Interdisciplinary Studies computer conferencing (WebBoard)
Managing your list of new messages...

In using this computer conferencing system, you probably work from your list of new messages.

List of new messages and link "Mark All Conferences Read" outlined in red

Since messages stay on the list until you remove them, the list can get unreasonably large without your active intervention. You can clear out the list of new messages by clicking on the link Mark All Conferences Read, outlined in red in the Figure above, but be careful before you do this, or you may miss some messages. Here is how this can happen:

Your list of new messages is updated each time you log on, but not during a session. In other words, if someone else is posting while you are logged in, you will not automatically see their messages on your list (you won't see your messages during the session either). If you click on Mark All Conferences Read, all of the messages posted during the session will also be marked as read, and you will never see those on your list of new messages. How can you avoid missing these messages?

To force an update of your list of new messages during a WebBoard session,

1. Click on the black-and white button MARK ALL READ
   
2. A list of conferences displays, with the number of new messages in each.
   
3. To update your list of new messages, click on the link Show New Messages.

By the way, you can use the screen above to mark all the messages in a give conference read, by clicking on the conference link. If you belong to several conferences, or if there are a lot of messages in The General Conference that you don't want to deal with, this is a good way.