Community Tutorial

Why register?

When a registered user comments, their name has a link that leads to that user’s profile page, with a cute plant indicating that they are registered. Having a profile helps us all to learn a little about each other and helps us to better understand where each of us is coming from. Adding profile pictures, also known as avatars, makes it easier for people reading your comments, and putting a face (or plant!) with a name can help conversations grow.

To use this tutorial, just follow the instructions to navigate or for a quick shortcut, follow the links to each page. Right click on each link to open it in a new page or tab and this page will stay open.

1. Register for Biofortified

At the top of the right-hand sidebar at Biofortified.org, there is a shortcut to our Login and Registration pages. Clicking on Register will take you to a screen where you can create an account in one of two ways. You can log in immediately by using your account on one of many social networking sites (click the grey arrows to page through the options). Or, you can enter a username and password, fill in the Captcha code, and wait for an email that contains a password. (Make sure to click Register after the first registration screen or you will not get this email). For security reasons, you will be required to confirm your account using the link provided in the email you will receive. This will help us know that you are a human being and not a spam-bot.

2. Edit your profile

If you aren’t already logged in, click on Log in in the Meta section in the right-hand sidebar at Biofortified.org. When you are logged in, you can check your profile by going to the Community page and clicking to view your Public Profile, and to edit it you can just click on Edit Profile. You can also access this page by going to the dark gray bar on the top right corner of the screen to where you see your account information. You can also edit your profile by clicking here.

Fill in your Profile with as much or as little information as you like. Use the drop-down menu next to “Display name publicly as” to choose what name you wish to be displayed when you comment. Your real name will not be shared unless you choose for it to be your display name. Your email address will not be publicly available, and will never be sold or given away. The only time your email would be used is by Biofortified Blog editors to ask rare questions or make constructive comments about your entries on the blog or in the forum. If you wish to display a contact email address publicly, there is a “Public Email” box you can enter it in, and it will be protected from spam-bots when it is displayed on your profile. The biographical information you enter, including links to social media sites, will be displayed on your Profile page.

3. Add your photo

In your profile editing page, you can upload a picture, and it will display next to the comments you make while you are logged in, and next to your forum posts. It will also display on your profile page. The pictures can be of yourself, your garden, or whatever you wish, but please keep in mind that your photo must be young person friendly. If you use Gravatar to associate an avatar image with the email address you used to register for the site, it will automatically pick this image to display in your profile. If you wish to change the image, just upload a new one!