WebBoard 4 FAQ's (All Users)

All questions concerning WebBoard should be directed to your instructor! Also see our WebBoard User's Guide.

What is the correct URL for WebBoard?

The URL for WebBoard is of the form http://webboard.uic.edu/~abcd123sem , with the part "abcd123" replaced by the correct course number for your course, all in lower case, without spaces, and "sem" being an indication of the current semester (as in f99 ). Example: for a course LAS100 running in the fall of 1999, the correct address would be http://webboard.uic.edu/~las100f99
Boards for continuing education programs typically do not have this semester suffix.

If you cannot recall the exact address, you can just leave out the boardname entirely, and you will find a list of currently active boards.

What is my login name for WebBoard?

Your login name for WebBoard is your UIC NetID, i.e. the same login you are using on icarus (or tigger , if you are faculty/staff). You cannot change it. For students, your NetID is of the form " fnnnnndd ", where " f " is the first letter of your first name, " nnnnn " are the first five letters of your last name (if they exist), and " dd " is a counting number to make the NetID unique. For faculty/staff, you can choose your NetID yourself (talk to your departmental phonebook contact). It has to have four to eight characters, starting with a letter.

Note: UIC NetIDs are always lower case, even though you may see them written with capitals now and then (for email case doesn't matter).

What is my password for WebBoard?

Initially, when your WebBoard account first gets created, your password are the last 8 digits of your SSN ( not your i -card number)—before July 2000, we used the NetID for this. It is NOT related to your icarus/tigger password! You should change your password immediately when you first log on to WebBoard, or others can influence your grade by posting in your name! Your password will be the same for all classes using WebBoard (you have just one account), but for a new semester your password may be reset to the last 8 digits of your SSN, because student accounts on WebBoard typically are deleted and re-created each term.

Note: The WebBoard password is case-sensitive.

How do I change my WebBoard password?

Click on the MORE... button at the top, then select Edit User Profile . Besides choosing your password, you can change spelling errors in your name here, and personalize your profile.

What kind of browser do I need to use WebBoard?

You need a modern browser that supports JavaScript, such as Netscape 3 or 4, Opera 3, or MS Internet Explorer 3 or 4. Do NOT use the internal browser from your online service, such as AOL (before version 4.0), as those are often older browsers without JavaScript support and may exhibit other problems, e.g. with file-attachments. You also need to have both JavaScript and cookies enabled in your browser's preferences, which is usually the default setting. Your browser should also support frames for getting the most out of WebBoard. A few boards use Java for real-time chat. Ask your instructor whether (s)he requires you to have a Java-enabled browser.

I use AOL. Can I use WebBoard?

The AOL internal browser is known to cause lots of problems with WebBoard. It is preferable that you do not use it. Instead, we recommend that you use your AOL account just to connect to the Internet, and then switch to a recent browser as supplied in our Network Services Kit. That is easily possible with AOL as with any other ISP.

I cannot get into WebBoard. What do I need to do?

What response did you get?

• A dialogue box saying "Authorization failed. Retry?" You forgot typing your password, mistyped it, or don't remember it correctly. See the next answer for details.
• A page starting with the words "WebBoard Authorization Failed" This happens when you cancel out of the authorization process. If you cannot recall your WebBoard password, ask your instructor to reset it to your NetID, then change it after logging in. Note that your initial WebBoard password are the last 8 digits of your SSN, not your icarus password!
• A red page saying "Closed Board. This is a private board and cannot accept new users." This means that you don't have access to this particular board, although you may have access to another board with this login name and password. If you should have access to this board, contact your instructor for this class and ask him/her to add you. If you do have access to another board, tell him/her that as well.
• A page that began with the words "Invalid Board" or "Which Board do you wish to enter?". You mistyped the URL for your board or forgot putting the boardname entirely. This page should have a link to your board. If it is missing, please email the UIC WebBoard administrators.
• Several copies of the same page in frames. You must have cookies turned off! Although WebBoard let you in, it could not store on your computer the number of the board it let you into. Turn on cookies in your browser's preferences and log into WebBoard again.
• No response at all. If you did not get a dialogue box prompting you to enter your login name and password, nor any of the pages listed above, the server is probably down. Call Network Operations at (312) 413-8080 around the clock to confirm this and have the server re-started.

I tried posting a message and got an error

Had you used spell-checking? If yes, try posting the message again without spell-checking. That ought to work without problems. The spell-checker is known to have various bugs.

Another possible cause for posting problems are quotes or other special characters in the message's subject line . Stick to regular english letters and digits, spaces, dashes, and underscores.

I cannot attach files to my messages

Make sure to name your file without spaces or other special characters. The total filename should not exceed 20 characters, including the necessary three-letter extension defining the file's MIME-type. See below for a list of supported filetypes.

If you are on a slow network, or are dialed in via modem or ISDN, you may be experiencing timeout errors. This is particularly prevalent when using MS Internet Explorer. Try to upload the file while on campus from our ACCC public labs.

I tried deleting a message and got an error

If you had the rights to delete this message, i.e. you are its author or the board manager, most likely you clicked twice on the link to delete the message without noticing. After deleting the message already, the server then tried deleting a non-existing object and responds with an error message. There is normally no need to contact the system administrator. Simply refresh the message listing and see whether the message is gone.

Where can I get help for WebBoard problems?

Ask your instructor all questions related to WebBoard. The client-services office does not support WebBoard! If you have a serious problem with WebBoard (other than being unable to get on), make sure to tell your instructor the following details:

• Any error messages you got. Literally!
• What browser you were using, and what version. What ISP?
• What exactly you were trying to do
• Boardname and conference
• When exactly this occurred
• Whether you had JavaScript & cookies enabled
• If you were posting, whether you used spell-checking
• Any other clues related to your problem

Your instructor can then contact the UIC WebBoard administrators with these details, thus giving us a sensible basis for troubleshooting the issue.

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