There are many different ways to share information and ideas (on the Web and otherwise). Each affords different advantages and has different constraints. For these particular discussions we're using what's called, generically, a Web-based discussion board. This one, specifically, is called HyperNews. It's not a personal Web site, but it does offer people a way to put text on the Web easily, and it organizes the text differently than an email archive does.

Here's how you use it. You need to be connected to the Internet; once you are, it works the same way wherever you happen to be.

Get there

1. Open a browser. I recommend Mozilla or Mozilla Firefox, but they're not always available. Most people use Internet Explorer, and that's okay; as far as I know, it works fine with Safari, on a Mac, as well.
2. Start at the English 2223 main Web site.
3. Go to the link to the Testing HyperNews forum

The first step is to "register" on the forum. Here's how you do that.  The form looks more complicated than it is; if you follow the steps below fairly closely it won't be a problem.  You might want to print out these instructions and set them next to your keyboard.

1. Click on the Register button at the bottom left.
2. Now you're at a "Membership Form." In the space called User ID, enter your STU logon (gwxyz or whatever). The program is case-sensitive, so I recommend entering it in lower case (gwxyz, not GWXYZ) just to be consistent.
3. In the space called Email Address, guess what? (Remember to include the @stu.ca part. I use lower case for this, too, though it's not necessary here.)
4. Skip down to Name; put your name there (in the same form you put it on the 3X5 card).
5. Skip down to Register or Update (don't bother with the "password" windows; you don't have one yet), and click that button.

Changing your password

Start by reading your mail to get the password and copy it, like this:

1. Open a new Browser window, using File, New, and Navigator Window from the upper left pulldown menu.
2. Go to the STU mail server, log on to your mail, and look for mail from "Owner-HyperNews@www2.stu.ca"; open it.
3. Read what it says. What matters most here is the part where it says "Your Password is: 'whatever'." Highlight that password with your cursor (make sure not to include the quotation marks).
4. Copy it (right click while it's highlighted and click "Copy," or go to Edit and Copy in the pulldown menu).

1. Go down to the link under "Changes can be made at any time by visiting:," and click it.
2. You'll probably now be on the Membership Form.
3. Check to make sure your information's correct, then
4. scroll down to the section where there are two "New Password" windows.
5. Enter a new password -- one that you can remember -- into the slot. (It says not to use your Internet Login Password, but I have never found any problem with that, and it makes my life a lot easier to have one less password to remember.)
6. Click the "Update" button.

Posting

Now, let's post your text.  First of all, it needs to be formatted appropriately.  Like this:

1. In a new window, open it in whatever word processor you wrote it in.
2. Delete any indents or spaces at the left margin (this is important.  If you don't do it, your text may not be readable. HyperNews, like most older computer programs, doesn't know how to handle indentation).
3. Make sure your text is single-spaced. Double space between paragraphs, if there are more than one.
4. Proofread it.  Run the spell checker. Save it.
5. Finally, mark and copy all the text.

1. Go back to the main course page, and click on the link to "The list of plays, and links to the discussion Forum for each play"
2. Choose the play you've written your reflection on.
3. Scroll down to the "Add" button, just above "Register."
4. Enter your gwxyz ID and your password -- the one you just changed it to (if you're still in the same browser session, the machine will usually remember who you are and you won't have to log in again).
5. In the "Title" slot, enter a title that will give a hint to your reader what you've got to say.
6. Scroll down to the "Enter Your Message here" box.
7. Paste the text you marked earlier into the window. Make sure paragraphs are separated by double spaces, and are not indented.
8. Under Kind of Message, here, you can do whatever you like. I usually click News for a first posting.
9. Click on "Preview your message." Take a good look at the preview.  (This is important. Don't skip this step. If your document has problems, it's very difficult to fix them after it's been posted.) Proofread it. If it's not readable (for instance, because the text trails off the right side of your screen, or the paragraphs have disappeared, you can fix it by using the Back button, which will take you back to the editing screen. Here are some things to try if your text isn't to your liking:
1. Change the document format from Smart Text to Word Processor
2. Delete any empty spaces at the beginning of lines (Smart Text, especially, doesn't like them)
10. You may have to re-enter your password every time you Preview the message.
11. When you're sure it's okay, press the "Post your message" button. Read the message that will appear.