Join us
How to become a member
Click on "Community" at the bottom of the main menu, then on the "Register" button. The terms of use will be displayed. If you click on "Agree" then a registration dialog will be displayed - it requires a Login Name (for logging in with, e.g. "luke") and a Display name (for display purposes, e.g. "Luke Skywalker"). The Display name will be displayed as Author of forum posts and articles, and also in the "Who's Online" list, i.e. it will be visible to guests (and search engines). So please make a conscious decision whether to use your real name as your Display name or not. If not, it is still possible to enter your real name into your personal profile, which is only visible to logged-in members (not to search engines).
Display names need not be unique within the community, but Login names must be for logging in (so if you chose a Login name which is already in use you will be notified and must choose a different one). Registration is captcha-protected and also requires your email address, which will receive a registration activation email. Click on the link in the email to activate your new account. After that you can log in.
On successful login you arrive at your personal settings page of the community manager. Here you can add personal data to your profile, set your preferences, go to your personal community message box or log out. The login page also allows you to select or upload an avatar (picture), which may not exceed 100 x 100 pixel or 8kb, and can be uploaded as jpg, png, gif or bmp.
Your private community message box, which is also accessible when logged in from an Infobox at the bottom of the right column, allows you to send messages to one or more members, and to receive messages. In the settings dialog (available from the bottom bar of the message box) you can elect to receive an email if a new message arrives while you are logged out (while you are logged in you will get a popup notification).
The members area
After you log in a menu "Members area" appears below the main menu. This allows access to the "Private Biographies" area (for those who want to submit a biography only accessible to members), explains how to publish articles, and allows you to create a new article.