Updated 21 December 2006. Always check the website for the latest version of this page.
Blackpool4Me is not your standard website. It is a website of websites, a portal or gateway to what we call channels within.
Each channel is created and maintained by a club, group, organisation or service that has members in or delivers something of value to the people and communities of Blackpool.
The layout of Blackpool4Me stays the same throughout, so that you soon get used to finding your way around. But what you see depends on whether you are viewing it without logging in (as a guest user), or after logging in with your username and password (as a registered user). Even more options are available to you if you have been given rights to create and manage pages in a channel.
Anyone reaching www.blackpool4me.com over the internet will see the Blackpool4Me homepage. Like all the other pages this is divided into three sections, with a bar at the top of the page and another bar at the bottom.
The central section displays a message welcoming you to Blackpool4Me.
The left hand section displays the most recent pages from the channels inside. This section is divided into three parts: Latest Pages lists all kinds of new pages, What’s On just displays events, and News just displays news items. Some visitors to Blackpool4Me will regularly check out these listings to see what’s new from every channel.
- Latest Pages - displays the latest pages from the channels within Blackpool4me as soon as they are published. Click on the name of the page to view it. Clicking on "more latest pages..." will take you to a longer list. From there click on the title of a page to view it.
- What's On - displays the most recent events relating to the channels within Blackpool4me. Click on the name of the page to view it. Clicking on "more what's on..." will take you to a longer list that gives you a summary of each event. From there click on the title of the event to see more information about it.
- News - displays the latest news pages from the channels within Blackpool4me as soon as they are published. Click on the name of the page to view it. Clicking on "more news..." will take you to a longer list that includes a summary of the news item. From there click on the title of the news item to see the full story.
This section displays the latest pages from wherever you are in Blackpool4Me – at the homepage, in the directory, or in a channel. So the homepage lists pages from all the channels. Within the channel directory (see below) you will see pages displayed from channels that belong to the subject category you are in. For example clicking on Health in the Channel Directory will show you the latest pages from all the channels in the health category. Once you reach a channel you will only see the latest pages from that channel.
The right hand section shows
- Contents - listing all the page from the channel you are in (except for any marked as private for members only). Click on the page name to view it.
- Features - displays any channel features that have been added to this channel and made available to visitors (not logged in) to Blackpool4Me. Options open to guests within the features may be limited - for example guests can view but not add items to the noticeboard. Find out more on the What registered users can see page.
Every page in Blackpool4Me has useful links in the bars at the top and bottom of every page:
Top Bar links
- Home - takes you back to the Blackpool4Me home page
- Contact B4Me - tells you how to contact the Blackpool4Me team
- Search B4Me - gives you three ways to find the information you want
- Help - takes you to help pages
- Accessibility - gives you information about how all members of the community can access Blackpool4Me
- Browse B4Me - takes you to the channel directory, a list of subject categories included in Blackpool4Me. Channels are grouped into categories and sub-categories. As you go through the directory, channels that belong to each category or sub-category are listed at the bottom of the page. The lists of latest pages, events and news are made up of pages from the channels that belong to a category/sub-category. To reach a channel click on its name in the list at the bottom of the page, or click on a page in the lists on the left hand side of the screen
- My Forums - takes you to the general forum where you can see postings from registered users of Blackpool4Me. Click on the B4Me General Discussion to see the list of topics and polls (surveys) within the forum, then click on the title of a topic or poll that you want to look at.
- Log In - where registered users can enter their username and password to reach their own personalised version of Blackpool4Me
- Register - takes you to the page where you can register for Blackpool4Me and gain access to additional features
Bottom Bar links
- Terms and Conditions - which apply to your use of Blackpool4Me
- Privacy Policy - respecting your privacy as a user of Blackpool4Me
- Want a Channel? - describes what is involved in managing your own channel in Blackpool4Me, including a form to apply for one