Reading messages requires little explanation. At the core of each message page lies the message itself, embedded in a table with a background color different from the main page background. Above the message text lies the subject, underlined and in bold. Information the thread path, the keywords, the date of posting, and the author follows.

Surrounding the message are four navigation buttons, different from the navigation buttons usually found in the Chickscope website. These buttons mean:

	Read the next message, or descend downwards into the responses for the current thread. You are taken down one level at a time.
	Read the next message at the current thread level, skipping replies.
	Read the previous message at the current thread level.
	Back up one level of discussion.

The Add Messages Button
Beneath the message and the navigation buttons is the familiar "add messages" button. However, the meaning of "add message" is slightly different at this level. The message that you add will be added as a response to the current message. Responses are always added at one level lower than the level of the current message.

You have to be careful about where you are adding messages! If you do not pay close enough attention, you may be adding a reply to someone else's reply, when maybe you actually intended to reply to the beginning of the thread. This is a common mistake for new users.

Membership and Administration
The last set of buttons are already familiar to you. The only different button is the (Re)Move button:

The (Re)Move button allows you to move the message to a different thread, or to a differing level within the same thread. It also allows messages to be deleted. Only the message author and the administrator can move or delete messages.

Detailed Help
More specific help is available on the following subjects:

Returning to Scratchings
You can either use the "back" feature of your browser, or you can go directly to the Scratchings main page by following the hyperlink.