Math Forum » Discussions » FAQ

• How come I get the message, "Sorry, you aren't allowed to see this"?
• I'm a member of the Problem of the Week services. Do I have a login for the members-only PoW discussions?
• What happened to the message that I e-mailed to the mailing list? It still hasn't shown up in the Forum archives.
• I'm looking for textbook solution manuals that I saw advertised here.
• How do I unsubscribe?
• I need to correct a mistake in my post.
• I've posted to Math Forum discussions before. Do I already have a login?
• I think the Forum reserved me a username (email) ... but I'm not sure. How do I log into to a username if it's an old e-mail address of mine that I've abandoned?
• I don't want to log in to send messages. Can I still post anonymously?
• What's RSS? Why would I want to use it? How do I get it?
• I participate by e-mail with my subscription to a mailing list. How does this web interface affect me?
• What else can I do in this discussion area?

How come I get the message, "Sorry, you aren't allowed to see this"?

• Some publicly viewable discussions, such as the inactive ones, no longer accept posting.
• Some other discussions get moderated by third parties. In particular, the moderators of The College Board's AP Statistics and AP Calculus groups have requested that we only archive their discussions, and disallow posting from our site.
• To post from The College Board's site, please first subscribe to their mailing list by following the instructions provided in green atop ap-calc or ap-stat.
• Still having problems? Write to the discussions administrator, identifying which forum or thread you're trying to see.

I'm a member of the Problem of the Week services. Do I have a login for the members-only PoW discussions?

• Yes: log in to the discussions with the same username and password that you use to access the PoWs.
• PoW members: your discussion username will not be your e-mail address. Instead, it probably begins with the first letter of your first name, then your last name, followed by some digits. Please check your confirmation welcome message (Subject: "Math Forum Subscription Information").

What happened to the message that I e-mailed to the mailing list? It still hasn't shown up in the Forum archives.

• Our archiving software does not handle some e-mail formatting well. Messages with attachments, in particular, may not archive properly. We regret the inconvenience.
• Rather than e-mail multi-part messages, please consider posting via this web archive -- which allows you to upload attachments -- by clicking the yellow sticky note icons, or
• Or just mail the list with plain-text messages. To learn more about this issue, and see examples of how to configure e-mail client programs to send plain ASCII text messages, consult troubleshooting such as RootsWeb's Instructions for sending plain text mail and/or turning off HTML and RTF.
• If you replied via e-mail to a "Math Forum <watch@..." notification message -- all of which begin and end, "DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE" -- re-open the notification message, follow the relevant link "To view and reply to the message ...," and post over the web.

I'm looking for textbook solution manuals that I saw advertised here.

• For solution manuals, please contact the publishers directly.
• We regularly clean our archive of commercial solicitations, spam, and other posts that do not pertain to mathematics or math education.

How do I unsubscribe?

• If you receive notifications from "Math Forum <watch@...," log in, click Watches, check the boxes in the "delete" column, then hit the "delete" button.
• If you receive mail from a Math Forum mailing list, confirm the name of the list by sending majordomo@mathforum.org a message with only this word in the message body: which
• Look for an automated reply that shows the mailing list(s) you subscribe to -- for example, nameoflist; then send majordomo@mathforum.org a message with only these words in the message body: unsubscribe nameoflist

I need to correct a mistake in my post.

• If no one has replied to a message that you authored, you may edit it in our archives, yourself: just log in, navigate to the message, and click on the pencil-and-paper icon, -- the first one to the right of the timestamp.

I've posted to Math Forum discussions before. Do I already have a login?

• Yes, we have already reserved an account for you. Please reset your discussion account's password.

I think you set up a username (email) for me ... but I'm not sure. How do I log in to a username if it's an old e-mail address of mine that I've abandoned?

• We've hidden some characters from your email address to keep it out of spammers' clutches. If you need help remembering an old email address of yours, please contact us -- preferably, with the numeric UserID from your user profile.

I don't want to log in to send messages. Can I still post anonymously?

• We ask only for a valid e-mail address. You control what parts of your profile other people get to see -- including your e-mail address. Think of it as anonymity ... that belongs only to you.
• The Forum never sells or rents your name, address, or other information to third parties for any purpose. To learn more about how we protect your privacy, please read our Privacy Policy.

What's RSS? Why would I want to use it? How do I get it?

• RSS is a time-saving, automated way to collect only the news you want over the web. For a primer on RSS, we recommend Lee LeFever's blog post, RSS Described in Plain English.

I participate by e-mail with my subscription to a mailing list. How does this web interface affect me?

• It doesn't. You still get the group's messages in your in-box, and post directly to other subscribers by e-mail.
• But if you want to refer to an archive of past conversations, or peek at what's happening in a related discussion, explore the web site -- searchable by participant, date range, category of discussion, and more.

What else can I do in this discussion area?

Lots! You can

• search robustly: in addition to keywords, find
  • a specific discussant ...
  • during a date range you want ...
  • ... within a specific discussion, or across a category of related discussions -- or over all discussions
  Click on at the top of the Math Forum discussions; and check out more search tips

  see discussions organized into categories such as "Education" and "Software"

  Click on at the top of the Math Forum discussions

  look up individual discussants and see what they have posted

  Click on a username, such as the ones listed below any message, under that thread's "Author" column

  get alerts of posts ("watches") from the discussants or discussions you select

  Login and look for the binoculars

  post attachments over the web

  Look for the button in the new message composition window

  format and spell-check before posting online

  Look for the button in the new message composition window

  edit your own post if no one else has replied to it yet

  use your own personal Control Panel to choose how many discussion threads to list on one page, show you the messages you've written, display or hide your e-mail address, and much more

  Look for in the left margin of the Math Forum discussions

• get a feed of updates using Really Simple Syndication (RSS), a time-saving, automated way to collect only the news you want over the web
  Look for at the bottom of the Math Forum discussions

The Forum began in 1992 with funding from the National Science Foundation as an online center for discussing math education. From that emphasis on building online community, we've grown to offer many more services and resources; and today, thanks to Drexel University, we're proud to continue supporting our communities with this discussion area.