HouseNet Help
Help

Welcome
Site Organization
Site Exploration
Site Registration
Site Features
Site Requirements

Welcome

Welcome to HouseNet Help, your reference guide to finding your way around our neighborhood. This site offers a mixture of helpful information on home project ideas, as well as opportunities to chat with other HouseNet neighbors, enter contests to win fun prizes, and much more.

Site Organization

HouseNet is a growing neighborhood of three different Communities of Interest: Home Improvement, Home Decorating and Lawn & Garden. Explore Home Improvement, our premiere Community, and take a look at our Decorating and Lawn and Garden areas, as well as the Shopping Center, HouseNet's new online shopping service.

The primary areas of Home Improvement to visit are Look It Up, Plan It Right and Talk It Over, which are found in the upper left corner of the Home Improvement main screen.

The Home page introduces the four key sections of the site with their identifying icons, also listed below.

Site Exploration
We've made the site easy to navigate and explore. You'll find global navigation located at both the top and bottom of the screen, which can be accessed anytime and anywhere.

The top navigation bar will take you quickly to these areas:

The bottom navigation shows all four major areas of the site: Home Improvement, Lawn & Garden, Home Decorating, and Shopping Center. A red box outlining an area shows you where you are. Click on an area at the bottom of the page at any time to return to the main page of that section.

To return to the home page of the site, click on the HouseNet logo at the top of the screen.

To return to the main page of a section of the site, click on its icon in the upper left corner of the screen.

Once you're in Home Improvement, buttons on the left side will direct you to all that this community has to offer:

How to Search
Quick Site Search is located in the top left corner of the screen throughout the site to allow easy access to just the information you are looking for. Enter a keyword or two, then click "GO" to search our database of articles.

How to Print
If you wish to print an article or other area of interest, first select that area of the screen with your mouse, then print. Because the site is built in frames, only the selected area will print.

Site Registration

Join our growing neighborhood. Becoming a HouseNet Neighbor is free, and optional. When you register, it allows us to better understand and meet your needs. Membership also lets you take advantage of feature-rich sections of the site, such as our maintenance reminder service, bulletin boards and chat. When you try to enter these "neighbor-only" areas, you will be prompted to enter your HouseNet user name and password if you have not signed in yet.

There are three ways to register. You may select "Become a HouseNet Neighbor" on the Home page, or "Register" from the top menu bar to go straight to a registration form. Selecting "Join Our Neighborhood" in the bottom left corner of the Home Improvement main screen will return a list of Registration Options. Here you can join as a new neighbor, sign-in as a current neighbor, update your registration information, or sign up for our free Maintenance Reminder Service.

Site Features

Bulletin Board
Select "Advice Exchange" in the Talk It Over section to reach HouseNet's Bulletin Board system. Enter topical conferences to meet with, share with, and learn from HouseNet neighbors who share similar interests. For detailed help on how to get started, select the "Help" button at the top of the Bulletin Board menu bar. To return to the site, select any of the choices in the left navigation or click on the toolbox to return to the Home Improvement main screen.

Chat
Select Neighborhood Chat in the Talk It Over section to reach HouseNet's Chat feature. Select a chat room to get started, and jump right into the conversation to get to know your new neighbors. For more information on upcoming chat events, select the "Chat Schedule" link at the bottom of the screen. Help for chatters can be found by selecting "Help" from the top menu bar of Chat and scrolling down to the bottom of the page. To return to the site, select any of the choices in the left navigation or click on the toolbox to return to the Home Improvement main screen.

Classifieds
To add or view classifieds, go to Talk It Over under the Home Improvement main screen. Click on Classifieds from the list of options, then select your choice from the pulldown provided and press "GO".

Contests
To enter a contest, select either Play & Win on the left of the Home Improvement main screen, or select "Talk It Over" and choose Contests from the list of options. You do not need to be a member of HouseNet to enter contests. Choose a contest from the list for more information and the ability to enter the contest. Winners are drawn at random.

Maintenance Reminder Service
To take advantage of our personal email reminder service, go to the Plan it Right section of Home Improvement, or click on Join our neighborhood from the bottom left of the Home Improvement main screen, and select the reminder service from the list of options. Here you may enter up to 20 personal reminders which will be emailed to you on the dates requested.

Site Requirements

For best results, the HouseNet Web site is optimized for use on Macintosh or PC platforms, utilizing either Netscape 3.0 or Internet Explorer 3.0 browser versions. If you are using an earlier version of Netscape, you may experience trouble when using the "Back" button.