You can tell when you are logged into the boards by looking in the second Yellow header bar. There it will say "Your eBay ID", you are signed in to discussion boards.

The Discussion boards are a unique part of eBay and contain different communities of regular Posters in each board. As in real life each board has a personality in it own sense.

If you are new to the boards it is advisable to "Lurk" for a brief time to become acquainted with the particular board that you want to post to.

When you visit the particular Board that you have selected the first thing that you will see is the boards "Main Page", this will show the Discussions that are in progress.
When viewing this they display in columns, these columns are:

Status- - - - -Topic(Started by)- - - - -Replies- - - - -Updated

The Status column will display the Icon's described in Terms/Icon section of this Post.
The Topic(Started by) column displays the topic title and the eBay ID who started the discussion (this is referred to as the Original Poster or OP)
The Replies column shows the number of "Posts" that have been posted to the Discussion.
The Updated column shows when the topic was update (if updated within the last 24hr period it will display the time/after 24hrs will display the date of last post)

At the top of each board are Topics that have been Tacked to the top and will display
the Tack (), these remain at the top of the board. As Discussions are updated they move back to the top of the list of discussions that have been posted just below the "Tacked" threads.
As more Topics are added older ones "Drop" off the page falling into older pages. These older pages can be accessed at the top and bottom of each board.

Once on the main board of your choice, you can view the Topics of each discussion that is listed on that board.
As more topics are added they drop off the main board and become older threads. These threads may be accessed from the top and bottom of each page and will display as follows:
Previous 1|2|3|4|5...17 Next
From here you can go back to specific pages of threads. Also on the bottom there is a go-to box that you can type a specific page in.

To Post a Topic: In the small yellow header bar click on the Post a topic. This is located at the top and bottom of the board. This will open a separate window where you can list the Topic of your discussion or Question, and a text box to expound on your topic. Once you post your message it will take you back to your post. To go back to main page to view your Topic click on the board name above the yellow header, i.e., Home > Community > Discussion Boards > New to eBay Board
In this case it would be "New to Ebay Board". This will take you back to the main page. At this point I will mention that any time that you wish to go back out to the main page of the discussion board that you are on, this is the best way to do it. Refreshing your Browser window will update your page and allow you to see in the "Replies" Column if someone has posted a reply to your topic.

Searching for a post: If you have lost, or unable to find the Topic that you have posted. Or are looking for a specific topic, there is available a search function for just the boards. By typing in the specific topic and clicking on the search button it will search all posts on that board for that topic.

The Search function is located at the top of each Main Board with a box to type in and a Search button to start your search.
If you are not sure of what board you posted to, there is also an Advanced Search that allows you to search all the Discussion boards.

Watching: There is also available an option that allows you to watch a specific Thread. To set your Watch preferences click on Watches in the Yellow header bar showing your log in status. When done setting your preferences, you will be notified by email each time your Thread has been posted to.

How to Watch: While in the specific Thread, click on Watch this discussion link. With your preferences set, this will watch this thread. (At any time you can see which threads you are watching by clicking on Watches in the Log in status Bar). You will be informed by email (per your setting) when the discussion has been updated.

Stop Watching: If at any time you no longer want to receive updates on a thread you are watching, just click on the link titled "Stop Watching Thread" found in the specific thread being watched. Also you can remove any watched thread by clicking on the "Watched Discussions" link located in the log in bar and deleting the watched thread.

Several new features have been added to the Discussion boards.

Print - This allows you to print out the Page/s with out all the extra info in the Headers and side bars.

Settings - This allows you to use a signature file that will post at the end of each post. There are however Guidelines for Use of Signature files. If you wish to use one please read the Guidelines for Use of Signature Files.

Watches - Allows you to watch specific Topics/Threads.

Preview - This function allows you to preview your post before posting it to the Topic, or Reply to a topic.

Other special features are displayed in the Post a Topic/Post a Reply Text box.

By Selecting this, it will allow you to insert a variety of Smiley's.

This inserts the HTML for Bold lettering inside your post. Typing between the and the will make your text Bold

This inserts the HTML for Italics inside your post. Typing between the and the will make your text appear in Italics.

This inserts the HTML for underlining Text. Typing between the and the Will underline the text.

This is a little technical, it allows for Monospaced text. In other words, it allows exact spacing and line breaks to be preserved. By typing your text between the

 and the 

If, while logged into the discussion boards, and see a post that violates the Board Usage Policy such as vulgarity, profanity, something Illegal, obscene, Pornographic, or if someone has posted personal information about another member - Please click on Report in the specific post or beginning Topic. Board Moderators will review the post for violations and take appropriate action since the reported posts aren't always removed.

Self Reporting: You can self-report a post to have it removed from the board especially if you duplicate a thread or want to retract a comment.

Community Values

With a community as big as eBay, there are going to be those who just don’t communicate together very well and how we, as community members, deal with those situations tell what kind of person we are.

If an individual comes into the community thinking that "I don’t have to worry about what I do or say on here, that this is just a computer platform where I can do as I want", is sadly mistaken.

On the other end of those "computers" are individuals who have an everyday life just like you and me.

How I interact with those individuals tells the world - Who I am and What I am like.

Ebay is a community that encourages open and honest communications among all its members. Its community is guided by five fundamental values:

-We believe that people are basically good.

-We believe everyone has something to contribute.

-We believe that an Honest, open environment can bring out the best in people.

-We recognize and respect everyone as a unique individual

-We encourage you to treat others the way you want to be treated.

Good community values and good interaction between individuals promotes a good environment.

And in a good environment all benefit.

Community Values