Forums FAQ

Introduction

A1.	What are Sun Forums? Sun Forums are a free community support resource (message board) that is available to anyone who wants to read questions and answers or contribute to discussion topics posted on the site. It was originally set up as a service for the developer community where the developer product groups got valuable feedback concerning Sun's products and technologies. Product managers at Sun use these boards as a resource for gathering information and developing programs for Sun technologies. It has many regular, vocal and opinionated subscribers. Mostly software developers, architects, engineers and users of Sun products and technologies participate in discussions posted on the forums site. IT managers and managers of development teams as well as students also participate. Organized by topics in an easy-to-follow format, discussion forums are designed so you can quickly locate information, find other knowledgeable users, and participate in conversations. In short, each technology area on the message board provides a forum for lively discussion in all areas of interest to users of Sun's products. Forums.sun.com is organized by topics in an easy-to-follow format. Discussion forums are designed so you can quickly locate information, find other knowledgeable users, and participate in conversations. In short, each technology area on the message board provides a forum for lively discussion in all areas of interest to developers.
A2.	How do I keep track of upcoming changes and announcements from the Forums team? You can set a watch on the Forums News and Updates category. The Forums team will post messages to keep you up-to-date on outages, changes, and future plans.
A3.	How do I give provide feedback on the Forums? Please use the Feedback link to send suggestions and report issues to the Forums team. The link is available on the left-hand navigation bar and also above each thread when you are logged in (next to the Report Abuse link).
A4.	Are the Forums moderated? Posts and threads are not reviewed by Sun before posting. The Forums team reviews all abuse reports and takes appropriate actions with regards to the threads and accounts involved. Feedback requests for new enhancements and reports of issues are read and considered by the Forums team.

Registration & Login

B1.	Do I need to register to use the Forums? You can read messages at any time. To post or reply to a message, you have to be a registered Forums member and you must have logged in.
B2.	How do I register? To register, simply click 'Login' on any Forums page. From the Profile Management page, you can log into your existing account or register for the first time. Choose a login id / screen name during this step. The login gives you access to your Sun Online Account. During your first trip to the Forums after registration, you choose your screen name, that is, the name that the community will see and know you by.
B3.	How do I login? To login, simply click 'Login' on any Forums page. From the Profile Management page you can log into your existing account. During your first trip to the Forums after registration, you will choose your screen name (the name that the community will see and know you by).
B4.	How can I tell if I am logged in? The top-left corner of the forums pages display a welcome message with your screen name if you are logged in. If you are not logged in, you see a login prompt instead. If you are not logged in and attempt to post or reply to a message, you are prompted to log in.

Getting Started

C1.	What is the Code of Conduct expected of participants in the Sun Forums? Please use the same common courtesy in the Forums as you would in any other public place. People use these boards as a resource for gathering information and developing programs for Sun technologies. Discussion and debate is welcome, senseless argument is not. Please read the Code of Conduct for more details. The forums administrators will delete posts, threads, and accounts as necessary. If a single post is deleted, please note that all replies to that post and all replies to those replies are also deleted. Even if your abusive behavior is in response to abusive behavior, you will have your message and possibly your account deleted. When you encounter abusive behavior, report it and ignore it.
C2.	I've never posted before, what should I know? Welcome to the Developer Community! We'd like you to get the most out of your experience at the Forums. Please keep in mind that the many of the developers who help you are working for a living, and all of them are providing you with free advice. It is only fair for you to do some homework first prior to posting. Here are some suggestions from the developer community to the newest members. To avoid wasting fellow members' time unnecesarily, please use the following checklist before posting a question: Search before Posting: Especially if you are in a hurry, you may find that the question has already been asked and answered during the long history of the Forums. Know the basics: Read this FAQ and the basic trails of the Java Tutorial (like Getting Started or Learning the Java Language). If you don't understand the question you are posing, you may not understand the answers. Be thorough and precise: Proofread your question before posting. Describe the steps that you have taken. The more effort you put into researching and describing your problem, the more likely you will get a sincere effort in return. Post a subject line that describes the problem: Experts in your subject may skim right past subject lines like "Urgent" and "Need help ASAP". Use keywords about the technologies instead. Post once and in the right area: Multiple postings are allowed, but they make the category lists longer and create more email traffic for developers who have placed watcheson multiple categories. Because of this, duplicate posts are considered a waste of time and an annoyance to many community members, that is, the people who might help you. Post a problem, not an assignment: Break your assignment down into specific problems that you can ask for help with. Dorm hall lounges may be a better resource if you have a last minute, "urgent" demand for solutions to homework problems. Answer questions as well as asking: You can learn by doing as well as gain respect in the community by being a full participant.
C3.	How do I read the message board? Technology areas are broken down into categories and sub-categories. Click on the area that interests you and then on the subject line of a thread. You can also click on the links in the 'Popular Discussions' area in the left-hand naviagtion bar or use the search box to look for keyword-related threads, both available on the left-hand navigation bar.
C4.	How is forum content organized? The content in the Forums is structured as follows: Forum Categories: Categories can represent a collection of forums as well as other categories. Often, categories are used to organize forums into a tree structure so members can find the right discussions more easily. Forums: A Forum is where individual discussions take place.Each discussion is listed as a topic under the Forum. Topics: Topics (also known as &qout;threads &qout;) are the discussions. A topic consists of one or more messages displayed as a list, or in a tree structure of indented messages and their replies. Messages: Messages are the individual discussion posts made by community members. Replies: Message replies are posts in response to other messages and are organized in a flat or threaded mode.
C5.	How does the search box work? The search box on the left-hand navigation bar performs a specific search on the Forums pages, limited to the Forum sub-category that you are currently viewing. Enter one or more keywords to refine the search to only those messages that contain the keyword(s). Once you have seen the search results, you can expand or narrow your search to additional Forum categories or Developer site resources. There is also a 'Sun wide' search box at the top of every page. You can use that to start a general search that includes the entire Sun website, not just the Forums. For more information, please see the Search Help.
C6.	What does the 'New Messages' icon mean? When you are logged into the Forums, you might see an icon indicating which messages have been posted since the last time you were logged in:
C7.	Why am I not able to access some threads in the search returns? Some of our forums are private and require access approval in order to participate.

User profile & settings

D1.	How do I view and maintain my profile? To view your profile, click on your name anywhere you see it in the forums as a link. Your profile page appears with your profile information and recent messages. To edit your profile settings, click on the 'Forums Settings' link in the left-hand navigation bar and fill in or change your information as you wish. You can choose to make your name, email address and/or online presence hidden or visible to other community members. The default setting is as follows: Email address: Hidden Name: Hidden Online presence: Visible.
D2.	How do I view author profiles? You can view the profile for any author who has posted to the Community Discussion Forums and who allows his or her profile to be viewed. To do this, click on the author's name anywhere you see it in the forums as a link. The author's profile page appears with the author's information and a list of their most recent posts.
D3.	What is a screen name? Your screen name is how the other community members will 'know' you. It is the identifying name given when you post or reply in the forums. The screen name is your public name, your login ID is your private name used to access the account. Your screen name can contain 3-30 alphanumeric characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9) and "-" (dash), "_", (underscore), "@"(at sign), or "." (period).

Posting

E1.	How do I post to a topic? You must have a registered Sun Online Account to enable posting. To post a message to a topic while logged in, select the topic and click on the 'Post new topic' link provided. If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to log in when you select the 'Post new topic' button.
E2.	How do I reply to a message? Every message has a 'Reply' button at the top, to the right of the author's name. Click this link and reply to the message. If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to log in when you select the 'Reply' button. You can include the original message, which appears as a quoted message in the body of your reply. When you finish composing your message, click either the 'Post' link to or 'Preview' link.
E3.	If I post a message, will I receive unwanted messages (spam)? You should not receive unwanted messages (spam) because your email address is not revealed as a default in the 'Forums Settings'. You can choose to reveal your email address in your profile or you may reveal your email address by typing it into a post or adding it to your signature. If you choose to do any of those things, you may be putting yourself at risk of receiving spam.
E4.	How do I edit or delete my posts? At this time, editing or deletion of posts is possible until someone else replies to your post. After that, the editing icon is removed from that post.
E5.	Why was that post or thread deleted? The forums administrators will delete abusive posts, threads and accounts, as necessary. If a single post is deleted, please note that all replies to that post and all replies to those replies are also deleted. Even if your abusive behavior is in response to abusive behavior, you will have your message and possibly your account deleted. When you encounter abusive behavior, report it and ignore it. For more information about what is expected, please see the Code of Conduct question.
E6.	Can I add an attachment to my post? At this time, due to security and legal restrictions, we are not able to allow attachments.

Watches

F1.	What are watches? You must have a registered Sun Online Account to enable the 'Watches' feature. A watch notifies you if the topic you are interested in has been updated. Notifications are sent by e-mail.
F2.	How do I sign up for watches? You must have a registered Sun Online Account to enable the 'Watches' feature. To add a topic to your watch list, click on the 'Watch This Topic' link at the top of the topic page or of a particular thread. To see the current list of topics you are watching, click on the 'Watch List' link in the left-hand navigation bar to review or update your watches.
F3.	How do I delete my watches? From the page containing the topic or thread that interests you, click on the 'Forum on Watch List' link to go to the 'Your Watch List' settings page. You can delete a watch by clicking in the Delete tick box for the watch you want to delete, then clicking the Delete button. At any time, you can click on the 'Watch List' link in the left-hand navigation bar and review or update your watches.
F4.	Do my watches expire? All watches automatically expire after 90 days. To keep a watch active, please check the box by the 'Save watch' option from the 'Your Watch List' settings page. Of course you can delete a watch at any time.

Rewards Program

G1.

What are Duke Stars?
The Duke Dollars program has relaunched as the Duke Stars program. The premise behind Duke Stars is the same as its predecessor, Duke Dollars: forum users can earn Duke Stars by answering questions posted by fellow developers and receiving points from the question owner. For more information, please visit the Duke Stars FAQ.

Forums.sun.com FAQ

Forums FAQ

A. Introduction

B. Registration & Login

C. Getting Started

D. User profile & settings

E. Posting

F. Watches

G. Rewards program