a little vocabulary list for New Members

i'm glad you are still coming to PC, hope you are finding what you read to be helpful. a lot of what you need to know is just vocabulary. perhaps you are new to computers, and perhaps just new to a public site like this one. here are some words you need to know and their meanings:

Forum: a public message board with topics where you can post your own thoughts.

Thread: a topical message board within the Forum, that is limited to just one kind of thought. (like New Members).

Post: any thing you type or copy from the internet and Submit to a Thread, Private Message (PM), or Home Page (where you end up when you log in).

Pic: a Picture you can post in PC in the Forum (in Threads), or on other people's (or your own) Home Page. (you have to isolate the Picture's URL (that starts with http://,, in the search bar, and usually ends with .jpg or .gif ), usually by clicking on the picture and then "right click" (with your middle finger) to get the little menu where you Copy and Paste.
you need to Copy the picture's URL (aka Address) and then use the little box in PC with mountains in it (http://forums.psychcentral.com/tutor...nsertimage.gif) at the top of every Post Window to Paste and Submit.
you can also write a little comment on the Pic window (after you Paste a pic URL and click OK), then click Submit.

Link: any address that begins with http:// ,,, usually they show up in a light blue when posted. in PC when you enter a link before hitting Submit, you will see brackets [url] before the writing, if you don't, there is something wrong. these Links are instructions for the computer to take you to it's address. they can be Copied and Pasted.

Copy and Paste: one of the most useful tools of the mouse. if you "Right Click" (with the middle finger) you will get a little drop down menu~! it will have things like Copy, Paste, Save As (that means Download to your Computer). i rarely use any of the other functions, but IF you are going to Copy Text, you will need to hold down your left mouse button while dragging it across the text, the text will change colors. then you Right Click and Copy, and go to the window where you want to leave that and click Paste. then Submit.

Window: the little white box where you type in your comments or post a pic and then submit for Posting. they are also used sometimes to denote the drop down menu's ( a menu window).

Search Bar: the long narrow window where you type in the address for things you want to find, or have found. you can Copy and Paste that address also, if you do it becomes a Link.

Psych Central Terms:
Profile: the part of your Home Page that shows others what you want them to know about you, including a Representation Picture and an Avatar (that follows your posts to make easy identification for others). you can Customize your Profile by clicking on that Link, which opens the Options Menu page. on the left you will see your many options for changing the way your Home Page looks (Your Control Panel), including adding a Personal Representation Picture, an Avatar, setting Colors and background, etc.
this is also where you set up an Album and decide if it's Public or Private and to what extent (Friends and Contacts Only, or Everyone). be aware that Posts and Open Albums can be viewed by anyone on the net, not just PC members~!

this is also where you can block members who offend you, or change your appearance (Online or Invisible) settings.

Album: a feature in PC where you can upload pictures from your computer to share with others or to post in Windows. you can also download pictures from the internet and share them. this is the Only way to get a picture from your computer to a PC window. at the very bottom of the Album edit window, there is a tab that says: Browse. this will take you to your computer Library, where you will select a picture by clicking on it, and then you can upload it to your Album by selecting Upload Picture(s). you can also Paste an online URL into that search bar.
once a Picture is in your Album, you can Copy it's URL
and using the little (Mountain Window Icon) to enter that address in another PC window.

gads, that is sooo much information, perhaps it is not easy to read or understand, i do apologize for any stress you experience during the learning process... if you find i have made errors, Please bring them to my attention, or post a correction in the Tech Support Thread~!

Gus

Thanks for that Gus, it's really helpful

Could someone explain the 'Social Groups' thing please? Can anyone join them?

just bumping this up to a more current page~

the site is still overwhelming to me still...I may not stay much longer because of the set-up...somewhat complicated

i hope you give yourself some time, take it slow and easy,, take the time to learn one thing well, then move to another~

just bringing this post up to current events...

Tell me about it!!! I couldn't even figure out how to reply to your post! Hang in there... hopefully it will get easier

Dear Gus1234U,

Thank you for the info it will be helpful.

Somewhat helpful. Thanks for contacting me. I think I need to learn how to navigate this.

Looking forward to learning the ropes and getting my feet wet!

You forgot about T. I see a T posted often in the forums and so it's important to know what T stands for:

T = Transcendentalist.

T most often stands for Therapist.

Maybe add "T" and "pdoc" to your dictionary?

OP, as referencing the Original Poster of a thread... could be helpful

your list is great though.. would be very helpful to anyone new to the format. thanks, Gus

And hey, a multi-talented therapist could also be a transcendentalist.. I haven't known any like that though. Cheers

year there are many abbreviations like pdoc that can be confusing...

there's one for 'as needed' meds that I don't remember at the moment....

many others...

prn. = as needed. I forget what it actually stands for .. I'm pretty sure it's something Latin though. Those tricky doctors, using a dead language!

Prescription Abbreviations

Pro ra nate