ICONSnet User Guide: FAQs

FAQs

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General Issues

When I use ICONSnet, do I maintain a direct connection to the ICONSnet host computer?
No. ICONSnet is composed as a series of World Wide Web forms, similar to most internet websites. You use these forms to request and send information to the ICONSnet database. You are only connected with the ICONSnet computer long enough to make your request/submission and receive a new form from ICONSnet. Therefore, when you are typing a message in a text box, you are essentially doing it "off-line".

Is there any limit to the number of computers that my team can use to read and send messages?
No.  Any number of team members, from one or multiple locations, can use the ICONSnet system at the same time. It is important, however, to coordinate your efforts as a team if you choose to utilize this feature.

Tips for Using ICONSnet

What is the difference between reading new messages and searching archived messages?
Whenever someone sends you a message, you can retrieve it by clicking the Read New Messages button. Once you have marked a message as read, the only way that you can read it again is to access it through the archive. The distinction is necessary so that your list of new messages does not become too long to deal with efficiently.

When sending a message, unless you specify that you wish to send a copy to yourself ,that message will not show up on your list of new messages. You can then access it only through the archive.

If I read a new message, why wouldn't I want to mark it as read?
If you are working with other people, you might want to leave a message unread so that your teammates will see it immediately. An example: If you are part of the environmental group for your team, you might want to leave any arms control messages unread so that the arms control group can easily find them.

What is the difference between responding to a message and responding with text?
Use the respond function to link your message to a message sent by another user. Either option will return a form for sending a message which is addressed to the sender of the original message, and both will include the same issue and subject as the original message If you click Respond (include text), the entire original message will appear on the form with a ">" before each line to designate that it is the text of the original message. You should choose Respond (include text)only if you are specifically referring to the text of the linked message. Please see Reading New Messages.

What is the difference between an issue and a subject?
In ICONSnet, an issue is one of a pre-determined group of simulation topics. Simcon, or the program administrator, sets this list to provide a way to categorize messages according to topic so that they can be easily accessed on the Read New Messages screen or through searching the simulation archives. In order to keep the list of issues manageably small, users may not create new issues. It is possible to categorize messages according to more than one issue, if appropriate.

Subjects are defined by the sender of a message, much the same as in an e-mail message. This is a way of providing more information about what the message contains than is available by specifying the issue. Both issue and subject are given when you access a list of new messages or when you retrieve a directory of archived messages.

My team is divided into subgroups dealing with different simulation issues. How can we make sure that we don't miss any messages that should be read?
Being able to categorize and read messages according to issue area is a useful organizational feature. Each team should figure out a procedure for dealing with new messages. One method that works well is to have team members read messages by issue area on the Read New Messages screen. Of course, anyone on a team should be free to read all messages sent to that team. However, the team could decide that only a member of the group dealing with a particular issue should be able to archive those messages. Any messages outside one's own issue area should be kept as new.

As a back-up, you should also keep a note of the message number of the last message that you read. Click on Search Archived Messages , and look for messages sent under your issue area since the last message number that you checked. Remember that messages which are still in the new messages queue will not show up in the archive.

What is a favorite message?
Users have the option to define their own Favorite messages, i.e., messages that they think that they might need to refer back to often. By marking a message as favorite, you are putting it into a special folder that can be accessed very quickly and easily. An example of a message that you might want to mark as favorite is a proposal put forth by one of your allies.

To check your favorite messages, click on the Search Archives button, and then select message parameters. You can also search the archives, to retrieve any favorite messages that meet your specific search criteria.

I see that I can send messages three different ways in a conference. What's the difference?
A Public Comment is a message that is automatically distributed to all members of a conference, while a Private Comment is a message directed to one or several members of the conference. (The former is like making a statement to the whole group, while the latter is like passing a note.)

A response allows you to link your message to a message sent by another team. When the other teams receive your response, they will be able to click on a link in your message to get the original message. When you are responding to a Public Comment , your response will be a Public Response . When you respond to a Private Comment , your response will be a Private Response .

You should only use a response when you are specifically responding to something that another user has said. In all other cases, you will want to use a Public Comment .

How can I print messages?
Printing is controlled by your browser. Please refer to Related Software.

Troubleshooting

When I click the send button, nothing happens. Should I click it again?
Whenever you click the send button, you will either get a notification that the message has been sent or an error message (if, for example, you forgot to enter a required field). Sometimes, users will experience Internet-related delays. If this happens, please be patient and wait for the connection to be made to the ICONSnet computer. Once the connection has been made, your message will be sent. If you keep clicking the send button, you will send multiple copies of your message, and will, in fact, slow down the connection process.

When I click New Messages, I keep getting the same list even though I have read and archived some messages. What is happening?
The problem is in your browser network settings. What's being delivered to you is in the memory of your computer rather than what is on our server. You need to change your browser's network setting to "Verify document every time" so that the information is updated each time a request for new messages is made.

http://www.icons.umd.edu/help/net12.html
Last modified: March 2, 2001