Logging In / Creating an Account
Anytime you want to do anything on the board, you'll need to log in. If it's your first time using the board, you'll have to create a new account. Thereafter, you can just log in from the front screen.
The first time you log in, you won't have an account yet. The board will display a banner, then a prompt. Hit (L)ogin at the prompt to login.
The board will instruct you to enter your name, or leave blank for a new user. That's you, so leave that line blank and press "Enter." The board will ask if you're sure you want to create a new account, so press "Enter" again.
It's time for you to choose a login name. Login names are case-sensitive! That means if you enter FRED, you can't login as Fred, or fred, or fReD. Enter the login name you want (it doesn't have to be your real name; most of them aren't), and press "Enter."
If the name you want is already in use, the board will tell you so and you'll have to start over from the (L)ogin prompt and try a different name. Now, since names are case-sensitive, you can use a different capitalization of the same name... but we don't recommend it. Someone else has that name, and they'll probably get irritated if you start using it with a different capitalization.
Once you have a login name, you'll enter a password for you name. Your password can be any combination of letters and numbers, and of any length. Remember that it is also case-sensitive. Pick something that's easy to remember, but hard to guess. (Making your password the same as your login name is not a good idea.) Type in your password, and press "Enter."
You'll see a prompt asking if everything looks okay. If so, press "(Y)es; if not, hit (N)o and you'll be prompted for your login name and password again.
The board will now ask for your screen width and page length. If you don't want to mess with these, just press "Enter" to accept the default values. You can always change them later if you don't like them.
Congratulations, you now have an account and are logged in. Welcome to 8088online.