Task One: Updating Profile

We want to get to know you! Please feel free to keep personal information private, but please add three (3) things about yourself to your profile if you have not done so yet.

Suggestions:

• Favorite poems/poets
• When/how you started writing poetry
• What inspires you
• What you hope to learn from Neopoet
• What knowledge or experiences you can contribute to Neopoet (everyone brings something to the table!)
• Other languages you know
• Other art forms you enjoy

Instructions on how to update your profile:

1. From any page on Neopoet.com, find your username in the navigation bar at the top
2. Hover your mouse over your name (do not click).
3. A menu appears
4. Select the second option, “Edit my profile”
5. You can add information about where you are from, favorite poets, about me, your gender, and birthday
6. Gender and birthday are kept private; they are not shown on your public profile.
7. For this workshop, fill in the About Me section with 3 things about yourself. For example, I have included my favorite novel and short story, what I do for a living, and my hobbies.
8. Before you leave this page, click the save button at the bottom.
9. Done! When you have successfully completed this step, a green message will appear at the top of the page that says “The changes have been saved.”
10. To see the effect, click your name (instead of hovering like in step 2). This will take you to your profile.

Further information about Profile Customization is available in the Neopoet FAQs

Click here for a 1-minute video tutorial

Thanks! Please let me or any moderator know if you have any questions.

Kelsey

Task Two: Join the Conversation

Neopoet is a workshop community. We want to have conversations with you! To contribute to any conversation, leave a comment anywhere on the site.

Instructions for leaving a comment:

1. For example, to interact with a poem that you have read, scroll toward the bottom of the page to find the “Add new comment” section of the page.
2. Fill in a relevant/useful subject line.
3. Then, in the comment box, leave a comment. We encourage you to provide constructive feedback when you can. Show the poet that you read their poem carefully with a thoughtful response.
4. To finish your comment, click the save button below the comment box.
5. Your comment will appear in the thread of comments, which display as oldest first from top to bottom. You can follow along with an entire conversation from start to finish by reading top to bottom.
6. New and unread comments appear in green boxes in comment threads (with the label “new” at the top of them). Comments from the author of the poem or page appear blue after they are no longer “new” and include the label “author comment”. The box around comments from others who are not the author turn white after they are read/no longer are new.
7. To reply to someone else’s comment, click the reply button at the bottom of their comment. You fill out the subject line, write the comment, and then click save like other comments.
8. Replies to comments appear below and to the right of the comment they are responding to.
9.  

Click here for a 1-minute video tutorial

Thanks! Please let me or any moderator know if you have any questions.
Kelsey

Task Three: Post a Poem

If you haven’t already done so, post your first poem to Neopoet!

Instructions for posting a poem:

1. From any page on Neopoet, find the Tools menu in the navigation bar at the top of the website.
2. Hover your mouse over Tools (don’t click). A menu will appear.
3. Select the last option in this menu, “Submit content”
4. From the options on this page, select “poem”
5. On the “Create Poem” page, give your poem a title
6. Enter your poem into the Poem Body box. It is useful to type your poem in a separate word processor, such as Microsoft Word or Google Drive first. This step allows you to copy and paste your poem into the box without risking losing it.
7. Generally, you can ignore the Text format menu.
8. Select the editing stage of the poem from the drop-down menu
9. Select the style or type of poem from the next drop-down menu.
10. Choose one Review Request (Intensity) option
11. Choose as many Review Request (Direction) options as you would like (these are check boxes)
12. Use the “Last Few Words” box to give the reader context for the poem or anything else you would like us to know about the poem. This space is optional, but useful for readers!
13. If you are submitting the poem for a contest or challenge, select the appropriate option from the Contest menu.
14. If you are submitting the poem for a workshop, select the appropriate option from the Workshop menu.
15. Indicate the content level (Explicit or not Explicit) from the Content menu.
16. Consider checking the social media permission box if you would like to give Neopoet permission to showcase your poem on their social media.
17. Click Save
18. Your completed and published poem will appear in the Stream and will be ready for others to read and interact with. It will also appear on your profile.

Some guidelines to follow when posting poems:

• Please do not post the same poem to Neopoet more than once.
• There is a one-per-day limit for posting poems to Neopoet
• Please do not use blogs to post your poems.

Click here to watch a 1-minute video tutorial

If you have any questions, please let me or a moderator know! Thank you!

Take care,
Kelsey

Task Four: Join a Contest/Challenge

All new members are welcome to participate in our monthly New Member contest.

To learn about this contest and others:

1. Find the Contest menu in the top navigation bar from any page on Neopoet.
2. Hover your mouse over Contest (do not click). A menu will appear.
3. Select “Find a contest” from the menu.
4. The Find a Contest page will show you all current contests.
5. Click the name of any contest to read the contest submission guidelines

To submit a poem to a contest:

• Either submit a new poem (not something you have posted here before) and choose the correct contest in the Contest menu on the Create Poem page. Available contests are marked as "Open to New Participants"
• Or edit an existing poem to add it to the context.

To edit an existing poem:

1. Hover your mouse over your name in the top navigation bar (do not click)
2. From the menu, select My Works
3. Here you will see a complete list of everything you have published at Neopoet.
4. Click the title of the poem you would like to edit
5. This will take you to the poem’s publication page.
6. Near the title there are four buttons: View, Edit, Revisions, and Unpublish
7. Select Edit
8. Choose the correct Contest or Challenge from the Contest menu.
9. Click Save

Click here to watch a 1-minute video tutorial

If you have any questions, please let me or a moderator know! Thank you!

Take care,
Kelsey

Task Five: Post a Blog

Blogs are our space to share other writing and thoughts outside of poems.

To submit a blog post:

1. From any page on Neopoet, find the Tools menu in the navigation bar at the top of the website.
2. Hover your mouse over Tools (don’t click). A menu will appear.
3. Select the eighth option in this menu, “Create a blog post”
4. On the “Create Blog entry” page, give your post a clear and relevant title
5. Add the main message of your blog into the Body section
6. When you are ready to share your blog, click the Save button

Suggestions:

• Discuss books you are reading
• Reactions to current events
• Short stories and other prose
• Knowledge or writing advice you can share
• Personal updates or a writing diary
• Interesting things and experiences you find inspiring
• News about petry, writing, or art

Click here to view a one-minute video tutorial

If you have any questions, please ask me or a moderator! Thank you!

Take care,
Kelsey

Task Six: Make a Comment in a Workshop

Communication is a key component of all our workshops. To communicate in a workshop, post a comment in that workshop. You can start by introducing yourself in this workshop.

Commenting in a workshop is just leaving a message/comment anywhere else on the site (Task Two), but it is specifically on the workshop’s page:

1. From any page on Neopoet, find the Workshop menu in the top navigation bar.
2. Hover your mouse over the Workshop menu (do not click).
3. Select the option “Find a workshop”
4. Click the workshop Name from the list of current workshops (this workshop is Navigating Neopoet: New Member Workshop)
5. Scroll down to the “Comments” section
6. Find the “Add new Comment” area at the very bottom.
7. Add a subject and comment body, then click save.

Click here for a one-minute YouTube video tutorial

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Take care,
Kelsey

Task Seven: Search for a User (community member)

Using the search functions can be a useful option when navigating Neopoet. Searching for a specific user will help you get to their page and see all their writing.

To search for a user on Neopoet:

1. From any page on Neopoet, find the Tools menu in the top navigation bar.
2. Hover your mouse over the Tools menu (do not click)
3. Select the Search option
4. Press the Users button at the top of the page
5. Type all or part of the person’s username in the box labeled “Enter your keywords”
6. Click search
7. Search results will appear below the Search button
8. Click the desired result to be taken to the user’s profile
9. If you do not see the result you expect, try typing in another keyword in the search box.
10. A message will appear with suggestions if your search yielded no results
11. Try it out with the keyword “swamp" (do not use quotation marks).
12. If you searched correctly, the user swamp-witch should appear. Going to that profile should show someone familiar!

Click here for a one-minute YouTube video tutorial

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Take care,
Kelsey

Search for Content (writing)

Using the search functions can be a useful option when navigating Neopoet. Searching for specific content can be used to find writing by subject across the site.

To search for content on Neopoet: :

1. From any page on Neopoet, find the Tools menu in the top navigation bar.
2. Hover your mouse over the Tools menu (do not click)
3. Select the Search option
4. Press the Content button at the top of the page
5. Type all or part of a subject or keyword in the box labeled “Enter your keywords”
6. Click search
7. Search results will appear below the Search button
8. Using the Advanced Search options, you can narrow results to specific types of writing/pages across the site, such as poems, blog entries, forums, or FAQs
9. Click the desired result to be taken to the desired piece of writing on the subject you searched
10. If you do not see the result you expect, try typing in another keyword in the search box.
11. A message will appear with suggestions if your search yielded no results
12. Try it out with the keyword “halloween" (do not use quotation marks).
13. If you searched correctly, you will see many results. One of the first results should be a prior contest hosted by Paul.

Click here for a one-minute YouTube video tutorial

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Take care,
Kelsey

Task Nine: Reviewing the Neopoet FAQs

The Neopoet Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page provides brief answers to some of the questions that regularly crop up for new members. Please review these FAQs.

To access the Neopoet FAQs page:

1. From any page on Neopoet, find the Resources menu in the top navigation bar.
2. Hover your mouse over the Resources menu (do not click)
3. Select the “Frequently Asked Questions” option
4. Below each question is a grey button, clicking this button reveals the full answer.

Click here for a one-minute YouTube video tutorial

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Take care,
Kelsey

Task Ten: Reviewing the Neopoet Positions List

The Neopoet Positions List gives users an overview of all the advocates in the community who take official support roles. Getting to know these members and what they do can help you seek support across the site.

To access the Neopoet Positions list:

1. From any page on Neopoet, find the Resources menu in the top navigation bar.
2. Hover your mouse over the Resources menu (do not click)
3. Select the “Neopoet positions list” option
4. Read through the options to familiarize yourself with volunteers around the site who advocate for and support our community!

Click here for a one-minute YouTube video tutorial

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Take care,
Kelsey