Help - Manifold on the Web

The Help - Manifold on the Web menu launches an Internet browser session to connect to a variety of web sites of interest to Manifold users. You must have a functioning Internet connection and an installed Internet browser to use this capability.

Note that Internet pages for the internal links in the Manifold on the Web menu are kept current for the duration of the current Manifold release. If the Manifold release covered by this documentation has been replaced by a newer release, the Internet pages may change.

The Manifold Online Community

The Community choice connects to the online Georeference forum at http://www.georeference.org run by Manifold users. Note that this is not a "factory" web site managed by manifold.net - it is simply an online meeting place where Manifold users from all over the world can meet to discuss Manifold System.

The Community forum can be a great place to discuss Manifold with your friends online, to give and to get technical assistance and to talk about new ideas for Manifold and for using Manifold. Experienced members of the Manifold online community offer the following advice when visiting the forum:

·      People who read and make posts in the forum are ordinary users just like you. They all have their "day jobs" and are visiting the forum on their own time.

·      There is a zero tolerance policy on insults, ad hominem attacks, foul language and other incivilities. Please keep it polite, respectful of other participants and professional. Be patient with beginners.

·      If you need help using Manifold, don't be impatient to get answers to your postings. Remember, other people reading the forum are ordinary users just like you. If they have time and take an interest in helping you, they may post a reply. But any participation by anyone is completely voluntary. If you have a technical question and need a response for sure, see the Technical Support topic.

·      People in the online Manifold community tend to be very generous with their time unless they feel they are being taken advantage of. Postings of the form "I don't have any time to learn about this... someone please do it for me" won't usually get many responses. In contrast, a posting that shows you have studied the documentation and have tried to work out a problem before raising it in the forum will usually get many responses from all over the world.

·      When engaging someone in a discussion thread, do not email them directly unless invited to do so by that person. Any responses to postings in the forum should be made on the forum where everyone can read them and where people have a choice as to whether they want to respond or not.

·      As in any community, your reputation in the community depends upon you. If you are courteous and knowledgeable and helpful you will find many supportive users who will reciprocate. Keep it clean and technical. Do not use profanity and do not engage in ad hominem attacks on others. If you find yourself commenting on someone else instead of on product technology, you are crossing the line.

·      Keep in mind that users from all over the world participate in the online Manifold community and that English is not a first language for many participants. Sometimes it is helpful to use simple English and to avoid slang if a language gap arises.

·      manifold.net does not moderate the forum nor monitor it for suggestions. If you have a suggestion to improve the product, read the Contacting manifold.net topic and then send your suggestions directly to manifold.net. Use the forum as a good place to discuss your ideas with other Manifold users so that when you send in your suggestion it is as strong as possible.

·      Like any unmoderated, online community that anybody can join, although the forum has many well-informed users with expert skills it also has its share of self-appointed experts who have poor skills and a poor grasp of technology. The real experts will usually call out errors, but they cannot catch every error. Don't believe everything you read on this or any other forum. If you need authoritative information, hire an expert or utilize a manifold.net tech support service product.

·      There may be people who are employed by manifold.net and who are active in the forum. If so, they are there on their own time as ordinary hobbyists with a personal interest in using Manifold. They are not paid to participate in the forum, so don't think they have any special obligations to answer questions or to provide a special communications channel to manifold.net. If anything, other members of the Manifold online community will be especially annoyed at newbies who pester any manifold.net employees on the forum because they know that is the surest way to drive such people off the forum. Postings from any manifold.net employees on the forum do not represent the views of manifold.net - only direct communications from manifold.net on the website should be taken as official information.

·      The Manifold online community is for discussing Manifold products. It is not for gossip about Hollywood, current events or personalities, or for religious, political, financial, legal, medical or other off-topic posts. Do not post advertising or spam in the forum. Do not seek or give advice such as medical advice, legal advice or other regulated professional opinions or advice. For example, no essays about how to install water heaters in a way that hopefully will not electrocute anybody or gas the occupants of a dwelling. Please stick to technical discussions of Manifold products and reasonably closely associated other software techologies. Although the forum is not moderated, a blacklist mechanism provides a way of eliminating spammers, habitual rule violators, sociopaths or other folks who just can't stick to a productive, professional, courteous technical discussion of Manifold products.

·      See the forum for updated guidelines and additional information.

See Also

Contacting manifold.net

Technical Support