Help

Registered and non-registered users

The eConsultations service is free to use, and anyone can browse the messages on the forum without needing to register. If you want to participate and post a message however, you will need to complete a simple registration form, and to provide a working email address. This is so that we can be certain that messages posted are genuine, and so that you can view and agree to the terms of service before posting. The information you provide in the form will be treated in accordance with our privacy policy.

Browsing the forum

The eConsultation homepage gives a description of the purpose of the consultation, and the goals which Parliament hopes it will achieve. You can return to this page at any time by clicking the “Topic List” link on every page.

Below the introduction follows a list of topics, which have been posted by the Select Committee. These topics are intended to guide the discussion and to group messages together. Next to each topic you can see the number of messages which have been posted, the number of times the topic has been viewed, and links to the message list page(s) and to the most recent post on this topic.

Click on a topic link to go to the message list for that topic. Messages are listed in date order, oldest first. If the topic contains more than twenty messages, the list is broken into multiple pages. The first post on the topic describes the topic of discussion, and invites you to respond.

When you are ready to post a message on a topic, you will need to register.

Login

Click on the “login” link at the top of each topic and message list. This takes you to a form where you can enter your username and password to login to the eConsultations service.

If you have forgotten your password, you can enter your email address in a form on the same page, and your login details will be sent to you by email.

Registration

Click on the “login” link at the top of each topic and message list. On this page there is a link for new users to register with the eConsulation. Click on this link to open the registration form.

The registration form prompts to you answer some questions, which will include at least:

  • Your first name
  • Your last name
  • Your email address
  • A username
  • A password (twice)
  • Agree to the service terms and conditions

Your username is displayed next to each message you post, and must be different from the username of all other users. If the name or email address you give is already in use, you will be asked to enter a different one.

Your email address must be real - you will be sent an email with a link to activate your account.

There may be other questions which are specific to the eConsultation – for instance a Defence Committee consultation might ask you whether you are a member of the armed forces. Some of these questions are optional, others are mandatory. Mandatory items are indicated with an asterisk (*).

You must check the box to indicate your agreement to the terms and conditions of the service, which are displayed in a scrolling window in the registration form. You should read these before agreeing.

Finally you are asked to copy a code of letters and number from a distorted message on the page. This code is designed to prevent people writing programs to post messages on the forum – it is designed to be easy for people to read, but difficult for a computer.

After submitting the form, you will need to check your email to receive an activation message. This message may end up in your junk mail so it is worth checking your junk mail folder. In this message is a link which you should click on to activate your account. After this you can log in and browse the forum and post messages.

If you have any trouble registering, please request assistance from our support team by email on webmaster@parliament.uk

Posting messages

On a message list page, you can reply to any message in the list by clicking on the “Reply to this message” button on the post.

The message form shows your username and email address. The username will be displayed next to your post (but not your email address). You can change the message subject and enter your own message in the space provided. Some simple formatting is possible using the buttons above the message box.

When posting a message, please try to be polite and constructive, and do not post anything which could be considered offensive or defamatory either to the person you are replying to, or to other readers of the forum.

Your message will not appear on the forum until it has been approved by a moderator. This should happen within 24 hours. When your message is approved you will receive an email indicating this.

If the moderators decide your message does not comply with the forum discussion rules then they may decide to delete it completely or to edit it before publishing. You will receive an email explaining the reason for this action.

Setting Preferences

Click on the “My Control Centre” link to view your profile, based on the questions you answered at registration. You can also edit these details or change your answer if you wish.

Keeping up-to-date

There are a number of ways of keeping up with the discussion, apart from checking back regularly on the eConsultations website.

Each message has a “Follow this thread” button. Click on it to receive email updates whenever a new message is posted in response to the message. You can also select this option whenever you post a message by checking the “send replies to this thread to me via email” box on the message form.

The eConsultation service also provide an RSS feed. This feed provides updates in a form which can be read by any RSS-compatible program, such as most current browsers and an increasing number of mobile devices. Click on the RSS link to view and subscribe to the feed, (Links are specific to consultations, e.g http://forums.parliament.uk/defence-medical/index.php?rss,1).

Complaints

If you have any complaint regarding the content of messages on the forum, you can notify a moderator by clicking on the “Alert a moderator ” link. This takes you to a form in which you can explain why the content of the message is inappropriate. The moderators will review the message and your complaint and if necessary they may revise or delete it.

Contacts

For all queries regarding the eConsultations service, please contact the Parliament Web Team via webmaster@parliament.uk

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