Quick guide to using the site

The Basics

In a nutshell, the site is made up of items, these are:

• Locations: physical places that aren't linked to a group or business.
• Groups: not-for-profit groups in and around the village (e.g. the Parish Council). Groups don't have to be official, they can simply be a group of like minded individuals (for example the 'Hartwell Guitar Hero Players' or "Hartwell Homebrewers" etc.)
• Businesses: businesses in and around the village (e.g. Wheredidthetigergo)
• Events: nearby events organised by a group or business (e.g. Hartwell School Fete)
• News: news from groups or businesses (e.g. Parish Council Update)
• Pages: extra information from a group (e.g. this page!)

All the items link together, and they all have a similar page layout (which is described below).

There is also the forum, which allows you to chat with other residents, a list of users, and tags. There will shortly be a separate guide to the forum and about tagging!

Header and Sidebar

At the top of every page is the "Need Help?" button - if you ever get stuck, click this button, this will take you to the FAQ page. If you are still stuck you can either email support@hartwellvillage.com or post your problem on the forum.

Just to the right of the village sign is the main menu - here you can jump to each of the main sections of the site.

The left hand sidebar changes depending on what page you are on (the posh term is context-sensitive).

Here are some examples of what you might expect to see if you are on the page for a group or business, say the Parish Council:

• A list of Parish Council pages (a sub-menu if you like)
• A list of the next five Parish Council events
• A list of the latest five Parish Council news items
• A list of the latest tags used for any group
• A map showing the location of the Parish Council

Here is another example of what you might expect to see if you are looking at an event, say the Beer Festival at the Pocket Park organised by the Community Centre Committee:

• A list of future events organised by the Community Centre Committee
• A list of future events at the Pocket Park
• A list of the latest tags used for any event
• A map showing the location of the Pocket Park

I am sure you get the idea!

The right hand sidebar, on the other hand, is always the same. At the top is a box for you to sign up for a monthly update from hartwellvillage.com. In the middle is then a box containing useful local information links, and at the bottom are our latest updates on Twitter.

Viewing lists of items

If you click on something from the top menu (the one to the right of the village sign), you will be shown a list of items. For example click "Businesses", will show you a list of businesses, sorted based on their location from Hartwell.

In the future (but not yet) there will some simple controls at the top of the list which will allow you to filter what appears. For example, filter the list based on your location, only show items within a certain distance, only show items that have a certain tag etc.

Viewing an item

All items (news, locations, groups etc.) have a similar page layout.

Here is what you can expect to see when viewing an item (as marked in red in the example screen shot above):

• Tools: unless you are a moderator of this item, logged in users will only see a link back and in most cases a plus symbol so you can add your own items. If you are a moderator, you will also see other icons (generally throughout the site, if you see an icon, just hover over it to see what it does!)
• Title: the title of the item, and in most cases a little icon so you can see at a glance what type of item it is!
• Content: details about the item. This varies depending on the type of item. If the item is linked with other items, there will also be links to those items
• Image: an image (if the item has one). Throughout the site, you can click on an image to see a larger version.
• Social icons: these icons allow you to easily share the item with other sites. You probably haven't heard of all of them, but you can easily share items with: Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Digg, Delicious, Stumbleupon and Reddit.
• Ownership: ownership details whether an item is managed directly by the related group or business. Find out more about official and unofficial items.
• Tags: this tab will show you any tags that have been added for this item. From here you can also add your own tag, or flag any tag as inappropriate. Only logged in users can add or flag tags. There will be a guide about tagging coming soon!
• Forum: this tab lets you view any discussion relating to this item on the forum. Not all items are posted on the forum. From here you can also reply to posts and flag posts as inappropriate.
• Make Changes: this tab lets you suggest changes to the item (for example further information or to correct errors). These changes are sent to a moderator to update the item. Only logged in users can suggest changes.
• History: this tab details the history of an item. Who added it, who approved it, who has suggested changes and who has edited it.
• Moderators: this tab lists the moderators of the item. These are the users who are able to make changes directly to an item.

Hopefully you won't find the website too daunting or difficult to use - if you do get stuck, just post your problem on the forum. We would also love to hear your comments and feedback on how we can improve the site.