Key Features Of The AFDA Bulletin Board
The AFDA Bulletin Board
is a highly sophisticated system that provides AFDA members with key interactive features far beyond the typical
bulletin boards on the Internet.
It's worth taking a moment to review the following features in order to take full
advantage of what our
board has to offer:
- Individual Bulletin Boards
For Each Federal District
- This bulletin board is
programmed so that each federal district can have its own individual bulletin board. After
you have registered, you will enter the bulletin board main page, which lists the
categories. Each category is itself a separate and distinct bulletin board. You will see
the names of individual federal districts listed as category headings. These category
headings are links, so when you click on the heading, you enter that district's bulletin
board. Within that message board are FORUMS, each of which contains topics and messages.
Thus, AFDA members within each district can communicate with each other on this board.
This is particularly helpful for the CJA panel in each district. A specific forum for the
CJA panel exists within each district's message board.
- Private Forums For AFDA
Members
- This is a great feature which
allows AFDA members to have their own private areas in which to post messages. An example
would be a group of co-counsel on a large case, who want to post messages in confidence
regarding issues and strategies in the case, but don't want anyone outside the defense
team to have access to these messages. Another example is the message board for the CJA
Panel in each district, which is an area the panel attorneys in that district may want to
have exclusively to themselves without other AFDA members having access. To have a private
forum is very easy. Just send an email request to Mark Sanders, the web administrator, at:
defense@afda.org.
- Serve As A Moderator
- AFDA members are welcome to
serve as moderators for specific forums. The Moderator is the director of a particular
forum. It is important that the moderator have an established background in
the subject matter of the forum so that s/he can serve in a leadership role.
Responsibilities include: alerting forum participants to key issues or legal
developments that fall within the subject matter of the forum; overseeing the flow of
message discussions; making sure participants comply with bulletin board rules; providing
guidance to members on how to use the message board; and developing new topics and message
threads that keep the forum informative and fresh. If you would like to be a
moderator of an existing forum, or you have a particular forum topic in mind, send an
email to Mark Sanders.
- Infinite Number Of Forums
- There is no limit to the
number of forums in any category. Let's say you're in the category entitled,
"California: Central District". You will see that several forums already exist.
If you feel that a new forum should be created, send Mark Sanders an email suggesting the
subject matter. We can add as many forums as we wish within each and every category. While
the programming capability of this board gives us limitless options, the Administrator of
the board will ultimately determine the number of forums in any particular category so
that the board doesn't become unwieldy.
- Personal Profiles
- You are welcome to set up
your own profile, with your photo, professional information, and link to any web site
address you already have. Users who read your messages can click on the profile icon next
to your message. AFDA is pleased to upload your *gif or *jpeg files to the web site so
that your profiles can have photos. Simply send your picture file as an email attachment
to Mark Sanders.
- Private Email Replies To
Messages
- You may respond to a message
either by posting a reply message, or by clicking the email icon and sending a private
email message to the author. Private messaging is a very nice feature of this
bulletin board.
- Search Engine Within
Bulletin Board
- You can search the bulletin
board using keywords and phrases
- Personal Signatures On
Messages
- You can create your own
personal signature which will appear at the bottom of messages you post. This can include
your office address, phone, fax, email and web address. If you are a certified specialist,
it's recommended that you reference this in your signature.
- Message Writing Styles
- The board provides style
options such as italics, bold-faced and bullet lists. You can also insert a message
written in html, such as an excerpt from a web page.
- Links To Your Personal Web
Page
- When you post a message, you
can display an icon that links directly to your Internet home page.
- Edit / Delete Your
Messages
- You can edit or delete your
own messages at any time. So never worry if you post something you later wish you hadn't,
or want to change. The board is programmed to allow you to edit your messages at any time.
- Edit Your Publicly
Displayed Name
- When you register for the
bulletin board (there's no charge for this), you will select a name that will be publicly
displayed in your posted messages. This may or may not be your actual name (it's up to
you). We recommend that in a professional setting like this, you use your actual name. The
board is programmed to allow you to edit your publicly displayed name at any time.
- Reply With Quotes
- You can quote an individual
message in a reply. Just click the "Reply With Quote" icon located beside the
message.
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