"This is an excellent initiative that will allow people from a diverse geographical background to exchange idea’s and information. Well done and keep up the good work!!"  Councilor Ian Gillies, member of the NAIDC management committee.

Click HERE for the guide to registerin  (It's got pictures and everything...) when you've read this.


Joining the forum is FREE! It is anonymous, not even I know who you are (unless you tell me) If you follow the instructions you won't get junk mail (I occasionally write but if you ask me to stop I will!). The picture on the right? It's an "in" joke...

As I'm sure you know by now the folk working at the Scottish Executive helpline are excellent at their job and the wait on the line is very short by helpline standards. The purpose of the forum is not to replace the helpline, any more than it replaces the help file on your computer or that disc you haven't got round to using yet. Rather it complements these things and offers you another way of finding help and at the same time keeping in touch with your fellow community members. And it's open 24/7 just like your internet connection! Below are the most frequently asked questions I get.

How much does it cost? Nothing, registration is free.

I don't know anything about computers, won't people think I'm stupid? No, we all remember what it was like to have a computer for the first time (it took me 10 days to find the shift key!) and simple questions are easier to answer, so you'll be really popular!

Will I get sent lots of junk mail if I join? No, as long as you follow the instructions and uncheck "the send me mail" box, you won't get any. You'll occassionaly get the odd mail from the message board and maybe the website but you can always ask to be taken off the list and youwon't get sent anymore.

Do you sell or give my details to anyone else? No.

Who has access to my details? No one, not even the creater of the forum.

Are you an official NAIDC site? Yes in a way, they have provided funding to cover expenses (not time though) and they have links to the website on their website and newsletters.

Why do I have to register anyway? You have to register for most forums, people post really nasty things sometimes on the ones where you don't have to. Also, by making the forum a "local" forum, it helps to restrict it the members of the NAIDC community.

It's a big hassle though. Yes I know but it's for the best, honest!

Why do you did you start it? I'm just a really, really nice person.

Are you an IT professional? No, just a keen amateur, there maybe pro's on in the forum but they are really a way of a group of people helping each other.

So you're not some sad geek who just sits in front of their computer all day then? Absolutly not, no............well...

Can you lend me a fiver? Go away now.

Really why I started it:

It took me a while to find out how helpful a forum (or message board) could be. I bought my first computer from Time (I can feel some of you shuddering) and just as I was installing it there was momentry power failure. I spent £40 pounds calling the helpline in my first month (they didn't connect you for ages, I did listen to a lot of Bach though).

I had problems for months and it wasn't until I discovered help forums that I started to get to grips with my computer. Maybe it's because I'm the sort of person who doesn't like reading long manuals or maybe I just like the way people are so helpful that they suited me so well.

I liked the way you could find a problem with anything you were doing and someone would have the answer. If I didn't understand it they'd explain it again in a different way. If I got some unexpected error or something wasn't working as it should there was always help at hand.

I liked the way I never felt I was bothering someone and that I could use them at my own convenience. I'd post a question and go back later and someone would have answered it. Much to my surprise, after a while I became able to answer simple questions and eventually I found areas that I knew quite a lot about. I found people I consider real friends, indeed I know of other forum users who's annual holidays revolve around visiting people they've met through them. (You  should always take care when meeting people you've contacted via the internet).

However there was one persistent problem I encountered when I first used them and effected every new user I came across. The first question I was always was "what sort of O/S do you have", "how much memory have you got" (Well I can vaguely remember 1964) and so on. I'd just got a computer, how should I know?

Thats the great thing about our forum, everyone has the same computer. You'll never have to explain anything when you ask a question and if explanation is needed you'll be gently taken through explaining the problem. The answers will be clear to because the person answering will be looking at the same computer as you.
           
So  remember everyone in the forum is part of the digital community, so you're always talking to a friend.

The forum is simple to use for most experienced surfers but to help those who aren't I've added a step by step guide to registering and some general points on posting. Click on the "Registration Guide" link in the left hand column.

Why not visit the forum and just have a look around if you're still not sure. You can read the messages without registering, just click the blue button. The page will open in a new window so you can get back here to check the guide easily.

Find the guides to registering and posting by clicking the link on the left.