faq

FAQ

IT Knowledge Exchange - IT Answers from your Peers

IT Knowledge Exchange was created to allow IT pros to ask questions, get answers,
collaborate and exchange knowledge with their peers. Whether you are looking for
an answer to an IT problem that has got you stuck or feel like helping your peers
by answering their questions, IT Knowledge Exchange allows you to easily find the
answer you are looking for. Visit the IT Answers section to browse all the discussion taking place.
You can also read the latest thoughts from IT pros like
yourself in the IT Blogs section. If you want a blog of your own to share your
knowledge you can request one here.

Read our ITKE community blog stay up to date on what’s going on within the community.

All content created within the community is done by your peers or industry experts
looking to help each other by sharing real world information in real time.
We will continually be updating the site to include new features and functionality to
better help the community. Send us any questions or suggestions to contactus@itknowledgeexchange.com

IT Knowledge Exchange is part of the TechTarget network of technology focused sites
We value your feedback and that is what will help improve the community.

This FAQ will help you better understand the functionality of IT Knowledge Exchange and answer common questions you may have.
Please email us a contactus@itknowledgeexchange.com with any additional questions.

How to ask a question
To ask a question simply login or register for the site. Once logged in, you can ask a question
from the “Ask a Question” page or from the Ask a Question widget that appears throughout the site
in the right sidebar. You will need to have a brief title for your question, followed by the question itself. There is no limit to how long your question can be.You should tag your question with all relevant tags so that it will be easy for your peers to find.
Once you submit your question it will be published and available for all to view and answer. Don’t
forget to add your question to your Watchlist and sign up one of our newsletters to be notified of updates
to the answer and comments by your peers.

You can also email your questions to moderator@itknowledgeexchange.com and they will be posted to the site.

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How to answer a question with the Answer Wiki
When creating this site we felt the best way for people to receive the best answer was through
collaboration. By creating the Answer Wiki, we are providing users with the ability to create,
edit or improve any answer on the site.If a question doesn’t have an answer, you can simply click “Create Answer” and the editor box will appear.
Simply type in your response and click the “Submit Answer” button and your answer will be posted immediately
to the site.Once your answer is posted, other users will have the ability to improve the answer by adding
additional information or edits.

How to use the Text Editor
The text editor adds the appropriate formatting based on the option you select. For example,
clicking the “B” will insert an opening [B] tag. You can then type in your word or phrase and click the “B”
again to insert a closing [/B] tag. The text between these tags will be bolded.

Important note: When adding code please make sure to use the “code” button in the editor. Simply
click the button before you write the code and after once you are complete. This will keep the code in the
current format and avoid any other formatting issues.

b = bold
i = italics
link = hyperlink (when you click this, a popup displays; type your URL there)
img = image (when you click this, a popup displays; type the URL of the image there)
ul = unordered list
il = ordered list
li = list item
code = code, which will display exactly as you type it in, e.g. with indents

How to view history/compare edits and revert to previous edits
Because the IT Answers section of the site is a wiki, you have similar functionality as you do
on Wikipedia. Users have the ability to view the history of the question by clicking on the “View History”
link. This will display a list of all edits made, when they were made, and who made them.

How to compare edits of a question
When you are on a question page you can compare edits by clicking on the “View Answer History”
link. On the View History page you will see a list of revisions. Simply select the 2 versions
you wish to compare and click “Compare Selected Versions.” Another page will load showing the
2 entries side by side and highlighting which edits have been made.

How to revert the answer
To revert the answer back to a previous version, simply choose the version you wish to
revert back to and click “Revert.” The answer that now appears will be the one you have
reverted to. If you chose the wrong edit to revert to, simply go to the “View Answer History”
page and revert to the correct version.

How to report objectionable content
On each Question page you have the ability to report any content that you find objectionable.
Simply click on the “Report Objectionable Content” link and an email box will open for you to
comment and send to us so that we can remove any content we find in violation of our Terms and Conditions.
Or you can email us at moderator at ITKnowledgeexchange.com.

How to use the Watchlist
The Watchlist was created to help you easily track Questions and Answer and Discussion threads that
you wish to follow. The Questions with the most recent changes will appear first on the list. These can
be questions that you have been involved in or just questions that you’re interested in. You must be
registered and logged in to use the Watchlist feature.

Adding to your Watchlist

Removing a Watchlist item

What is RSS
Current definitions of the “RSS” acronym vary from “Really Simple Syndication”, “RDF Site Summary”,
to “Rich Site Summary.” However, simply stated, RSS is a method for sharing frequently updated
information on the Web. Currently it is the dominant technology for syndicating/distributing
headline news content. Used by major news distributors and individual “bloggers” alike, RSS
feeds typically contain lists of news headlines, summaries with links back to the appropriate
site content. Users may subscribe to these RSS feeds using either a downloaded program (RSS reader or “aggregator”)
or via a Web-based aggregator such as MyYahoo!, Feedster, or iGoogle. When the RSS feed is
updated with new content, these changes are reflected in the user’s RSS reader, often within minutes.

How Can I Benefit from RSS?
As a user, there are a number of key benefits of RSS:

Timeliness - Automatically receive updates from your favorite Web site when new content becomes available, instead of constantly having to visit the Web site.
Efficiency - Quickly scan over headlines and summaries and only read the content that interests you.
Coverage - Receive updates from multiple Web sites into one location - your RSS reader or aggregator

How Do I Use IT Knowledge Exchange RSS Feeds?
Users have two options available for using IT Knowledge Exchange RSS feeds:

RSS Readers
These are downloadable programs that you must install on your PC. Though there is no standard method for adding an RSS feed to your reader, the typical
method involves the following steps:

Download and install the reader to your computer.
Open your reader.
From the IT Knowledge Exchange Web site, click on the orange RSS button that corresponds to the IT Knowledge Exchange RSS feed to which you are interested in subscribing.
Once your browser opens the file, copy the URL in the address bar, paste it into your reader’s address bar and press enter.
You may have to click on a “Subscribe” or similar button to subscribe to this feed.

See below for a list of popular readers:

FeedDemon &emdash; Commercial, standalone application for Windows.
NewsGator &emdash; Commercial plug-in to Microsoft Outlook. Also has free and premium subscriptions to their online aggregator service.
NetNewsWire &emdash; Commercial, standalone RSS reader for Macs.
Opera browser &emdash; Can subscribe to RSS feeds through Opera Mail. (Win/Mac/Linux)
Pluck &emdash; Integrates into Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher for Windows. Offers an RSS reader as well as a host of other tools.

Online RSS Aggregators
These are Web sites which allow you to subscribe to view RSS content via their Web site.
Typically these require you to be a member or subscriber of the site. Since all online
aggregators have different methods for subscribing to RSS feeds, we suggest that you
follow directions for your specific aggregator. Popular online aggregators include:

Browsers with built-in RSS feed support
Modern browsers such as Firefox, IE7 or Safari, have built-in support for RSS feeds.
If your browser supports feeds, you’ll see an RSS icon near the right side of the browser
address field. Clicking that icon will display the feed or a list of available feeds.
You may select a feed and bookmark it like any other Web page. Likewise, you can click
the orange RSS feed icons to display the feed in any supported browser and bookmark it.

How to discuss a question or answer
You must be logged in to discuss a Question or Answer. Once logged in, you can add
to the discussion by entering your comments in the text box and clicking the “Discuss” button.
Your comment will appear at the end of the current discussions for all to see.

How to post blog comments
You must be a registered member to post a comment to a blog. Once logged in,
simply click on the “Comment” link and enter your comment in the “Leave a comment”
text box and click “Comment.” Please note that some blogs may be moderated and comments
may require approval from the respective blogger before being posted to the site.

How to start your own blog
You can have your own blog hosted on IT Knowledge Exchange by filling out the request
a blog form found at the URL below. Please fill in all fields and we’ll contact you.
http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/requestblog

How to register
To gain access to some of the features of IT Knwoledge Exchange you must be a registered member.
Simply fill out our short registration form, which you can find
at http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/loginregister .
Once you register you will receive a confirmation email. During registration you will have
the ability to sign up for tags of interested and receive updates when new content is created around those tags. If you have any
issues with registration email us at contactus at itknowledgeexchange.com

How to create your public profile
Your public profile gives you the opportunity to allow other members to get a better understanding
of who you are and view your area of expertise. After you register, simply go to the “Create
your public profile” section. There you will be asked for additional information about yourself.
Only fill in the fields you wish to. Don’t forget to upload a picture of yourself to be displayed
next to the questions you have asked.

How to edit your profile
To edit your profile simply click on the “Edit My Public Profile” link and you will be brought
to your profile page. Here you can edit and remove information or add additional information
to your profile page.

What are tags
Tags are relevant keywords or terms associated with the Question or Answer by the user
creating the content. Tags are used to best categorize the main topic or topics of the
questions or blog post.View the wikipedia definitions here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_cloud
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_%28metadata%29

Tag clouds are used to show what type of content people are creating. As more content is
tagged with specific tags the tag will appear larger and bold within the tag cloud. It will give
you a sense of what the buzz of the community is. By clicking on a specific tag in the tag cloud you will see all the content associated with that specific tag.
Tags are relevant keywords or terms associated with the Question or Answer by the user creating the content.
Tags are used to best categorize the main topic or topics of the questions or blog post.

Don’t forget to Tag all the content you create with as many terms as you see fit.

How do I earn Knowledge Points?
You can easily earn Knowledge Points by contributing to the community. Here is a breakdown of how many
points you can earn depending on what you do:

Ask a Question: 5 Knowledge Points
Answering a Question: 15 Knowledge Points
Discussing a Question: 10 Knowledge Points

We will be highlighting the top ten contributors to the community throughout the site so start earning your Knowledge Points today.

To view the point total of any user, simply click on their handle to view their profile.