[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Welcome to the new SFN!
With our major upgrade comes many new features. Follow along as we walk through the best of them. Click on the images to see full-size versions!

The SFN Chatroom


Want to shoot the breeze with SFN members in real time? Feel like a little informal discussion after your major debate on the merits of loop quantum gravity? Find the Chat tab on the top of the page and dive in. Just by glancing at the top of the page, you can see how many members are currently online; click the tab and you'll be introduced to our new web-based chat client -- no super-slow Java applets required.



Just type your thoughts into the box at the bottom and chat away!

Notifications
The new SFN makes it easier than ever to follow discussions you're involved in. In the upper-right portion of every page is the notifications menu:



The circled "1" tells you how many notifications you have. Simply click it to see a list of the most recent, with links to the involved posts, users, and statuses.

By default, the system will alert you when someone quotes and replies to one of your posts, when someone replies to your status updates, when someone posts a message on your profile, and so on. Want to follow the complete discussion? Just find the Watch This Topic button:



You can choose if you want replies emailed to you or sent to you as a notification. You can even find the Watch Forum button to watch entire forums. Keep track of debates! Watch every move of your opponents! Use notifications.

ScienceForums.net Blogs
If you've been around SFN for a while, you can start your own SFN blog. Want to follow what others are saying? Right on the forum index sidebar is a list of the latest posts:



Follow your favorite bloggers or just browse for interesting posts. Want to see more, or want to try your hand at blogging? Head to the blogs page, accessible as a tab at the top of every page. There you can see a list of the most active bloggers, excerpts from the latest posts, and the signup form to start a blog for yourself.

Personal Conversations
Sometimes you want to have a chat with a few other members. Perhaps you have shared interests or you want to discuss something in private. With the new Messenger, you can have a shared discussion with up to six other members! It's like having a topic all to yourselves. Find the Messenger link in your menu at the top of every page.



New Profiles
Now you can share status messages, Facebook-style, with other members, and comment on what everyone's doing. Upload a profile picture and let everyone know what you're up to. Post sarcastic messages about the pointlessness of Facebook. Do whatever you want! It's your personal profile.



Enjoy
And most of all, enjoy the new SFN! If you ever need help, just head over to the Suggestions, Comments and Support forum and someone will do their best to answer your questions. Having troubles logging in? Email staff at scienceforums dot net with information - your username, what errors you received, and so on. We'll get back ASAP.