Private messages allow users on a board to contact each other out of the public eye. Private messages can be described as a cross between email, instant messaging, and phpBB 2.0 forum posting. To use private messaging, you must be logged in to the board. Look at the top of any page, and click You have X new message(s). This will take you to your private messaging center. Sending There are three primary ways to send a private message. First, you may go your private messaging center and click New Post. Secondly, you may click Post Reply from a private message you are reading. Finally, you may click the PMlink on any user's profile or post. The posting form is identical to the normal posting form with a few exceptions: Username - The username of the person you want to receive the message. If you are replying to a PM, or clicked the PM link in someone's profile, this field will be automatically filled for you. Receiving There are three ways that one may be notified of a new private message. Most obvious is the Private message link at the top of every page. It will display You have X new message(s), where X is the number of new messages you have. You may click this link to take you to your Inbox. You may be informed of new PMs by an email sent to the email address your username is registered to. You may also be informed of a new PM by means of a small window that pops up while you are viewing the board. Email and pop-up notification will contain a link to your Inbox. Email and pop-up notification may be enabled/disabled in your Profile. Sometimes you may be informed of a new PM, but when you go to your Inbox, there is no new message. This is not a bug, it simply means that the sender must have deleted the PM before you read it. You may delete messages by selecting them and clicking Delete Marked. Alternatively, you may delete all messages by clicking Delete All. You may also sort/display messages by age by using the dropdown list box in the upper right corner. The Outbox When you send a PM, the message goes to your Outbox. It remains in the Outbox until the recipient visits his/her Inbox, at which point it is moved from your Outbox to their Inbox. While the message remains in your Outbox you may edit or delete your post if you like. The message remains in your control until it is received. The Savebox The Savebox is provided as a place to keep important PMs. Often it is used to save valuable messages from the Inbox, and then you can use the Delete All function to discard the rest. You may save messages in your Inbox by selecting the messages (with the checkboxes next to each message) and clicking Save Marked.