E-mail this pageBuilding a Protected Discussion Forum
FrontPage makes it possible to create an online discussion forum that's "protected"--accessible only to the students in your class. While it's not particularly difficult to set up a discussion forum of this sort, it is important that the requisite steps be performed in order to make it work. This page outlines the steps involved, from start to finish.
To begin setting up your course discussion forum, you should be running FrontPage and be logged into your web site on the faculty web server.
From FrontPage's File menu, select New|Web:
You'll then be confronted by the New dialog window, allowing you to specify what sort of web you'd like to create. Click once on the option marked Discussion Web Wizard to select it, and then put a checkmark into the Add to current Web option to automatically fill in the default location of your web site.
Once you've done so, remove the checkmark from the Add to current Web field, and in the field underneath the caption Specify the location of the new web , add a slash and the name for your discussion web to the end of the listing for your website. For instance, if your website is http://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/ben.thayer, add a slash (/) followed by a single-word--no spaces or punctuation marks--to identify your new discussion web-site: http://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/ben.thayer/mydiscussion
Once you've appropriately named your new discussion web, and you've double-checked to make sure that there is NO checkmark in the Add to current Web field, click on the OK button. For a few moments, you'll see a Create New Web dialog.
This Create New Web dialog will disappear after a few moments, and you'll see the Discussion Web Wizard . This wizard will walk you through most of the steps for setting up the parameters for your new discussion web site. It is important that you read each dialog window carefully and follow the directions below.
The first screen of the Discussion Web Wizard identifies what the wizard will do for you: read it and click the Next button.
The second screen of the Discussion Web Wizard asks you to identify the features of your discussion web. You should ensure, here, that all items except the Search Form are selected. (The search feature is not predictable in offering reliable results on our server, and you're best off avoiding it as a consequence.) Once you've made these selections, click on the Next button.
The third screen of the Discussion Web Wizard requires you to enter a descriptive title for the discussion forum. Do so in the field provided. You'll also have the option to specify the name of the folder in which discussion postings are stored: you don't have to change this from the default (which will be some variation on _disc ) but if you do change it, make sure that you use a name that begins with an underscore character and contains no spaces or punctuation marks. Click on the Next button once you've entered your information on this screen.
The fourth screen of the Discussion Web Wizard allows you to set "input fields" for your forum's submission form. The default, (Subject, Comments ) is the only particularly useful option here, if only because most users are likely to disregard the category field (if provided) unchecked when they make their submissions. Click the Next button to continue.
The fifth screen of the Discussion Web Wizard provides you with an opportunity to specify whether the discussion will take place in a "protected" web: this allows you to indicate whether the participants in the discussion forum will be required to log in or not. You should select Yes, only registered users are allowed , if you'd like to limit participation in the forum to your students. (In most instances, this is likely to be the case.) Click the Next button to continue.
The next screen of the Discussion Web Wizard allows you to indicate how the table of contents should be arranged. Here, you can safely choose either option: each choice has its advantages. Oldest to newest (default) is likely to be your best choice if you'd like the students to pursue set points for discussion in the order you post them. Newest to oldest is likely to be your best choice if you expect to have a particularly thriving discussion forum without set discussion points. Once you've made your selection, click the Next button.
If you have followed all instructions exactly to this point, you'll be able to answer Yes when asked whether you want the discussion forum's table of contents to be the home page for the discussion web site. Since the instructions have specified that a new web is to be created (not that the discussion should be added to the current web), there should be no risk of accidentally overwriting your home page, as per the note at the bottom of screen (see below).
If you're uncertain about whether you'd like the table of contents for the discussion forum to be the home page for the discussion web site, select No . Click the Next button when you've made your selection.
The next screen of the Discussion Web Wizard allows you to specify the design of the discussion forum. The most attractive (and practical) options are the first No Frames , and the last Contents beside current article . The latter of these options has the advantage of being the most intuitive for most users, but its reliance on frames makes it relatively inaccessible to text-only browsers (like Lynx) and text-readers (for the visually impaired). In order to ensure the greatest possible accessibility, you're probably best off using the simple No Frames option. Make your selection and click on the Next button.
You're almost finished. The next screen in the Discussion Web Wizard gives you the chance to select a web theme--essentially a color scheme and button-set for your discussion forum. You can do so if you like, but you don't have to. Click the Next button.
Your work in setting the discussion web parameters is done. If you want to review your settings, you can click on the Back button and examine your choices, or you can click on the Finish button to create the discussion web.
The Discussion Web Wizard will perform its magic at this time, setting up your new discussion web with requisite files and folders. You should wind up with a web listing that looks something like this:
You'll note that there are three pages (more if you chose one of the frames-based layouts): if the discussion web's table of contents was set to be the web's default page, your Default.htm file will be the entry page for the discussion forum. The ..._cfrm.htm page is the confirmation page that will be displayed to students after they post a new item to the forum. The ..._post.htm page is the page that will be displayed for posting (or replying to) messages.
What you don't see, by default, is the folder in which discussion items are stored, or the folder in which the discussion header and footer files are stored. The latter items are of no great concern, but you may well find that you'd like to have access to the discussion items themselves, if only because you may periodically feel the need to edit and/or delete a posting. To make the hidden folders visible, select Tools|WebSettings... from the FrontPage menu.
The ensuing Web Settings dialog features a several tabs, but the only one that concerns here is the third, marked Advanced . Click on this Advanced tab, and put a checkmark beside the option marked Show documents in hidden directories .
Once you've done so, click on the Apply button. You'll see a message asking whether you'd like to "refresh" the web at this time. Click on the Yes button, and then click on the OK button in the Web Settings dialog.
You should now see a listing of folders that includes not only a folder named after your discussion (in the illustration below it's _Eng101Disc2001 ), but also a folder named _borders .
The tocproto.htm file, in the discussion folder, maintains the table of contents for the discussion forum and should not be altered . The files in the _borders folder represent the article header and footer, and also the main discussion header and footer--you may edit these, but do so guardedly, being careful not to over-write or delete any of the components that FrontPage has strewn across the pages.
Setting the security for the discussion web
Your final step in creating your discussion web site should be to set the access permissions for your discussion web. Remember, we're setting this site up for the use of students in a particular class, so we'll want to limit access to the site to just those students. To do so, begin by clicking on FrontPage's Tools menu and selecting Security|Permissions...
FrontPage's Permissions dialog will then appear. In the opening screen, under the tab marked Settings , select the option marked Use unique permissions for this web . Once you've done so, click on the Apply button.
Then click on the Groups tab. Your next task will be to remove access permissions for casual browsers at the website. You'll do so by clicking once on the listing marked "Everyone," and then clicking on the Remove button. Repeat this step for every listing that has nothing but "Browse" listed under the heading of "Access Rights." (Do not attempt to remove the FACULTYWEB Administrators listing--you wouldn't be able to if you tried...)
Once you've removed all of the "Browse" entries, you should see a listing that looks like this:
Your next step is to click on the Add... button to introduce the Add Groups dialog, illustrated below. In the Add Groups dialog, you'll want to select the appropriate class group (here, for instance ENG 101F), from the listing on the right side of the screen, and then click the Add button. Once you've added the class (or classes) that you'd like to grant access to your discussion forum, ensure that the Allow users to option is set to Browse this web , and then click on the OK button.
You should now see a listing like the one illustrated below, with your class(es) being the only ones with permission to browse the web.
Your final step is to remove the generic browse permissions from the options under the Users tab in the Permissions dialog. Click on the Users tab, and then click on the option marked Only registered users have browse access .
Click the OK button to complete the assignment of permissions.
Informing visitors of their usernames and passwords
Since your discussion website now requires a log-in, you should be prepared to let the designated visitors know how they should be logging in. The usernames and passwords being used for the web-site will be the Plattsburgh LDAP (PSU Domain) usernames and passwords. The username will always be the SPLAVA (VMS) ID, and the password will, by default, be the last four digits of the visitor's social security number followed by the first four characters (in capital letters) of the visitor's last name. Some users will have changed this password, so they should be advised to use whatever they've changed it to....
Common Questions
- How can I find out who's on my course list?
If you'd like to review the list of students on record as being in your course, you can do so by clicking here . You'll have to log in to the page using your Plattsburgh LDAP (PSU Domain) username and password as specified above.
- If a person I've designated to have access cannot get into my restricted-access sub-web, what should I do?
- First, if the person is enrolled in your course, you should make sure that the person is on the course list (see step one) being used on the faculty web server. If the person is on the course list, you should verify that you have added the course, with appropriate browse permission, under the Groups tab of the Permissions dialog.
- If the person is not enrolled in the course (or not on the course list), you should verify that you have added the person, with appropriate browse permission, under the Users tab of the Permissions dialog.
- If the person is represented by a group that has browse permissions or is represented as having browse permissions under the Users tab of the Permissions dialog, then the user is not using the correct username/password combination. Refer the user to the Computing and Media Services Help Desk at x4433.
- How do I remove access restrictions I've placed on a sub-web?
To remove access restrictions, open the sub-web, click on Tools|Security , and in the Permissions dialog, under the Settings tab, select the option marked Use same permissions as parent web . Then click the OK button.
Comments or questions? Please contact Dr. Peter Friesen , Instructional Technology Coordinator, Plattsburgh State University.