Tutorial:How to Use Biostars, Part II: Post types, Deleting, (Un)Subscribing, Linking and Bookmarking

Question

[Ram]

In this post, we will look at:

1. Post types
2. Closing/Deleting your own post/comment
3. Subscribing to/unsubscribing from a post
4. Getting a link to an existing post/comment
5. Bookmarking a post

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Post Types

There are different types of posts you can create on Biostars. The most common type is a Question. A Question usually involves the post creator facing a challenge and seeking a solution to this challenge. A Question has a few logical "correct" answers - meaning, there must ideally be a solution that solves this challenge. Open discussions, for example, may not have correct answers.

Open discussions belong to the Forum type of post. In this, we pitch an idea or ask for the community's opinion on a topic. These are my favorite kind of posts :)

If you come across an interesting article or a piece of news that you think would interest the community, you can create a News post. A News post should ideally be of interest to a lot of people.

If you would like to express your personal opinions and log your thoughts so others can learn from it and express their opinions on it, use the Blog type. These are the most personal of all post types.

If you have discovered or designed a new tool, share it with a Tool post. Remember, if you're looking for a tool or for help with a tool, you have a Question, not a Tool - it's commonly confused, but please be informed of the difference.

If you are looking to hire a bioinformatics person, advertise the position with a Job Ad type of post. These posts should describe the position, not just link to an external link without a description. They should have contact details, and should be closed once the position is filled (More on how to close a post later)

If you're writing a how-to manual, like I am right now, you are writing a Tutorial post. Once this post has taken shape, I will probably make it a Tutorial.

I will write about the Page type once I figure out what it is :)

Linkouts to similar posts:

Post not found

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The initial state of the Post Type drop down when a new post is created:

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The actual drop-down list:

[Istvan Albert]

Actually, and amusingly, the Page was supposed to be for posts like this one. Posts that contain help, instructions, FAQ, etc It was for information that should not be "answered" nor discussed in long threads. Only comments were to be allowed on pages.

It was never fully implemented, but that reminds me that maybe it should or not ... who knows.

[Ram]

I hope I am not making these too over-the-top. I searched for how-to posts on Biostar Search, but found no posts, that's why I started creating this.

Answer 1

[Ram]

Getting the Link to an existing Post/Comment

Often times, you'd like to refer to an existing post or a comment. If you have the thread open, you could always pick the URL from the browser's address bar, but what if you wish to link to a specific answer or a specific comment?

This is where the link hyperlink is useful. Like any other hyperlink on the web, you can click it to open, or right-click/Ctrl-click it to open an options menu, which has options including "Copy Link".

This is how the link hyperlink looks like on top-level posts:

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Here's how it looks like on subsequent posts in a thread:

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Here's how it looks like on comments/replies.

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Here's a pop-up menu with the "Copy Link" option that I see when I Ctrl-click on any hyperlink (I'm using Google Chrome on a Mac; the black box hides the part of my menu that shows my browser extensions):

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[GouthamAtla]

I never observed "link". :-)

[Ram]

That's crazy, man - I never imagine Geeky would miss something! Permalink is a staple in most forums BTW :)

Answer 2

[Ram]

Delete your post

Here, I will explain how you can delete your posts..

Regular users can only delete their own posts. Only moderators can mark others' posts as deleted. Only admins can permanently remove other's posts.

If you look at any post or any comment, you'd see at least 1 options: link. For your own posts, you'll also see a second option: edit. Moderators will see a third option: moderate.

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To delete your own top-level post, you'd

1. Click on edit (highlighted in the first image below)
2. Click the Delete button that appears under the post preview (highlighted in the second image below).

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Image-1 (the edit button):

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Image-2 (the Delete button):

Answer 3

[Ram]

Follow/Unfollow a post

Biostars is designed to notify you of updates to posts you follow as well as votes you receive, along with badges you are awarded and new posts created using tags you follow.

Notifications can either be local messages, which are shown as notifications on the biostars site on the top menu, or they can be email, in which case you can add pressure to your life by asking the system to send you an email when a post is updated.

The email functionality has been rested for the time being, but you'd normally get default email updates for posts you create as well as tags you follow, whereas posts you contribute to would by default be notifications through local messages.

You can change how you are notified as well as if you are notified using the Follow menu.

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Here's what the Follow menu looks like:

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When you click on it, the drop-down becomes:

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You can choose to follow any post any way you wish to!

Answer 4

[Ram]

Bookmarking a Post

You can bookmark a post on Biostars, much like you can add website to your bookmarks on a browser. You can use this feature to collect interesting posts that you wish to come back to later, such as references and tutorials that are of use to you.

Bookmarking is not restricted to top-level posts; you can bookmark any post on Biostars. This means that you can bookmark an individual answer if you feel like it.

The sidebar on all posts contains a green book icon. Clicking on this adds that post to your bookmarks.

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You can visit your bookmarks any time by logging in to http://www.biostars.org/t/bookmarks or clicking on the Bookmarks link on the top menu

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[michael.ante]

Hi Ram,

thanks a million for creating these how-to posts.

My question is how-to bookmark/like a post in the mobile view?

On my way to work, I usually browse through Biostars and would like to like/bookmark interesting post; but all I can do is following.

Cheers,

Michael

[Ram]

You're very welcome, Michael. It's been fun creating these posts.

Unfortunately, the mobile version does not seem to have the bookmarks option - while you can visit your bookmarks, you cannot add a bookmark. I think we should be able to control how the website works on various devices, although we'll have to ask Istvan Albert .

[biolab]

Hi, Ram, Thanks a lot for these information. I would like to download my previous posts as well as the answers and comments. How to do this? Another question is : can I access Biostars via Linux OS? Thank you very much.