The subject is used to summarize a post or reply. In many places, such as the Forum Home, the subject is all that other users will see of the content -- they have to click through to see the full text. The subject is a required field.

The field labeled Your Post contains the text of your post or reply. This is an optional field.

You can use the Images area of the screen to optionally add one or more images to your message. Images can be added to the body of the item, or they can remain in a gallery that displays below your text. If you need help adding an image, click the link labeled How Do I Use Images.

You can use the Files area of the screen to optionally attach one or more files to the message. To do this, click the Browse button and follow the prompts.

The Show My Photo option controls whether or not your profile photo will display next to your post. Note, however, that this option will be superseded if you have used the My Info portlet to hide your photo (Personal Info > Privacy Settings).

This option might be selected by default, depending on how you have set up your reply options. But you can select it or de-select as appropriate for each message.