What are Messages? And how do they differ from Chat?
Messages are deeper conversations away from the Forum itself. If the eHealth Forum is a large busy conference, a Message is a solid conversation in a break-out room.
In contrast, Chat is the spontaneous discussion in the corner of the room, or the quick naughty exchange with your neighbour during a boring bit of a presentation (surely not at a HiNZ conference, eh?).
How do I send one?
Easy. Click on a 
box and you are away. You’ll find them in these places:
- by clicking on any user that you wish to message (e.g. @emily.gill)
- by clicking on or visiting a group page (e.g. @moderators)
- on the My messages page
How do I find Messages that have been sent to me?
You’ll receive a notification for each Message, which you see on your Avatar. By default, the eHealth Forum will also send you an email, but this can be changed in your email settings.
To rediscover old Messages, simply click on the My messages link in the top right corner (under the hamburger menu on mobile). Group messages are here too, and also in each Group page. You can search them quite easily.
Can a PM be changed into a Topic or vice-versa?
Topics and PMs are in fact identical in the database, and only differ really as to who has access to them. Hence, they can easily be converted one to the other. They have been made to appear different to communicate their different functions. Experienced users gain the ability to change one to the other, but you can also ask @moderators to do this for you.
Likewise, Chat can be moved to a Topic or a Message with relative ease by using the "Quote functionality.
Email and Messages
Messages can be addressed to email recipients (only trusted users can initiate this), and ongoing interaction can happen via email. This is very useful for including someone who doesn’t have an eHealth Forum account.