Note on Using the MIX Message Board

We will use the MIX Message Board to simulate class discussion. You can post questions here, and everyone in the class can reply and comment.

BUT there is one tricky feature of the Message Board, namely, how to post a message so that it can be replied to.

When you first use the Message Board, it seems that all you have to do is Post a Topic. However, Posting a Topic is NOT Posting a Message (a message that can be replied to).

So here’s how it works.

When you go to the Message Board, you first Post a Topic. When you click on this feature, you get a page for Title and Description. Here you put in the Title of the topic to be discussed and a short description of what it’s about. For instance, your Topic might be “Exercises” and your description might be “the due-date of the exercises.”

Having done that, you click Post. That brings you back to the main screen. To post an actual message, you then have to click on the name of the Topic you’ve just created, which is under the Topic List. When you do that, you get a screen for Post a Message. You then fill out the Subject and the Message.

Once you post this, someone can read your message and then use the Reply feature.

So what you end up with is a series of Topics, with Messages – that can replied to -- under each one. The Replies then form a Chain of Responses.

Dr. Miles