Help File 1 - WHAT IS A WEB DEBATE AND HOW DO I TAKE PART?

The following is a run-through of the basics of web-based debate for newcomers to the concept. If you have taken part in such debates before you
may find little new here, although you may find one or two useful tips, particularly in the points on style towards the end of this file.

In any case, our debate software is quite intuitive, so you are not compelled to read through this material - you can simply try it out on the day
and call us if there are any problems!

Web discussion forums, also known as web boards or bulletin boards, allow people to communicate with each other on the web at their own pace.

The debate board we are using for the Shared Services in the Public Sector Online Summit is divided into various separate subject areas, grouped under the debate's four main themes. Thus the first thing you see is a list of headings such as Shared vision: what are the benefits of shared services?, or Crossing boundaries: the barriers to shared services'.

The user clicks on the area in which they are most interested, to reveal a list of topics already placed there by the forum's moderators or by other users. The messages are first seen only by their titles, or 'headers', a bit like the headline for a newspaper story. Some other information is visible as well such as who posted it there, and when they did it. Clicking on the message header brings up the whole message to read, like clicking on a link to a web page.

Beyond that the interface allows the user to perform various tasks such as replying to messages; changing the way the messages are set out on the screen (for example seeing the most recent ones at the top); finding out information about other users; and editing messages they have already posted up.

The most important actions taken by participants will be either to read and reply to existing messages, or post their own new topics. This is done by clicking on the 'Post reply' or 'New topic' buttons, entering your message into an online form, and clicking on a second button. As messages and replies to messages and replies to replies build up, a series of discussion 'threads' are created on various topics.

So you can follow a whole thread if it is interesting, or go to another thread, or reply within a thread, or start your own new thread on an entirely new topic - the choice is yours. Try to stick to the topic in hand if you are replying within a thread - if you are changing the subject to any degree, it might be best to start it off as a new topic. Likewise if one thread is getting very long and hard to follow (with say 10-15 replies), you might be doing everyone a favour by striking out in a new direction with a new topic.

If you do make mistakes, you will be able to return and edit your own messages. Of course you cannot edit or delete messages which you did not post up yourself!

A common mistake is to post something twice because you do not see it appear on the board the first time even though it has gone up there. If you cannot see a message appear which you feel sure you posted, try clicking on your browser's 'refresh' or 'reload' button to reload the web page - it may be using an earlier version of the page in a misguided attempt to save you time (a feature that you can disable on your web browser fairly easily).

Another common problem is that you are typing away happily on a masterful contribution to a board and your computer crashes or some other technical glitch occurs. The way to avoid this extremely unpleasant sensation - and good practice generally, as it means you always retain a copy of what you post on your own machine - is to type up your contribution first in a text or word processor file, saving it onto your hard drive, and then paste it across into your web browser when it is complete. This has the added advantage for people using dial-up connections from home that you do not even have to be online while you are composing your contributions.

The beauty of web discussion boards is that discussions take place at a leisurely rate, with everyone choosing to respond or not to respond in their own time, and selecting which threads to take part in. The fact that it is all based on the web also means that you can log on from any computer and take part.

Once you have familiarised yourself a little with the way the board works, and begin to take part, it will be plain sailing. If you do encounter any problems or have any questions at all about any aspect of the debate, please contact us by email or telephone - details in the 'contacts' section of the Shared Services Summit web site.

Finally, a few points about style.

The idea of the Shared Services in the Public Sector Online Summit is to capture people's ideas, and allow them to respond to each other with general advice and suggestions. Ideally we would like people to make just a few carefully considered submissions, of a few paragraphs in length. Please don't answer someone with just a few words or a sentence: the result will be backwards and forwards chat which is tedious for others to plough through. Even if you know someone, don't be too chummy - others reading it may not understand the in-jokes.

Don't bang on about your own organisation or projects at great length, unless the details of strong relevance to the discussion. And last but not least, while strong and lively debate is encouraged, it is not a good idea to allow yourself to become too hot under the collar about a particular issue. Never personalise the debate. If you do feel distressed about anything that appears on the debate, contact us immediately.

That's about it - happy debating!