What is/How to use an IN & OUT board

So you want to form a Group Series - 5

What is an IN & OUT board
How do you use it?

         An IN & OUT board is a simplified version of the Message Forum. With an IN & OUT, once your set up is complete it requires little to no maintenance. Generally used for the posting of thoughts, answers, and items, it can be very effective for a variety of things. The posts themselves required no immediate response by the host.

         Quick examples of an IN & OUT would be the ever famous Plug Page or Review Forums, which can be found in your Item Jumps pull down menu.

         The setup of your IN & OUT requires the standard, title, description, and text sections. You have the option to set it up so that a response can include an item number including title and description, or just a title. The convenience of time stamping each entry so you know how long it has been there. You may also give the option for a member to leave a comment or description with their post.

         The advantage of the IN & OUT is in how you set up your post requirements. You are given the option to have a board that will include 10, 25, or 50 posts listed at any one time, without switching pages to see all the entries. You may also set your preference as to whether new entries will be listed first or last.

         The purpose of the IN & OUT is to allow new entries to replace old entries. For example if you set your board to 25 posts, when the board actually has 25 posts listed, and the 26th post comes in, the 1st post will be permanently deleted automatically. This keeps your board fresh and clean and will hold no more posts than you originally set. If you are find that what you set your post limit at is wrong, with the edit feature you can change your post limit.

         On the set up page of your IN & OUT you will find the following features that you need to determine how you would like them set:

Display Order: Newest Last/Newest First
choose one or the other

Require Item IDs: No/Yes
by marking this feature with a yes the member can enter just the number for their item without having to worry about ML codes.

Show How Many Entries: 10/25/50
choose how many entries you want to see on a page, remember that when the list has reach the maximum number of entries, each new entry will remove an old entry automatically

"Posted By" Text:
"Item Posted" Text:
"Time Posted" Text:
"Post Body" Text:
the above lines will reflect your choice for text that the member sees when adding an entry.

"One Submission" Text:
in this spot you would list what it is that the entry represents ie: review, sign in, sign up, contest, answer, or whatever else you may be using the form for.

Some idea's to use an IN & OUT for would include:

Review Requests: In a group format there will be times when the members of your group will review each other's work. Rather than fill up your forum with excessive posts for reviewing, and the chance that some requests will be lost if you have an active forum, you can open an IN & OUT.

Member Sign In: While some groups are very busy others are more relaxed. At times it could be hard for the group moderator to know if members still want to be active in the group. By creating an IN & OUT, a member can easily sign in once a month to let you know they are still alive and want to remain in the group.

Contest Submissions: Sometimes you might want to hold a contest, but don't have time for the sociability of a forum atmosphere. An IN & OUT requires no direct response and members are free to submit at any time without explanation, and know that their entry has been accepted.

Group Recruit: Looking for new members, want to know who would be interested in joining the group. Interested parties can sign up with an IN & OUT. This as well give you a quick reference to the latest recruits.

Ask & Answer: Have a question that just needs an answer. Have a request like add a joke or quote. Send someone a happy note. With the IN & OUT, you can post your question or request in the text area of your set up, and then allow everyone the opportunity to answer the question or request in a brief post. The advantage to this would be that you would not be required or expected to respond to each entry.

         While there are many uses for an IN & OUT board, as you become more familiar with Stories and the members you will develop your own ideas.