Tips on Using Multiply

The following tips on using Multiply were developed as answers to questions raised by Members. New Members will find that if they take the time to read them their visits to this site will be much more productive.

1. Your first port of call on Multiply should be your Inbox. There you will find a list of links to the latest postings on the TGS site. Click on the word Inbox at the top of any Multiply page, or better still, put a link on your Windows Desktop, or on your Links toolbar, or in your Favourites, that takes you straight to your Multiply Inbox .

2. The Inbox acts like the "What's New" feature on MSN, with the link to the latest posting always at the top. But each link gives much more information than you got on MSN, including title of the Blog ( we called them Threads or Discussions on MSN) in which the comment (message on MSN) appears, who started the Blog, how many comments have been made, how long ago the latest comment was posted and by whom.

3. Other things will appear in the Inbox, like personal messages that you have sent to or received from other members of Multiply. You will probably want to deal with those and delete them, but keep the links to the permanent Blogs.

4. Or you can go to the TGS site (click on Groups, then the TGS logo, then View Group Site) and click on Blog in the black menu bar just below the Thorne Grammar School title. That takes you to a page where all the Blogs are listed in a more compact form, but you will not be able to see where the latest posts are without going through all the Blogs in turn. On Multiply the order of the blogs does not change.

5. You can start your own Blog here on Multiply - just like we used to in the old days on MS Groups. To do that, click on HOME in the black menu bar just below the picture of TGS at the top of the TGS page, scroll down to the box titled BLOG, and click on + Add to Blog. One of the benefits of starting your own Blog is that you can see who reads it and when.

6. A Blog can attract hundreds of comments. If you chose the Chronological option at the head of the list of comments, they are all displayed on one page in chronological order starting with the earliest. If you choose Reverse the latest will appear at the top of the list. If you choose the Threaded option and there are more than 50 comments on a Blog, only the first 50 are shown on the first page, and a link appears after the 50th to take you to the later comments on subsequent pages.

7. If replying to a comment typed some time ago use the Reply link on the message you are replying to. Then your reply will appear next to the message you are replying to, provided the reader has chosen Threaded at the top of the page of replies. The threads are then much easier to follow.

8. When you type a comment (message) remember to use the Preview & Spell Check facility before clicking on Submit. It might spoil the spontaneity, but it could improve our understanding of your comment.

9. It's normal to have second thoughts, or see ways of improving the pearls of wisdom you are leaving for posterity. You can go back and "improve" your contribution by using the Edit link in the top right corner of any text you've posted.

10. When you post a comment or a message, the time of posting is recorded at the top of your post. But the time shown reflects the Time Zone you chose when you registered. If you skipped that item when registering, the time shown will be wrong (unless you live in the US/Eastern (-5:00 GMT) zone). To correct it, click on My Account in the top right corner of any Multiply page, then My Account Info, then scroll down to near the bottom of the page and pick your correct Time Zone (e.g. Europe/London (-0:00 GMT) if you are in the UK).

11. If you want to find a photo, go to Notes on the black menu bar. The third Note contains a convenient list of all the subjects covered by the photos. This list has links to the first album in each subject group, and you can progress from one album to the next by clicking the Next and Previous link at the bottom of the album page. You can also click on Photos on the black menu bar and use the links now provided in the first album, or just browse through all 2600 of them if you prefer!

12. If you want to communicate directly and privately with another member use the Personal Message facility. Click on his/her ID or "headshot". That brings up a menu including an item with a red balloon. Click on that balloon to bring up an edit box from which to send your private message. But it is important therefore for EVERYBODY TO LOOK IN HIS/HER MULTIPLY INBOX on a regular basis to see any private messages.

13. It is tempting to use the Guestbook to leave a message for another member whose site you are visiting, but the Guestbook is really intended for visitors to leave a comment on the "creativity" and "taste" exhibited by the site owner (see point 15 below). Your message will be on public view.

14. If you want to remove or edit an embarrassing message left on your Guestbook, click on View Guestbook in the top right corner of the Guestbook box. The View Guestbook option only appears if someone has made an entry in the Guestbook.

15. Browse through the Notes from time to time. These are intended as reference files, but they do get updated - particularly the Looking For file and this one.

16. If you get a bout of nostalgia, look through the History files, mysteriously called Review in that black menu bar at the top of the page. That's because the Admin people have not yet mastered all the intricacies of the site. Any member with a knowledge of CSS technology may be able to rectify that problem, and effect other welcome changes to the site.

17. Each of us has his/her own site where we can modify the image we present to the Multiply world. To go to your personal site click on the name you registered when joining Multiply (next to Inbox & Media Locker at the top of any Multiply page) and then click Customise this Site in the right hand margin to open up many possibilities. You can display your own photos, share your music or video clips, and start your own private blog. If you do so, invite a few friends to be Contacts. They will then receive links in their Inbox to all you post on your site.

18. And there is more to Multiply than TGS and Your Site. Try searching for other groups that share your hobbies/interests.

We all learn from other people's experience, so if you think you've learned something else about using Multiply that we could all benefit from - please add it as a comment below this Note.