How to Write Articles: Beginner Information
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This online community is designed to be a reflection of our Idaho Falls community. We get lots of discussion activity via the chatbox and comment responses to articles. This series will help more people make the transition from reacting to published stories to writing stories themselves.
The more people who write about local topics, the more comments get generated in response, the more engaged our community is both online and in the physical city.
This series consists of beginner, intermediate, and advanced information. Beginner information is enough to begin writing and publishing your own articles. Intermediate information will address topic categories in detail. Advanced information will explain the text edtior viewing options, how to align your images to allow text flow, editing your article’s timestamp (to publish in the future), and answers to questions as they are asked.
Your first step to writing articles is to register. Clicking the ‘Register’ link at the top of every page will take you to a 2-step form. Enter a username and an email address. Use your real name or an anonymous nickname. Use your regular email adress or a new anonymous email (like Yahoo!). Only site admins see your email address and it is never sold.
After submitting a username and email address, check your email address. Our system emails a confirmation and password. If you ever forget your password, click the ‘Forgot your password’ link, enter your email address, and a new password will be emailed automatically.
Once registered, simply click the ‘Login’ link at the top of every page, located next to the ‘Register’ link. 
When logged in, you see a dashboard of site information. Feel free to browse the options, but to write an article, click the ‘Write’ link in the top left corner.
The Title box is obviously what your article title will become. The Post box is where you write your article content. The buttons at the top of the Post box are for text formatting, just like in your word processor. You can make text bold, italic, linked to another Internet site, make a numbered or bullet-point list, or add images.
Below the Post box are two buttons: Save and Continue Editing and Save. Save and Continue Editing will save what you’ve written so far and reload the page again so you can continue writing. Save will save what you’ve written so far but load a different area, so to return you have to navigate back to your saved title. Not a big deal, it’s just fewer clicks to hit the first one.
You can see a live preview at the bottom of your page after each save. 
It takes a moment to generate, but shows the IdahoFallz.com website and what your article would look like when published. Please note the layout is flexible to the size of eventual viewer’s monitors.
Notice there is not a Publish button yet? IdahoFallz.com policy is that newbies must have their first three articles published (released) by a site editor. This is designed to prevent newbies from accidentally publishing half-finished work full of errors. It’s to protect you more than to restrict you. When you feel your article is ready, just ask in the live chatbox for an editor to publish your piece. They will quickly review it for spelling, grammar, and content. Questionable content is usually just libelous statements, swear words, or non-local topics.
After you have published three articles, you have demonstrated you can handle the technology and are promoted to publish on your own. Publishing on IdahoFallz.com is subject to a few terms and conditions.
Please feel free to comment your questions in response to this ‘how-to’ article.
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Comments
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1 
0 I have my three articles ready to be looked at by any of you editors when you get a moment. Thanks!
Kerry A. Shirts
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0 0 What “register button?” I cain’t find it!
Monte
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0 1 *
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Vote:
Someone asked me about retrieving their previously saved articles.
If you’ve saved it (instead of Save and Continue editing) or come back later, you can find all your previously saved drafts in the ‘Manage’ link that’s located right next to the ‘Write’ link.
In the ‘Manage’ area, you’ll see links to all of your saved drafts by title.
This is why it’s easier to assign a title early on, so it’s easier to identify later. You can always change your title also.