How Does This Thing Work? Five Things to Know About Patch

Stone Mountain Patch turned two months old this week!  We have new viewers every day, and some readers have been with us since the beginning. And all have questions about how to make the most of Patch.

Last week, the focus was on the interactive aspect of Patch -- how readers can post free classifieds, events, announcements and questions. (Click here to see that article.) This week's article is a tour to help you find the content that's there.

1. Readers posts announcements, but how do you see them? On the home page, under the menu tabs at the top, let the cursor hover over "news." It's the second tab from the left. Then click on "announcements" at the bottom of the list.

2. The directory lists almost all businesses, government offices and social services in Stone Mountain, and we're working on having everything listed there. If you're looking for a dentist or hair salon or school, click on "directory" from the menu tabs at the top of the page. From there you can either click on a category, or search by name.

3. At least four new articles or opinion pieces are posted every day on Patch (three on weekends), and the three newest are featured at the top of the home page. Some days, particularly Wednesday (Mom's Day) and Thursday (Must See Day), many more are published, and content gets pushed down and then off the page pretty quickly. You can see what's been published just by letting your cursor hover over the News tab in the menu at the top of the page, and then click "Browse news."

4. If you want to know what's going on in nearby Patches, go to the very top left of the home page and let your cursor hover over "Change Towns." You can then choose to switch to Patches in Decatur, Tucker, Snellville and more. 

5. Enjoy reading the news with your morning coffee? You can get Patch delivered to your inbox each day by clicking the "Get the Patch newsletter" box in the top righthand corner of the homepage. No need to go out in your PJs to get the newspaper from the driveway, and no need to go searching the web for your Patch.