# User Guide

## Overview

Complete guide for using the AutoBot Solutions Forum as a user.

## Account Management

### Registration
- Choose a unique username (4-64 characters)
- Provide a valid email address
- Create a strong password (8+ characters)
- Email verification required

### Profile Settings
- View your profile by clicking your username
- Edit your profile to change username or email
- View your activity history
- See your badges and achievements

### Password Reset
1. Click "Forgot Password" on login page
2. Enter your email address
3. Check email for reset link
4. Create new password
5. Link expires in 1 hour

## Creating Content

### Creating a Post
1. Click "New Post" in navbar
2. Enter a descriptive title (5+ characters)
3. Write your content using Markdown
4. Optionally select a category
5. Optionally link to a repository
6. Optionally attach a file
7. Click "Create Post"

### Markdown Formatting
- **Bold text**: `**text**`
- *Italic text*: `*text*`
- Code: `code` or ```code```
- Links: `[text](url)`
- Images: `![alt](url)`
- Tables: See Markdown documentation

### Editing Posts
- Currently not supported (planned feature)
- Contact admin to edit if needed

### Deleting Content
- Delete your own posts and comments
- Cannot delete posts with comments (contact admin)

## Interacting with Content

### Voting
- Click ▲ to upvote
- Click ▼ to downvote
- Vote again to change your vote
- Vote same value to remove vote
- Rate limited to 30 votes per minute

### Commenting
1. Navigate to a post
2. Scroll to comment section
3. Write your comment
4. Click "Post Comment"
- Comments support Markdown
- Rate limited to 20 comments per hour

### Bookmarking
- Click "★ Bookmark" on any post
- Toggle to remove bookmark
- View all bookmarks via navbar
- Bookmarks are private

## Categories

### Using Categories
- Categories organize posts by topic
- Filter posts by category on forum index
- Categories have custom colors
- View category statistics in admin panel

### Category Colors
- Visual identification
- Consistent across the forum
- Customizable by admin

## Search

### Searching Content
1. Click search icon in navbar
2. Enter search query
3. View matching posts and comments
- Case-insensitive search
- Searches titles and content

## Notifications

### Notification Types
- Comments on your posts
- Future: Likes, mentions, messages

### Managing Notifications
- Bell icon shows unread count
- Click to view notifications
- Click "View" to navigate to content
- Click "Mark All Read" to clear

## Private Messaging

### Sending Messages
1. Click envelope icon in navbar
2. Click "New Message"
3. Select recipient from dropdown
4. Write your message
5. Click "Send Message"

### Managing Messages
- View inbox for received messages
- View sent messages
- Mark messages as read
- Delete messages
- Messages are private

## User Profiles

### Viewing Profiles
- Click any username to view their profile
- See their activity history
- View their badges
- See their recent posts and comments

### Your Profile
- View your own activity
- Edit your profile
- See your badges
- View your statistics

## Badges and Achievements

### Earning Badges
- Badges are assigned by admins
- Recognize contributions
- Displayed on your profile
- Color-coded icons

### Badge Types
- Community badges
- Contribution badges
- Special achievements
- Custom badges

## GitHub Integration

### Repository-Linked Posts
- Link posts to GitHub repositories
- Repository metadata displayed
- Organize discussions by repository
- Sync repositories via admin panel

### Viewing Repository Posts
- Filter posts by repository
- View repository metadata
- Link to GitHub repository

## Best Practices

### Posting
- Use descriptive titles
- Format content with Markdown
- Choose appropriate categories
- Be respectful and professional
- Search before posting

### Commenting
- Stay on topic
- Be constructive
- Use proper formatting
- Reply to specific points
- Report inappropriate content

### Voting
- Vote based on quality
- Don't vote spam
- Respect others' opinions
- Use voting for moderation

## Troubleshooting

### Can't Login
- Check username and password
- Verify email is verified
- Use password reset if needed

### Can't Post
- Ensure you're logged in
- Check rate limits
- Verify form validation
- Contact admin if issue persists

### Notifications Not Working
- Check if notifications are enabled
- Refresh the page
- Clear browser cache

## Getting Help

- Check [FAQ](FAQ.md)
- Visit [Support](Support.md)
- Contact admin for account issues
- Report bugs via GitHub issues