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Here, we will explain the purpose and usage of the forum.

Page Sections

What is a forum?

The forum is an electronic bulletin board where users can ask questions about issues or uncertainties they have with KandaSearch or Apache Solr and share useful information. It is available for anyone to use, anytime, for free.

To use the forum, access the KandaSearch website and select 'Forum' from the menu.
You can also directly access the forum from here.

By registering as a new user on KandaSearch and participating in the forum, you will be able to post new topics and reply to existing ones.
To register as a user, click 'Sign up' at the top right of the forum page. User registration is free. It is very easy to register, and you can start participating in the forum immediately.

For more details on how to register, please check Creating and Managing User Accounts.

KandaSearch Users and Forum Users

To post new topics or reply to existing ones on the forum, you need to register and log in as a KandaSearch user. However, your KandaSearch username will not be displayed within the forum. Instead, you can set a 'nickname' on your user profile page to identify yourself within the forum.
The nickname is initially set to 'Nickname not set'. For better communication, we recommend using your own friendly nickname.

Main Features of the Forum

The main features of the forum are as follows:

  • Topic list
  • Search (using the KandaSearch website's search functionality)
  • Posting new topics
  • Viewing and replying to topic details
  • Viewing user activity
  • Managing user profiles

Topic List

On the forum's home page, you can view a list of topics within the forum.

  • The list of topics is displayed in order of the most recent topic creation date or reply date.
  • Each row displays the title, topic creator (nickname), topic creation date, number of replies, status (Open/Close), and the latest post date and poster (nickname).
  • Clicking on the title will display the detailed page for that topic.
  • Clicking on a nickname will display the user information page where you can check that user's activity.
  • At the bottom of the topic list, there are links (pagination) to navigate to other topic list pages.

Search

To check if there are already similar posts in the forum before creating a new topic, use the 'Search' feature.
To use the search function, click the magnifying glass icon at the top of each page.

The search feature uses the search functionality implemented on the KandaSearch website. Clicking the magnifying glass icon will display the search page with the category set to 'Forum'. Enter the content you are looking for in the search box and click 'Search'.

On this search page, you can choose between semantic search or keyword search.
For example, if you want to search for the details of an error in plain language, use semantic search. If you want to search by error code or error message, use keyword search.
Attached files specified at the time of posting are also subject to search.

Please note that forum posts are indexed at regular intervals for search. Therefore, recent posts may not appear in the search results immediately.

Posting a New Topic

Here are the steps for posting a new topic:

  1. Access the Forum and click 'Log In' at the top of the page to log in.
  2. Click '+ New Topic' at the top of the forum's homepage (topic list).
  3. Once the topic creation page appears, enter a title and content for your topic. Clicking 'Preview' allows you to preview how your post will appear live after posting. Click 'Continue editing' within the preview screen to return to the editing page.
  4. Finally, click 'Post' to submit your topic.

You can edit or delete a topic on the topic details page that appears after posting. More details will be explained in the next section.

Notes.
(1) In the body field, markup using Markdown syntax is possible. However, please note that some Markdown features may not be supported. The main supported Markdown syntax includes:

#        H1
##       H2
###      H3
####     H4
>        Blockquote
-        List
number.    List
**text**   Bold
backticks  Code
[xxx](#yyy)  Link
![xxx](#yyy)  Image

(2) You can attach files such as images (.jpg, .png), ZIP files (.zip), and text files (.txt) when posting. There are no restrictions on the file type. You can also attach files without an extension. The maximum file size that can be attached is 1 MB, and you can attach up to 3 files.

(3) Mermaid syntax is supported when posting. This allows you to represent complex diagrams such as graphs, sequence diagrams, and flowcharts using simple text notation.

Viewing Topic Details and Replying

Clicking on a topic title or after posting a new topic, the topic details page will be displayed. On the topic details page, the following actions are possible:

  • Viewing the topic and all replies to that topic
  • Editing or deleting the topic
  • Replying
  • Editing or deleting replies
  • Obtaining links to the topic or replies
  • Closing or opening the topic

Let me provide a bit more detailed explanation about the above points.

Viewing the topic and all replies to that topic

On the topic details page, all replies to the topic, as well as the topic itself, are displayed in chronological order, starting from the oldest post date.

Editing or deleting the topic

On the far right of the topic title row, there's a vertical ellipsis icon. Clicking on it will open a submenu, from which you can select 'Edit Topic' to access the topic editing page and make changes to the topic.

Selecting 'Delete Topic' allows you to delete the topic. If a topic has no replies, deleting it will remove it from the topic list entirely. For topics with one or more replies, deletion is still possible, but the title and content of the deleted topic will display 'This post has been deleted' to preserve the associated replies.

Replying

Scroll down to the 'Reply to this Topic' section at the bottom of the topic details page, enter your text in the text area, and then click 'Post' to submit your reply.
Additionally, at the top of the topic details page, clicking on '+ Reply to Topic' will instantly navigate you to the 'Reply to this Topic' section, which is convenient.

In the 'Reply to this Topic' section, you can also preview your reply in real-time, just like when creating the topic.
Furthermore, Markdown syntax is available within the text area.

Editing or deleting replies

Clicking on the vertical ellipsis icon at the far right of the title row of the reply you want to manipulate, then selecting 'Edit Reply' from the submenu that appears allows you to edit the reply.

Selecting 'Delete Reply' enables you to delete the reply. If there are no other replies below the reply you want to delete, deleting it will remove it from view entirely. You can delete replies with other replies below them, but to preserve the chain of replies, the deleted reply's content will display 'This post has been deleted'.

Clicking on the vertical ellipsis icon at the far right of the topic or reply you want to manipulate, then selecting 'Copy Link' from the submenu that appears, will copy a URL directly to the anchor from which you can access the topic or reply via a browser or other means to your clipboard.
By sharing this URL with other forum users or members of external communities, you can facilitate appropriate and swift information sharing.

Closing or opening the topic

The creator of a topic can close or reopen it.
When a topic is closed, replies and edits are no longer possible. This feature is handy for the topic creator when the issue has been resolved or no further replies are needed.

Additionally, if there is no activity in terms of replies or edits to the topic or replies within a certain period, the system will automatically set the topic to closed.

Note.

  • Even in the closed state, it is still possible for the creator to delete their own posted topics or replies.

Viewing User Activity

Clicking on a nickname at the top of each page or on the nickname displayed on topics and replies will bring up the user information page.
On this page, you can confirm the following information about the user:

  • Nickname
  • Profile
  • Website and social media URLs
  • Number of topics and replies posted
  • List of topics posted by the user
  • List of replies posted by the user
  • Link to the user profile editing page (available only for logged-in users)

Managing User Profiles

Clicking on the gear icon at the top of each page or on 'Edit User Profile' within the user information page will display the user's profile editing page.
On this page, the following edits can be made for the user:

  • Nickname
  • User icon
  • Profile
  • Homepage URL
  • Social accounts (URLs of social media)

Notes on Using the Forum or more

  • Before using the forum, please read the Terms of Service.
  • The copyright of posted content on the forum belongs to the user who posted it or the copyright holder of the content used. For more details, please refer to KandaSearch's Terms of Service.

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