First you need to register if you wish to obtain full access. See http://www.phpbb.com/support/documentat ... tering.php
After clicking the Register link, the terms and conditions of registering will be displayed, which you must accept to proceed.
Beyond accepting the terms and conditions, you need to fill out some important details such as selecting a username, entering your e-mail address and desired password. You can also select your timezone and language.
If you see in the form where you can specify your username, password etc. a graphic with some odd-looking characters, then you are seeing the so-called Visual Confirmation. Many boards will have this, otherwise known as a CAPTCHA, which is an image with distorted letters and numbers which you must then type into an adjacent box. The reason for this is to ensure that you are a legitimate user registering (as opposed to a spam robot performing an automated registration). Simply enter the characters you see into the Confirmation code field and proceed with the registration. If you cannot understand the code, refresh the page to get a new code.
Account activation requires that you have to follow a link mailed to you after registering before your account is activated. In this case you will see a message similiar to this one:
Your account has been created. However, this forum requires account activation, an activation key has been sent to the e-mail address you provided. Please check your e-mail for further information It is also possible that the administrator himself/herself has to activate the account.
Once you have completed all of the fields on the registration page, clicking the Submit button will complete the process. If you wish to clear all fields, clicking the Reset button will do this for you.
After clicking Submit, you will be advised of your next step. In most cases, you will be sent an e-mail to the address you specified with a link to finalise the registration. Other options also include being able to login immediately (i.e. there are no further actions for the registration process) or waiting until an administrator reviews your registration and accepts it, in which case you will be notified by e-mail.