Section outline

  • OVERHANG is a dedicated, tag-based community forum (integrated directly into the crisprtools.org suite) designed specifically for genome engineers. It serves as a central hub for researchers to collaborate, network, ask questions about CRISPR experiments, and request new tool features. By requiring a secure ORCID login, the forum guarantees a professional, bot-free environment without ever spamming your email.

    Key features of the platform include:

    • Tag-Based Navigation: Easily curate your custom feed by following or blocking specific tags, allowing you to focus on the topics, tools, or job postings most relevant to you.
    • Integrated Workspace: Seamlessly connected to the rest of crisprtools.org, the forum's top menu allows you to receive notifications when your complex tool queries (like SNIPSNP or Dual Cas13a) finish running and easily access your past job history.
    • Professional Networking: Set up a dedicated "Profile Post" that acts as your professional bio, easily mention colleagues, and filter the feed to discover and connect with other researchers.
    • Rich Interactions: Create informative posts featuring custom polls, embedded images, and user mentions. You can upvote content, engage in threaded discussions, and "stash" important posts to read later.

    OVERHANG Forum



    Tutorial: How to Use the OVERHANG Forum

    Welcome everyone to this tutorial about the OVERHANG Forum, which you can find on the crisprtools.org website. This forum was created with the idea that genome engineers can collaborate, find jobs, ask questions, and build a community together.

    Here is a complete guide on how to navigate and use the platform.

    1. Logging In and Authentication

    First, we need to log into the forum. The forum is not accessible, if you are not logged in.

    I highly recommend logging in using ORCID. When you click to log in, it just takes a moment. You simply approve the ORCID website pop-up, and crisprtools.org will access your credentials. This confirms that you are a real person, which helps protect the forum from bots.

    Privacy Note: When you use your ORCID ID to log in, we only get public information from your profile. We never email you anything, there is no email capability on the website at all. We only know your full name and that you are an authenticated user.

    2. Navigating the Top Menu

    Once you log in, you get access to a special top menu with several helpful buttons:
    Home: Use this to easily return to the main webpage. * Toggle Theme: Switch the website between Dark Mode and Light Mode. * Notifications: Here you can see when someone has messaged you, tagged you in a post, or when posts containing tags you follow are created. You will also receive notifications here when your tool queries finish running (for example, CHOPOFF, SNIPSNP, or Dual Cas13a jobs). * History: This shows the history of your queries and jobs you’ve run. Thanks to this feature, you can access previously run jobs without needing to rerun them. * Stash: Access posts that you have saved to read later. * Profile: Access your personal profile and settings. * Log Out:* Securely exit your account.

    3. The Main Feed, Searching, and Sorting

    When you enter the forum, you are greeted by the main feed. At the top is the logo, followed by a search menu, and then the feed itself.

    By default, posts are sorted by the newest first. However, administrators can "pin" important threads (like polls or announcements) so they stay at the top.

    You can use the search menu to filter the main feed. For example, if you search for "amplican", the feed will only show posts related to that topic. You can also change how posts are sorted, such as sorting by the "most upvoted" posts rather than the newest.

    4. The Tagging System (How to Follow and Block)

    OVERHANG is primarily a tag-based forum. While it shares some similarities with Reddit, tags play the main role here in managing different threads.

    When you type a tag into the search bar, autocomplete will show you available tags. You can also interact directly with tags attached to posts: * Follow a tag: Click on a tag once. You are now following it. * Block a tag: Click the tag a second time. You will no longer see posts with this tag. * Neutral: Click it a third time to return your relationship with the tag to normal.

    We also have quick-tag buttons. For example, the "People" button automatically filters for the #person tag, allowing you to browse user profiles and personal posts.

    5. Managing Your Profile and Settings

    If you click on your Profile, you will see the information we pulled from ORCID, such as your name and ORCID ID.

    Your Profile Post: Here, you can edit your special "Profile Post." This post is always tagged with #person (you cannot add other tags to it), and comments on it are disabled. This acts as your bio. When someone clicks your name, they see this post alongside your recent activity. Whenever you update it, it briefly shows up in the main feed so other people can find you.

    Settings Menu: * Tag Preferences: Manage the tags you recently followed or blocked. * Notification Settings: Disable certain types of notifications if they get too noisy. * Secret Management (Passwords): Because you log in with ORCID, you don't have a standard password. However, in case you ever lose access to your ORCID, you can generate a "Secret" here. This is a string of letters that acts as a backup password. Save it to your browser, and you can use it on the login screen to access your account without ORCID.

    6. How to Create a New Post

    To make a new post, simply click the Plus (+) button. This opens the post creation menu. Please note the following formatting rules, as this forum is designed to be informative rather than meme-based: * Title: The first sentence you type automatically becomes the title of the post in the feed. * Preview: The second and third sentences become the text preview. * Images: Photos are supported in the post body, but they are hidden from the main feed view to keep the interface clean. * Tags: You must add at least one tag to create a post. You can search for existing tags, or create a new one by typing it out and pressing Enter. * Mentions: Type the @ symbol followed by two letters to pull up a list of users. If you mention someone, they will receive a notification. * Emojis & Polls: You can type emojis (like a smiley face) and easily attach polls with custom options to your post. * Comments: You have the option to disable comments on your post if you wish.

    Before posting, please read the rules. They are short, but they clearly explain how to behave and properly tag your posts.

    7. Interacting with Posts

    When browsing the feed, you can interact with existing posts in several ways: * Upvote: Click on a post to vote for it. (Clicking again removes your vote; you cannot vote on your own posts). * Reply: Click the reply button. This automatically quotes the previous post (which you can delete if you want) and opens a text box. When users reply back and forth, it creates a comment thread. * Hide Threads: You can collapse or hide comment threads using the anchor buttons next to them. * Stash: Save a post to your personal stash to read later. * Report: If you find a post inappropriate, you can report it to the administrators, providing a reason why. * Delete: You can delete your own posts at any time.

    Conclusion

    Currently, the forum is in its early stages, but it has the potential to be a highly useful space. You can use it to ask questions about CRISPR tools, request new features for crisprtools.org, and interact with me and other genome engineers.

    Together, we can build a great community here. It is completely free and available to you right now.

    That’s it for this tutorial! If you found this helpful and enjoy my work, please subscribe to the channel and support the project. Thank you!

    This tutorial was created with the grant from COST Action: CA21113, Reference: E-COST-GRANT-CA21113-55536e26.