Collaborating with other information center users

You can collaborate with other information center users by adding comments and by subscribing to be notified when other users add comments. You can also rate topics.

Before you begin

To add comments, you must have an IBM ID. To register, go to the My IBM profile web site.

About this task

Comments provide a way to collaborate with other users. All comments appear in a pane below the topic and are threaded so that responses stay together. You can add new comments, delete your comments, or reply to comments from other users. Commenting is not a replacement for the feedback form, which you can use to send feedback directly to IBM content owners.

You can add and view comments in any language. The default language that is displayed is based on the language settings in your web browser. To view comments in other languages, click More on the comment toolbar and select other languages with comments.

You can subscribe to watch a page, either by clicking Watch this page (watch this page icon) or by subscribing to the RSS feed. When another user adds a comment, you are notified by email or RSS feed. You can also subscribe to watch the whole information center. This setting is available in the collaboration preferences.

You can also rate a topic by clicking the appropriate number of stars. 1 star is poor and 5 stars is excellent. The average rating is displayed at the top of each topic.

Procedure

  1. Expand the Comments section at the bottom of the topic and click Comment on Topic, Comment on Element, or Comment on Selection. The comment button changes depending on the type of comment you want to add.
  2. Sign in by using your IBM ID and password. You must accept the terms of use when you sign in for the first time. You can also sign in at any time by clicking the Sign in link at the upper right of the masthead.
  3. To add or delete a comment:
    • Click on a topic in the table of contents, then click Comment on Topic . You must provide a subject heading and a comment, then click Submit.
    • Click a section of content, then click Comment on Element. You must provide a subject heading and a comment, then click Submit.
    • Click in a specific location of the content within a topic, then click Comment on Selection. You must provide a subject heading and a comment, then click Submit. You can also select information units of any length by clicking and dragging your cursor to highlight the information unit and make comments on them.
  4. Click the Reply link below the Comment frame to reply to an existing comment, and add your response to the comment in the pop-up window. You can reply to comments added by authors or other reviewers.
  5. Click the Delete link below the Comment frame to remove your comment. You can delete the comments you added before authors or other reviewers reply to them.

Results

Your comment is added to the topic. An icon (comment icon) appears next to the appropriate section in the topic. Selecting the icon highlights your comment in the Comments section. Any subscribers who are watching the topic are notified that your comment has been added.

What to do next

You can view all your comments by selecting the Collaboration tab (collaboration tab icon) and clicking Show all my comments (Show all my comments icon). The Collaboration view displays all your comments. To refresh your list of comments, click Show all my comments again. You can also click Show the hottest topics (Show hottest topics icon) to display the topics with the most comments. To view the comments from another user in the collaboration view, click the user name in the Comments section.

You can read the terms of use at any time by clicking Tools > Terms of Use.

If you have any problems, you can contact the administrator by clicking the link in the lower right corner of the Comments section.