Cancer Survivors Network

This page provides helpful hints and information about how to use the Cancer Survivors Network Web site.

General Information
Announcements
Blogs
Changing Your Password
Chat Rooms
CSN E-mail
Discussion Boards
Expressions Gallery
My CSN Space
My Favorite CSN Content
Other
Resource Library
Search the CSN
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General Information

If you or a loved one has experienced cancer, we invite you to log in to CSN. You can learn about our community by browsing its many features. Please note the following:

• When navigating the different features of the CSN, you may return to ‘CSN Home’ by clicking on the ‘CSN home’ link located under the beige bar near the top of each page.
• Once logged on, you may quickly access your CSN space from any page by clicking on the ‘Click Here’ link located within the beige bar near the top of each page
• Go to a member’s ‘CSN Space’ by clicking on their username or photo any place on the web site.
• You may add members to your ‘My Friends’ list by clicking on the icon with the plus (+) sign next to the user name. To remove a friend, click the minus (-) sign. You will not see a plus or minus sign next to your own username because members can't add or delete themselves as a friend. However, other members can see the icon by your name even though you can't.
• When posting a message on a discussion board, indicate your subject in the appropriate field. The more specific your title (subject line), the easier it will be for others to know what you wish to discuss.
• If you wish to be notified in your regular mail when you have a new private message in CSN's internal email system, you can select this option on the edit mode of your ‘My CSN Space’ page. From your ‘My CSN Space’ page, click on the ‘edit’ tab and scroll down to ‘Subscription settings.’ Check the appropriate box and click on the ‘Submit’ button at the bottom of the page.

If you have a question that was not answered in this Help section, please send your question via the "Contact CSN" link at the top of this page.

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Announcements

Have an announcement to submit? Complete and submit an announcement submission request form here. Announcements are selected based on relevance and available space. Selection does not imply endorsement by the American Cancer Society. Monetary solicitations cannot be accepted.

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Blogs

CSN members are encouraged to create a blog (short for "web log") to chronicle their cancer experience. A typical blog may combine text and images. Your entries are written in chronological order and displayed in reverse chronological order.

To create your CSN blog:

• Log on to your CSN account at www.cancer.org/csn using your username and password; you will be directed to the CSN Home page.
• From the CSN Home page, click on “create” under ‘My CSN Account.’
• Select the “blog” link under “My CSN Space” and click on the link next to ‘Create.’
• Fill in the blanks in the “title” and “body” fields.
• Upload an image from your computer. (optional)
• Click on the ‘Preview’ button. If your posting need editing, make desired changes in the box below and click “”Preview” again. If it looks fine, then click on the ’Submit’ button at the bottom of the screen. This will publish your blog entry.

To edit your CSN blog entry:

• Log on to your CSN account at www.cancer.org/csn using your username and password; you will be directed to the CSN Home page.
• From the CSN Home page, click on “edit” under ‘My CSN Account.’
• Click on the ‘My CSN Space’ tab and then on the ‘blog’ link underneath.
• From the list of blog entries provided, select the entry you would like to edit and click on the title link.
• Next click on the ‘edit’ tab and edit your entry.
• You may preview your changes by clicking on the ‘preview’ button at the bottom of the page.
• If your entry looks fine, click the ‘Submit’ button at the bottom of the page.

You may also add comments to other members’ blogs. You may also subscribe to others’ blogs to be notified about new entries.

If you have further questions about CSN ‘blogs’, please send your question via the "Contact CSN" link at the top of this page.

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Changing Your Password

Registered users may change their CSN password at any time.

To change your password:

• Log on to your CSN account at www.cancer.org/csn using your username and password; you will be directed to the CSN Home page.
• From the ‘Home’ page, click on the ‘Change Password’ link located in the green box on the left hand side of the screen.
• Scroll down a bit and enter your new password into both password boxes.
• Click the 'Submit' button at the bottom of the page.
• Your new password is effective immediately.

If you have further questions about changing your password, please send your question via the "Contact CSN" link at the top of this page.

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Chat Rooms

Real-time chats are available to registered members only. When logged on, the link to the chat rooms will appear on the ‘CSN Home’ page in the ‘Connect and Communicate’ section.

Clicking the "Chatrooms" link will open a new window that automatically connects you to the chat lobby. From there, you can move in and out to other chat rooms.

If the chat room doesn't open, make sure that Java is running on your computer. You can find out at http://www.java.com/en/download/help/testvm.xml. If you don't have it, you will be able to download it at the same site free of charge.

CSN Chat Room Etiquette

Internet chat can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience when participants follow simple etiquette. Here are basic dos and don’ts to guide your chat room behavior.

Do:

• Be polite. Introduce yourself when you enter a room. Social cues and body language, such as facial expressions and voice tone, aren’t available to us. What you type on the screen is how others get to know you.
• Be respectful. You will not agree with everyone’s opinions and beliefs but remember to respect their right to have them.
• Remember that you are you are talking to real, live people with feelings just like you.
• Give a warm welcome to newcomers to the chat. We were all ‘newbies’ at one time and most of us needed some help “learning the ropes.” We also needed someone to talk to who was kind and compassionate.
• Leave the chat room if anyone makes you feel uncomfortable or causes you distress.
• Ensure confidentiality. Members may share personal information with one another in private. Be mindful of privileged information. Use a member’s username (screen name) rather than their real name to respect their privacy.
• Help us maintain a safe and supportive community.
• Report suspicious behavior or site violations to webmaster@acscsn.org. Your reports are completely confidential. They help us keep the community a safe and welcoming place for everyone. Please try to include the date and time and a copy of the chat dialogue in question into your email to us.
• Use good judgment and common sense when you chat.

Don’t

• Don’t share your name, email or street address, phone number or other personal identifiers.
• Don’t give medical advice or tell others what they should or shouldn’t think, feel, or do.
• Don’t worry about spelling. Typos and spelling mistakes are to be expected when chatting online. Sometimes they are funny and give us something to laugh about together.
• Don't bully.
• Don' lurk. It makes others in the room uncomfortable. Lurkers are often suspected of being on the site for the wrong reasons (i.e. reasearchers studying chatters, "imposters," etc.)
• Don't gossip about other members.
• Don’t type in all CAPITAL LETTERS. This is considered ‘shouting.’ Although occasional use of capital letters can be acceptable to stress certain words, you can also use *asterisks* around a word to show emphasis.
• Don’t be rude, offensive or engage in personal attacks (flames) or threats.
• Don’t ‘interrogate’ or harass anyone. It is not your place to ascertain whether someone is "really" a cancer survivor or cancer caregiver. If you have any suspicions about someone, report them.
• Don’t investigate other CSN members. If you have a concern about someone, report it to webmaster@acscsn.org.
• Don't use profanity.
• Don't engage in abusive or threatening behavior or make lewd or sexual comments.
• Don’t argue or openly debate with others. Blatantly insensitive remarks and purposely annoying comments are not acceptable.
• Don’t monopolize the conversation, spam or flood the room with repeated questions, statements, or links.
• Do not ask for donations, votes for contests, another member's email or mailing address or telephone numbers.
• Do not sell; advertise/promote cures, treatments, research studies, products, or services.
• Do not use the chat rooms to interview or recruit members for research studies, papers, articles, testimonials, media, student projects, events, memberships, or volunteer roles.

ACS reserves the right to inactivate your account for failure to adhere to the above guidelines or for any other behavior that is deemed to be detrimental to the welfare of the CSN community.

For more information visit the Cancer Survivors Network (CSN) Terms and Conditions.

If you have further questions about the CSN ‘Chat Rooms’, please send your question via the "Contact CSN" link at the top of this page.

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CSN E-mail

Registered CSN members may send and receive messages from other users through the CSN internal messaging system. The system allows members to contact each other while protecting their actual email address. Messages can be accessed via your CSN home page.

To send a new message using the Send a Message form:

• Log on to your CSN account at www.cancer.org/csn using your username and password; you will be directed to the CSN Home page.
• From the Home page, click on "CSN Email" located around the center of the blue box labeled "Connect and Communicate."
• On the next page, click on "Write a new message"
• Type the CSN screen name of the member you wish to contact on the "to" field. Or, select the name of the member you wish to contact from the “My Friends” dropdown list.
• Type your subject line and your message.
• Click on "Send Private Message"

To read and respond to messages:

• Log on to your CSN account at www.cancer.org/csn using your username and password; you will be directed to the CSN Home page.
• On the CSN Home page, you will see a green bar at the top that notifies you should you have any new messages. Click on the “private message” link on this phrase.
• On the next page, the messages list will show you all your messages. The new ones have the word “new” next to them under the “subject” column.
• Click on the subject line of your new message to read it.
• When you read a message, you can leave the message on your list, or you can delete message using the “Delete this message” link.
• To reply to this message, click on the “reply to this message” link at the bottom of your message.
• Type your message on the subject field.
• Click on the “send private message” button at the bottom of your message.

To be notified of messages waiting for you:

• You can choose to be notified in your regular email box when a message is waiting for you on the CSN message system. To do this, go to edit mode of your “Preferences” on your “edit” tab, scroll down, and check the box next to "Receive daily e-mail for unread messages.”
• If you choose not to receive e-mail alerts to your personal e-mail account, you may check the “aggressive notification of messages” option which will display a green bar prominently at the top of your page when you have new messages. This bar will be displayed on every page, until your new messages are read.
• Please note that both of these choices are optional.

If you have further questions about the 'CSN E-mail', please send your question via the "Contact CSN" link at the top of this page.

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Discussion Boards

Discussion boards are public forums where messages and responses can be posted for all to read. Discussion boards may be viewed by the public and content can be accessed via internet search engines. Thus, you should be mindful of this before posting personal identifiers such as your real name, address, phone number, etc.

Only registered CSN members may post to CSN discussion boards.

To access discussion boards:

• Select ‘Discussion Boards’ from the left-side CSN navigation menu then pick from the list of discussion boards.
• Alternatively, you can select ‘Discussion Boards’ from the ‘Connect and Communicate’ box on your ‘CSN Home’ page. Then pick from the list of discussion boards.
• To read a message within a discussion group, click on the message title.
• On the main view of each discussion board there is search field that allows members to use keywords to search for content within the specific board.

Discussion Boards Viewing and Reading Choices:

• At the top of each discussion board page you have choices on the way you view the messages. You can sort by topic, the number of replies to a message, the time it was created, or the latest reply.
• When you click on these fields, the messages are displayed in ascending or descending order as indicated by the gray triangle next to sorted field. You may have to click the given field (i.e. topic, replies, etc.) a few times to change the order in which they are displayed.

To post a new discussion topic on a discussion board:

• Log on to your CSN account at www.cancer.org/csn using your username and password; you will be directed to the CSN Home page.
• Click on ‘Discussion boards’ on the left navigation menu or under ‘Connect and Communicate’
• Locate the discussion board of your choice.
• Click the ‘Post new discussion topic’ link at the top of the discussion board page.
• On the ‘Submit discussion’ page, enter a title into the ‘Subject’ field and your message into the ‘Body’ field.
• Select ‘Preview’ to see your completed message before it is posted.
• To submit your message, select ‘Submit.’
• When you select ‘Submit’ the message will be posted on the discussion board of your choice.

To reply to a message within a discussion board:

• Log on to your CSN account at www.cancer.org/csn using your username and password; you will be directed to the CSN Home page.
• Click on ‘Discussion boards’ on the left navigation menu or under ‘Connect and Communicate’
• Locate the discussion board and posting of your choice.
• Click on the ‘Add Comment’ or ‘Reply’ at the bottom of the message box.
• Enter your title in the ‘subject’ field.
• Enter your message in the ‘comment’ field.
• To review your message, select ‘Preview.’
• To post your message, select ‘Submit.’
• When you select ‘Submit’ your message will be posted on the discussion board.

To edit or delete your discussion board posting:

• Log on to your CSN account at www.cancer.org/csn using your username and password; you will be directed to the CSN Home page
• Click on ‘Discussion boards’ on the left navigation menu or under ‘Connect and Communicate’
• Locate your posting on the discussion board you posted to.
• Click on the ‘edit’ tab and update your entry. You may preview it or submit it by clicking on the appropriate button at the bottom of the page.
• Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the ‘Delete’ button. Confirm your deletion on the next page.
• To delete your entry, find and click on your message. Then click on the ‘edit’ tab and click on the ‘delete’ button at the bottom of the page. Confirm your deletion on the following page.

To add a discussion board link to your CSN Home page:

• Log on to your CSN account at www.cancer.org/csn using your username and password; you will be directed to the CSN Home page
• Click on the ‘Discussion Boards’ link on the left navigation bar or under ‘Connect and Communicate.’
• Find the discussion board of your choice.
• Click on the ‘Add to Favorites’ link located on the right-hand side of the main view of the given discussion board. A link to this group will appear on your CSN Home page.
• You may add as many groups as you wish.

To delete a discussion board link from your CSN Home page:

• Log on to your CSN account at www.cancer.org/csn using your username and password; you will be directed to the CSN Home page
• From the ‘CSN Home’ page, click on ‘Manage Favorites’ located on the bottom right hand side of the page.
• Click on the ‘edit’ or ‘delete’ links, depending on what you would like to accomplish.
• Click on ‘save.’

If you have further questions about ‘Discussion Boards’, please send your question via the "Contact CSN" link at the top of this page.

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Expressions Gallery

You must register with CSN before contributing to the Expressions Gallery. After registering, you may make as many contributions to the gallery as you wish: poems, song lyrics, articles, photographs, artwork, stories, songs, recipes, graphics, etc. All contributions will be listed and hyperlinked to your “My CSN Space” page.

To contribute to the Expressions Gallery:

• Log on to your CSN account at www.cancer.org/csn using your username and password; you will be directed to the CSN Home page
• Click on ‘create’ under ‘My CSN Account.’
• On ‘My CSN Space’ page click on the ‘expressions’ link.
• Next to ‘create,’ click on the link that best describes the type of contribution you would like to create.
• Enter your contribution and upload any picture that may accompany your contribution
• To preview your contribution, click on the ‘preview’ button
• To post your contribution, click on the ‘submit’ button

Tips about Expressions Gallery contributions:

• When submitting published articles, you may also want to include a link to the original article in case this is later on updated by the original writer. Remember to add proper citation.
• You can upload an image to the ‘Photo’ section of your ‘expressions’ page from your computer. To do this clicki on the ‘Browse’ button next to the field labeled "Image." Locate the image on your computer and click ‘Open.’ The file must be in either JPG or GIF format. Smaller image files may take less time to upload.
• You can copy text into the text box on the Expressions Gallery area, as long as it is a TXT (.txt) file. Word (.doc) or other file formats may cause formatting problems. To make a .txt file, open the document you want to post in the gallery. Under the File menu, select ‘Save As.’ Give the file a name, and note where it is being saved so that you can find it later. Under the ‘File Name’ field, select ‘Text’ from the drop-down menu that contains file types. Select ‘Save.’ You now have a .txt file from which you can copy and paste the content into a CSN form.
• When submitting song lyrics or poetry, any line breaks in your .txt file will be preserved on the posted contribution page.

If you have further questions about the CSN ‘Expressions Gallery’, please send your question via the "Contact CSN" link at the top of this page.

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My CSN Space

You must register on CSN before creating a ‘My CSN Space’ page. Your ‘My CSN Space’ page is a place where other CSN members can learn more about you. It shows your story; lists your Expressions Gallery and Resource Library contributions; your blog; and any image you may have uploaded.

To create your ‘My CSN Space’ page:

• Log on to your CSN account at www.cancer.org/csn using your username and password; you will be directed to the CSN Home page
• From the CSN Home page, click on “create” under ‘My CSN Account.’
• Select the “edit” tab and click on the ‘About Me’ link underneath.
• Select any fields that apply to you in the first box.
• Enter your responses to the questions in the questionnaire; or enter any questions that are relevant to your survivorship or caregiving experience and enter responses.
• It is suggested that you copy and paste your answers into a ‘Word’ document on your own computer as a backup. Please note that creating your content in ‘Word’ and copying and pasting it into your ‘About Me’ page is discouraged as your content may not transfer properly.
• When finished, scroll down and click on the ‘Submit’ button at the bottom of the page.
• Should you choose to, you may upload an image from your computer by clicking on the ‘Picture’ link under the ‘edit’ tab. Click on the ‘Browse’ button in the ‘Picture’ box. Locate the image on your computer, and click "Open." (Note: The file must be in either JPG or GIF format and the maximum size is 3000 KB.
• To submit your image, click on the ‘Submit’ button under the ‘Picture’ box.

To edit your ‘My CSN Space’ page:

• Log on to your CSN account at www.cancer.org/csn using your username and password; you will be directed to the CSN Home page
• From the CSN Home page, click on ‘edit’ under ‘My CSN Account.’
• Select the ‘About Me’ link under the ‘edit’ tab.
• Make your desired changes.
• Scroll down and click on the ‘Submit’ button at the bottom of the page.
• Your ‘My CSN Space’ page can be changed anytime and as often as you wish.

To view your CSN Space page:

• Log on to your CSN account at www.cancer.org/csn using your username and password; you will be directed to the CSN Home page
• Click on the ‘Click Here’ link located on the top beige bar on every page.

If you have further questions about ‘My CSN Space’ page, please send your question via the "Contact CSN" link at the top of this page.

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My Favorite CSN Content

CSN Members may save any page found on the CSN to their favorite content area. This also includes links to discussion boards.

• To add any page to ‘My CSN Favorite Content,’ simply logon to the CSN and click on the ‘Add to favorites’ link on the top right-hand side of the screen and then confirm your selection by click in ‘save’ on the next page. This will display a link to your selection on your CSN home page when logged on the CSN.
• If you choose to add a discussion board to your ‘My Favorite CSN Content’, click on the ‘Add to favorites’ link on the top right-hands side of the page. A link to this group will appear on your CSN Home page. You may add as many groups as you wish.
• From your CSN Home page, you may click on ‘Manage Favorites’ to edit or delete discussion boards.
• To delete any page save to your “My Favorite CSN Content,” logon to the CSN and click on the “Manage Favorites” link on the bottom right hand side of your screen. On the next page, click on the “delete” link next to the page you wish you delete.

If you have further questions about ‘My Favorite CSN Content’, please send your question via the "Contact CSN" link at the top of this page.

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Other

If your question has not been addressed by this Help section, please send your question via the "Contact CSN" link at the top of this page.

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Resource Library

Anyone can access and view the Resource Library postings. However, only registered members can post entries. CSN members have to be logged on in order to post contributions. They can contribute: audio, books, organizations, support groups, Web sites, articles, meetings and events.

Each individual resource:

• Is listed on the contributor’s ‘My CSN Space’ page and hyperlinked to its own page.
• Has an ‘Alert Us’ link, so members can report problem postings

To search for resources:

• Log on to your CSN account at www.cancer.org/csn using your username and password; you will be directed to the CSN Home page
• From the ‘CSN Home’ page, select "Resource Library" from the menu on the left side of the page.
• On the ‘Resource Library’ page, use keywords to search for content in the Member Resource Library tool.
• To refine your search select the content category that you are looking for. For example, if you are looking for a cancer-related book, click on ‘book.’ This will give you a complete list of all resources within the category you select.
• Click a link to a resource in the results list to go to the specific listing.

To submit a resource:

Members may submit as many resources as they wish. To add a resource:

• Log on to your CSN account at www.cancer.org/csn using your username and password; you will be directed to the CSN Home page
• Click on the ‘Resource Library’ link from the menu on the left side of the page.
• From the ‘Resource Library’ page, click on ‘Create New Resource’ right under the search field.
• Type a title for your contribution
• Select your contribution type
• Enter information as prompted by the contribution form. Filling in the form completely will allow users to find resources easier and make the listing more useful.
• For Web site information, fill in the complete URL to create a hyperlink. For example, http://www.sample.com will create an active link, whereas, www.sample.com will only give the address.
• To preview your contribution, click on the ‘preview’ button
• To post your contribution, click on the ‘submit’ button to complete your contribution.
  Resources that you submit will be listed on your ‘My CSN Space’ page and will be searchable throughout the CSN site and on the Resource Library page.

If you have further questions about the CSN ‘Resource Library’ function, please send your question via the "Contact CSN" link at the top of this page.

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Search the CSN

CSN member may locate content and members in two ways: through the general search function or the dedicated ‘Members Search’ tool.

• To locate other CSN members by their user name, you may want to use the dedicated ‘Member Search’ on the CSN ‘Home’ page. This is located in the red box page titled ‘CSN Members’ on the right hand-side of the ‘CSN Home’ page.
• To locate general content (i.e. discussion board postings, Expression Gallery contributions, etc.) you may use the general search located on the top right hand side of the screen on every page. The easiest way to search on the CSN is to type keywords on the search bar at the top of the home page. You can refine your search by clicking on the “Advance search” link listed underneath the search field. The major categories of content on CSN are blogs, discussion boards, personal pages, etc. For example, if you are looking for a specific posting on a discussion board, you can limit your search to discussion boards only by clicking on the "discussion" and "advanced search" button at the bottom of the "advanced search" box. Remember that you must be logged on if you want to post anything on a discussion boards, view personal pages, use the chat room, etc.

If you have further questions about the CSN ‘Search’ function, please please send your question via the "Contact CSN" link at the top of this page.

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If your question or concern has not been addressed please submit the contact form.