Any particular group of people might regard themselves as being in different categories at different times - often depending on the nature of the conversation as it shifts.

However, in order to make it a little easier for the newcomer or the casual visitor to tell roughly where they might find those people that share their interests or have just the information they seek, some means of navigation is needed.

So, people discussing matters primarily related by physical location can be found in the 'Community Areas'.

More individualistic content, such as blogs (online diaries) are in the 'Personal Areas'.

The 'Business Areas' are where to look for people wanting to talk about anything with a more commercial slant.

Within the 'Group Areas' there are discussions of the most general nature.

More top level categories can be added at any time, but not everything needs to be signposted. Remember, there are humans here so you can ask people, not software, for help.

The nature of this system is such that different areas demand different levels of access rights. Some areas are fully open, others may contain read-only material, still others may allow access only to invited guests, or may be wholly invisible to the non-member.

The configuration of any particular area can be changed, so areas that start off closed may become open and others that start off open may become more restricted - it's all up to the people who run their own areas to decide.

Many have tried to apply real-world metaphors to online communities - likening them to villages or towns or cities, meeting rooms, debating forums, public houses, libraries and so on. No single metaphor works - an online community is an online community. That there are people here is all you need to know.

If you're completely lost having registered and logged in, just find any piece of content authored by the Novacaster Community Admin that has a 'Reply' button below it, use the button to post a plea for help, and we'll come along and point you in the right direction.

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Novacaster Community Admin