NOTE: These release notes are carefully and closely monitored. Any changes you make will be evaluated and then quickly accepted, refined, or reverted. Make sure you leave a comment (in the Edit tab) to explain any changes you're making. Do you need forum support? See MSDN and TechNet Forum Support.
Getting Started How do I sign in to Forums? How do I create my Forums Profile? How do I create a post? How can I be notified of a reply to my post? How can I tell who posted a post in a thread? User Profiles, Registration, and Login Why do I need to register? How do I register for a Microsoft Windows Live™ ID account? What is a Forums Profile? How do I register for a Forum? What is a Display Name? How do I edit it? Why am I receiving an error while setting my Display Name? What is a Signature? How do I edit it? How do I add an Avatar to my Profile? How do I change it? I already signed in to Forums, why do I get signed out automatically? How do I avoid Spam? What is the "Use NNTP Bridge" option in My Settings? System Requirements and Issue Reporting Which browsers and operating systems are supported by Forums? What are the recommended screen resolutions for viewing Forums? Should I have scripting enabled on my browser? How do I report issues with the Forums? Notifications How can I be notified about new posts in the Forums? What are alerts? How do I sign up for alerts? How do I unsubscribe from alerts? How do I manage the settings of my alerts? How do I view all threads that I am subscribed to? Why is my Forum notification missing? What is the RSS icon next to the Forum name or thread subject? What happens if I say "I do too" for also needing an answer to a question? Navigation What is a Forum? What is a Thread? What do the Thread icons mean? How do I know where I am while in a Forum? How do I quickly navigate to another Forum? How do I view all threads that I posted or started? How do I locate the Forums for a Brand? How do I get to a Forum's Home page for a Locale? How do I view top answerers? How do I search for a user? How do I view threads for a user? Why would a user be banned from the Forums? Can I view a list of banned users? Why is the Forums Home Page not displaying any Forums? When I view a Forum, I do not see any posts. Why? What is a Sticky Thread? What is a Locked Thread? Posting How do I post a new message? How do I reply to an existing message? Why am I unable to post a new message? How do I edit my posts? How do I rate a post? How do I delete my posts? Why am I unable to delete my post? How do I cancel submission of a thread? Why my post has words replaced with ***? How do I indicate a post answered my question? Why should I indicate a post answered my question? How do I report abuse? I have reported abuse but no action has been taken. What can I do? New Features How do I propose a reply as an answer? How do I quote a post in a reply? How do I receive live alerts for the modifications made to a thread? Can I include code in the reply that I post to Forums? How can I preview a thread? How do I view the reply hierarchy in a thread? How can I mark all threads in a forum as "read"? New My Settings Page Auto Update Alerts My Forums What is the "Use NNTP Bridge" option in My Settings? What happens if I say "I do too" for also needing an answer to a question? Searching for Answers How do I find the right Forum? How do I browse Forums? How do I search threads? How do I use filters? What do the new filters allow me to do? How do I find answered questions? How do I find questions to be answered? How do I search for posts in a different language? What if my language does not appear in the Forums lists? Recognition System Recent Forums Recognition Changes How does the new recognition system work? How do I get points? How do I get achievements? I used to have more points, what happened? I deserve more points or achievements, what do I do? Moderation How do I move a thread? Why am I unable to move a thread? How do I edit a post in a thread? How do I delete a thread or message? Why I cannot delete thread or post from a Forum? How do I view deleted threads? How do I restore a deleted thread or message? How do I post announcements? How do I post a Sticky Thread? How do I unlock a Locked thread? How do I create posts in moderator-only Forums? How do I know I have been added as a moderator or an answerer? I have heard about escalating threads, how can I do that? Glossary of Terms Answerer Brand Category Community Forum Forum Owner Forum Moderator Locale Post Spam System Administrator Thread Other See Also Other Languages
After creating the subject of your post, the page will search and display related messages that have already been posted. This may be useful if you have a common question or are about to post a topic that others have already posted.
Finally, you can submit the post by clicking the Submit button. Back to top How do I reply to an existing message? To reply to a post, click Reply displayed with the post. You can also quote an existing message as reply by clicking Quote next to the post that you want to quote as reply. If you do not see the Reply or Quote options when viewing a post, you either do not have permissions to reply (you may need to sign in first) or the post does not allow replies.
Back to top I have reported abuse but no action has been taken. What can I do? If you have not seen any action on your report, and suspect that the Forum is not being actively monitored, you can request action by clicking the Site Feedback link at the bottom of any Forums page. Back to top
Moderators cannot delete a thread or post from a Forum if the thread contains an answer. The options for deleting the thread are disabled after it is marked as an answer. Forum Moderators can still view the deleted threads and restore them. Back to top Why I cannot delete thread or post from a Forum? Moderators cannot delete a thread or post from a Forum if the thread has been marked as an answer. The options for editing and deleting the thread are disabled after it is marked as an answer. Forum Moderators can still view the deleted threads and restore them. Back to top How do I view deleted threads? Moderators can view deleted threads by clicking All Threads drop-down, and then clicking Deleted in the Forum view. Back to top How do I restore a deleted thread or message? Moderators can restore a thread or message by clicking the Edit drop-down next to the post, and then clicking Undelete. Back to top How do I post announcements? Moderators can post a new announcement by clicking Create at the top of the Forum. You can then create the post in the editor, and click Submit. The announcement appears at the top of the thread list and is visually different from other posts. You can edit existing announcements by clicking Edit next to the announcement. To delete an announcement, click Delete next to the announcement. Back to top How do I post a Sticky Thread? To post a Sticky Thread, Moderators should post the new thread and then select Make Sticky in the thread view. A Sticky thread appears at the top of the list of threads and is visually different from others. At any point in time, moderators can remove the sticky status of the threads restoring the thread's original position and date time in the Forum after the sticky time set by you ends. Back to top How do I unlock a Locked thread? To unlock a Locked thread, open the locked thread and select Unlock Thread. Back to top How do I create posts in moderator only Forums? You can create posts in moderator only forums only if you have the rights of a Forum moderator or Forum Owner by clicking Ask a Question in the top of the page. Back to top How do I know I have been added as a moderator or an answerer? You know that you have been added as an answerer, when you see options to mark any reply as an answer. As a moderator you will also have options to perform tasks such as making threads sticky, locking, moving, and deleting threads. Note that as a moderator, you will not be able to split or merge threads and forums. When viewing the list of forums in a forum category, those which contain ("You are a moderator of this forum") below the title are forums you have moderator rights to. Back to top I have heard about escalating threads, how can I do that? Forums recently enabled the ability for MVP affiliated moderators to escalate threads that need Microsoft's immediate attention. This feature must be enabled by the forum owner using some internal tooling. By default this feature is NOT enabled so most forums will not allow for escalations. For further questions about this feature MVP Moderators can contact their Forum Owners using existing communication channels. Back to top
The Different Roles in MSDN and TechNet Forums How to Find Out Who the Moderators Are in an MSDN or TechNet Forum How to Ban or Report a TechNet or MSDN User Account How to Get Hyperlinks in Your Microsoft Forum Signature How to Sort a Forum Thread by Threaded Conversation Whether or Not You Should Self Propose an Answer in an MSDN or TechNet Forum How to Become an MSDN or TechNet Forum Moderator Moderating Microsoft Forums How to Become an MVP or MCC