part of the community.The rules are to keep the rule breakers at bay and protect the people who are there day in and day out. If there weren't rules and we let everything happen it wouldn't be a place anyone would want to be. Honestly I haven't had to enforce the rules that often but if someone is being abusive to another member of the community there needs to be something to reference to say... You broke X rule and so you need to either not do that any more you won't be welcome in the community. The community is sacred. It should be a place for everyone who wants to be here.

Yes the site has changed and things have moved around a bit. Most of the information is here but some is still pending (Message Board Posts, Forum Discussions and Private Messages). The old site didn't have a lot of "structure" or navigation so it appeared very simplistic yet we took something that was all over the place and consolidated things down as much we could to provide focus. Not everyone was into blogging so we have some lower effort options like Ask a Question and Start a Discussion to get more people involved.

We have a Getting Started Guide to help let you know how to do things on the site and we (scha EXProductManager) have people here who want help. If you have a question that isn't there you can post it in the Community Help area and we'll respond.

I'm not sure why you had trouble getting to the Community Help section. If it was your first time visiting the site after the move you would have had to accept the Site Rules before continuing if you had logged in. Once they're accepted then you can navigate around the site as normal. If you're just a Guest you can view the site without accepting the rules but you cannot participate. Because you have posted your question here, you must have successfully accepted the rules.

Please let me know how I can be of assistance. We've answered quite a few questions already so you can find answers by searching with the magnifying glass in the upper right. If you cannot find an answer, don't hesitate to ask a question here in Community Help and we'll do our best to answer it.

Mark
EX Community Manager
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RachelMB Jan 26, 2017 2:40 PM
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Welcome home Ellen! I hope you had a wonderful time in Martinique. The site definitely takes getting used to. I'm not very computer savvy, but I will help you in any way that I can. We can do this-it's just going to take some time. Definitely don't go away! We need you here!
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brittann3 Jan 26, 2017 2:42 PM
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elvan Jennifer is so right!! This is still new and even for newbies like me it's a lot to take in and learn! But I promise you, if you give it time, maybe decide to learn just 1 new thing a day, it won't be as overwhelming or intimidating. There were so many, many things we were unable to do on the old format and I for one am excited to see that the Ex community is growing enough not to be left in the technological dust like some other sites. I'm pretty psyched to learn the new things we can do with it. Look through the new processes and just take it one step at a time. And take someone's hand willing to walk you through it and I promise you will get the hang of it!!
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Strudel Jan 26, 2017 2:44 PM
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Ellen - Welcome home! We will figure this out....I promise! I am working on it right now. Although I am still frustrated (I feel your pain!), I am optimistic in thinking that slowly - but surely - we will find a way! Do a little at a time - otherwise it can be overwhelming. I want to know how to do everything I am used to doing here.....and I realize that isn't going to happen all at once. I will just come back each day and figure out as much as I can! TheGetting Started Guide Mark mentioned can be a starting place. I did at least get my profile page (kind of!!) set up.
So - one step at a time - but, we already know about that!! Please - hang on!
Love you!
Kathy
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- Marilyn.H.July.14.14. @ Strudel on Jan 26, 2017 3:14 PM
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  Frustrating yes but like quitting smoking this new format is doable, I gave myself a headache yesterday because I stayed on line way too long trying to figure it out. So today I'm taking easy but I've figured out quite a bit but have long way to go but I think it's going to be A OK....
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Giulia Jan 26, 2017 3:07 PM
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elvan Yes, it's a lot to take in. But as - who was it, Pops? said, just take it one step at a time. Not that much different than quitting smoking. We're all in this together and we'll all help each other figure it out. There are many beneficial functions, I think, on this new platform. The @ feature being one. Don't despair. And please don't go away. We need all our Elders here. We're part of the lifeblood of the place. Ya know? Have heart. If I can help (the little I've learned in two days), respond to this with an Giulia Or click on my avatar and if we're following each other you can send me a message.
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Marilyn.H.July.14.14. Jan 26, 2017 3:19 PM
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Welcome back Ellen, I'm sure you were totally overwhelmed coming back from vacation and probably thinking yikes what's going on but you can figure it out but not all at once, just maneuver around and check everything out, I'm still learning too but I think it's going to be great. I even posted a pic because it's so much easier, there's quite a few pluses, welcome back my friend and fellow Exer.....
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Jennifer-Quit-05-01-14 Jan 26, 2017 3:29 PM
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Well gosh Ellen - you started a discussion, have commented on other people's posts, and rode the train! I think that is a great start!
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- cheyenne7 @ Jennifer-Quit-05-01-14 on Jan 26, 2017 10:14 PM
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  ...are you allowed to write in purple : ))
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  - Jennifer-Quit-05-01-14 @ cheyenne7 on Jan 27, 2017 2:10 AM
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    Apparently so -I have not been reprimanded as of yet!
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kristen-9.7.15 Jan 26, 2017 3:53 PM
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Hi Ellen!! I am glad you are here! You'll get the hang of it.
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Silverstar Jan 26, 2017 4:35 PM
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Welcome back, Ellen, I missed you terribly! I hope you navigated the various transportation venues with minimum discomfort. That said, I agree with everything you wrote, and briefly considered calling it Quits altogether, but couldn't figure out how to find an admin and ask how to take down my presence! So, here I am, still working on getting around....

I have decided to continue as I did on the old platform: catch up with people by reading blogs and comments (replies, now, I suppose), and continue my own journey through my blog, whether anyone is reading it or not. I haven't gotten around to responding to new members, which I regret, but hope to find some non-learning curve time to do that soon.

A lot of people are suffering, this has been a safe place and I think big changes challenge that feeling of safety, at least it does for me. While I don't appreciate being scolded for having a difficult time, I will continue to call things as I see them even while I am working on adjusting. I hope to see you in my daily struggles....

Sending you a great big hug.
Jacqueline
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crazymama_Lori Jan 26, 2017 5:03 PM
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welcome back. I have figured out some very simple manuevers around here until I have time to explore other things. They really need to put more tutorials or at least an option of viewing one, but they're working on it. here's the link: Now, I'm getting the hang of this
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cheyenne7 Jan 26, 2017 10:13 PM
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Hi Ellen!!
Well join the gang.....this is very frustrating, agreed!!
When I first opened it, I too had to "agree" to the rules.....I'm impressed you read them, I didn't....I figured in order to move on, I must click the "agree" button. I Imagine I'll be breaking rules and be thrown off, probably on my quit day or shortly after.
Had no idea one couldn't capitalize.....are we in kindergarten?
Hope your trip was nice.....I was in Martinique a billion years ago, I remember it being quite beautiful, sadly poor, but the island/water was beautiful.
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Giulia Jan 26, 2017 10:42 PM
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For those Elders of us from the other platform, a while back, if you recall, we had a bit of a rile up concerning the new "rules" that seemed to be implemented with the advent of our new Admin. And I thought we had gotten over that. Once you understand the community, obviously CAPITAL LETTER ARE FINE! To make points. The rules are standard procedures on most social sites (I think, I don't belong to any, but I think you have to abide by the same kinds of rules.) It's really common sense. You're not going to be PUNISHED because you use capital letter for emphasis. Or purple letters, or the Big Font feature. (Good grief, why would they enable such if they were concerned about CAPITAL LETTER usage! But, hmm now I don't see that font feature available on my response here.) Unless it's a really nasty, hate filled comment - come on. Common sense. It's all about common sense.
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- cheyenne7 @ Giulia on Jan 26, 2017 10:48 PM
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  One would hope so.....it should be a comfortable place to come too for such a serious cause.
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  - Giulia @ cheyenne7 on Jan 26, 2017 11:05 PM
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    I think it will be, that we will find that comfortable "home" that we've been used to. It's only been two days since the change. And its a MAJOR change for us all. I look at it like quitting - we want it all to be over with immediately, we want that magic bullet. But education takes time. If you look at it from a quitting perspective, it's really not that dissimilar, I think.
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    - cheyenne7 @ Giulia on Jan 26, 2017 11:31 PM
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      Yeah, I think a big part of the issue is that it is such a major change.....but it is what it is.....let's hope for the best, I believe they want this to work and will tweak what they can to make it more comfortable.....glad you're staying around!!
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TerrieQuit Jan 26, 2017 11:29 PM
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Oh, Ellen, What a thing to walk right into. We are all a little befuddled right now, it will take us a while to get used to all of this but as always here at EX together we will do just fine. We will pitch in and help one another, I can already feel it happening!
WE LOVE YOU, ELLEN AND WE NEED YOU RIGHT HERE. I WOULD NOT HAVE SURVIVED MY EPISODE 50 DAYS AGO WITHOUT YOUR AND MANY OTHER AWSOME ELDERS SUPPORTING ME! So, please let's walk this through together like we have everything else. In a week, I think you will look at it quite differently!
I hope you did some fun things and some resting while you were away! You will need it, we have people that need our support, learn some, and support some! Hugs! ~Terrie~
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jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007 Jan 27, 2017 7:16 AM
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NewMe Jan 27, 2017 8:55 AM
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Ellen, we all love you and have been so inspired by your stories of strength and perseverance in the face of incredibly difficult situations. I already know you are a strong woman who is very capable of learning to find her way around new and difficult situations. All of us were overwhelmed when we opened up the new site, and said to ourselves "Holy ____, I don't have a clue what's going on here!" But if you apply some of the same strategies you used to quit smoking (i.e.- one step at a time, there is a learning curve here, and I will be patient with myself, etc.), we can all get there. I have been quite alarmed to see several people who I know were instrumental in my successful quit say that they were leaving because they hated the new format. I say try to stick it out and maybe learn one new thing per day. You and some of the other long-term elders have inspired so many people to stick with their quits, and that is a very beautiful thing. If we can quit smoking, we can do this! Meanwhile, here's my goal for today. @Jennifer and @Terrie, how do I write in color? I got all excited when I saw pink and purple, but I couldn't find it on the toolbar.
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- jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007 @ NewMe on Jan 27, 2017 9:04 AM
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  I'm guessing you create the color in your word processor and paste it?
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NewMe Jan 27, 2017 9:09 AM
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jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007, I thought that might be the case, but that seems like something too time-consuming for me. Although I am awfully fond of pink and purple!
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- ShawnP @ NewMe on Jan 27, 2017 9:14 AM
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  I am on phone so it's hard for me to exactly tell u but at the end u can expand toolbar where u r typing in message board. Look at fonts. There are ones to enlarge, the type of font and color.
  
  Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device
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NewMe Jan 27, 2017 9:20 AM
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ShawnP, Thanks, I'll give it a try.
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jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007 Jan 27, 2017 10:06 AM
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Yes It Works
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- jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007 @ jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007 on Jan 27, 2017 11:08 AM
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  the three horizontal dots to the right of the camera symbol are where you expand the toolbar.
  Font size and colors are on the expanded toolbar on the lower level.
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plug66 Jan 27, 2017 11:48 AM
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welcome back ellen...try to hang in there, I'm not real impressed either, but do want to be able to stay in touch with the friends I've made here....its gonna be tricky..@shashort...she is amazing...no matter what, she can still laugh in the face of adversity....she is aware of all your thought and good wishes
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tjanddj Jan 27, 2017 2:00 PM
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Welcome home Ellen! I just recently went through a format change on my nutritional site. A lot of complaints about it at first from the oldies but they took it one step at a time and got through it and now enjoy all the added features to it. They just had to get through the adjustments. Minor fixes had to be done when it first came out over there too. It is all working out. It now has a nice flow to it and beginning to feel like home again over there. Give it time Ellen it will work out. Hugs Trudy
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elvan Jan 27, 2017 2:09 PM
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Getting there a very little bit at a time, I am, as I said, exhausted, and feeling intensely weepy, this was sort of the last straw. I cannot stop coughing since I got home, cannot find many things I know I packed and I have to work tomorrow and Sunday. Perhaps it will do me good to be around people, not sure at this point. Thanks for all of the support.
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- ShawnP @ elvan on Jan 27, 2017 2:13 PM
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  Hope you will feel better elvan
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- Silverstar @ elvan on Jan 27, 2017 6:04 PM
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  may the healing begin....
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Barbara145 Jan 27, 2017 5:49 PM
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Hi Ellen. I have been thinking about you and your trip. When you feel like it write a blog and tell us all about it. Glad you are home safe and sound. I hope it was wonderful. I was very upset about the changes also. I am coming around. You will too. As usual everyone was pretty wonderful about my whining.
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Daniela-3-11-2016 Jan 27, 2017 11:55 PM
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Hi Ellen, just look at the responses you got, how many people found their way and time to welcome you back, and you will find it too! No need to worry, don't know how to do it, use conversations/content/start a discussion and give us the chance to get back to you. Much like the HELP in the subject line newbies are encouraged to use.
Welcome back dear lady, it is so good to see you here!
And look, we even got Emotions, this is you in Martinique!!!
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Sootie Jan 28, 2017 6:25 PM
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Ellen-----Well! As you can see we are all still here! You are just a bit behind....we all had our hissy fits a few days ago! Tommy is still here and I believe Storm is also. Barbara is adjusting and Teddy too. You've already found how to write a blog....that's all you need for now. You can explore the rest of the site at your leisure. It is hard to travel these days........exhausting. Take a deep breath, go and rest, all will be well with your soul!
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Giulia Jan 28, 2017 6:36 PM
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This might help: OLD EX TO EX INSTRUCTIONS
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KMC56 Jan 29, 2017 5:35 PM
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Welcome back Ellen!!!
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I don't have a clue how to use this site

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