Messages on the board are arranged in "threads." Threads are posted in different forums (for example, "beginner scrapbooking" or "general stamping"). A person who posts a new message starts a new thread, and then other people can reply to that message and add to the thread. Every time someone adds a new post, the thread moves back up to the top of the board.

You will need to be logged in to post on the message board. If you see the "login" link in the top right corner of your screen, that means you are not logged in. Enter your username and password and click the "login" button. Once you are logged in you can:

Post a New Message: From the Message Boards home page you will see on the left side menu a link that says "Create a New Post." Click on it to post a new message. If you are viewing a thread you can also create a new post by clicking on the link that says "post new topic" at the bottom and top of each thread. Select the forum where you would like your thread to appear. Choose a descriptive title for your post. It helps to be as specific as possible. "How do I stitch in Adobe Photo Deluxe?" will probably get you an answer sooner than "Help! I can't figure this out!" You can choose an icon to appear next to your message title. If you don't choose one it defaults to the "book" icon. You also have the option of choosing to have all replies e-mailed to you. Enter your text, hit "submit." If you need to, you can go back to your message and edit by clicking the pen and paper icon in your message.

Reply to a Message: When you are reading a thread, you will see a "Post a reply" link at the top and bottom of the thread. Click on this link to add your own message to the thread. Replies can also be edited if necessary.

When you post a message you will see Insert PeaCode buttons below the text box. These buttons do different things: Make your text bold or italicized, or add links or images. The URL button adds a link. Click the button, paste the address of the site you want to link to into the box that pops up, click "OK," then type in what you want your link to say and click "OK" again. Please keep the Terms of Use in mind when posting links. When refering to something another poster has said, you can use the "quote" button and paste their words between the [quote] [/quote] tags. This will set off the text in a quote box.

You will also see a row of smilies that can be inserted into your message. Typing :) will give you or you can add the smilies by clicking on them. You can also add smileys from other sites by using the image button and pasting in the URL for the image.

When you are logged in, you will see three icons at the top of each thread. The plus sign indicates you can Add this Thread to Bookmarks, and the magnifying glass icon indicates you can Add this Thread to your Watch List. The Watch List can be accessed by clicking on "my watch list" on the left-hand side menu from the message board home page. The last icon allows you to report a thread if you believe it violates Two Peas' terms of use. You may also submit a help ticket from the service center if you would like for us to review a thread.

If you have a slow computer or a slow internet connection, you can use the "Hide Icons" and "Hide Signatures" links (just below each thread) to help the board load faster.

When reading the board, you can click on any person's username to view their profile and posted layouts. If you want to contact that person, you can send them a Peamail through their profile. There are icons under each username in the message boards. The plus sign indicates you can add the member to your bookmarks. The man icon indicates you can ignore the member. The paper icon allows you to add the member to your address book. The last icon indicates you can report the user if you believe they have made a violation of our terms of use.