PlanetsCentral has a built-in user-to-user email function, which you can use to send messages - also known as "PMs" for "private messages" - to users or user groups.

General

Your messages are accessible using the "Account", "Mail" tab.

Messages are stored in folders. You have an "Inbox" folder and an "Outbox" folder. Whenever you send a message, it will be placed in the outbox.

Whenever you receive a message, it will be placed in the inbox. The inbox's icon will get a glow [New Mail Icon] to show that it has new messages since your last visit. You will also receive a notification by regular internet email, and an activity bobble on the front page.

Writing Messages

To write a message, use the "New Message" button on the mail page, the "Send Message" button on a user's profile page, or reply to an existing message.

You will get a form with three fields:

Subject
Enter a message subject here
To
Enter the receiver of the message here. You can enter multiple receivers, separate them with commas and/or spaces. To send a message to a user, enter their login name. To send a message to all players of a game, enter "g:42", where 42 is the game number. To send a message to the player playing a race in a game, enter "g:42:7", where 42 is the game number, and 7 is the player number. Options to send mail to users or game participants are also on the users' profile pages and on the game page, respectively.
Text
Enter the message text in the text field. You can use the same BBcode markup as in the forum, a quick reference is shown below the field.

Click Send to send the message, preview it with Preview. Preview will also validate the receivers and tell you when you made a mistake. Unlike forum postings, you cannot edit a mail message after you sent it.

Managing Messages

You can create your own mail folders, and copy or move messages into them. Functions to copy or move a message are on the individual message views, as well as in the folder views.

You can also delete mail folders, which will delete all messages within them. You cannot delete Inbox and Outbox, but you can rename them if you wish.

Each message has its own Copy, Move and Delete option. To copy, move, or delete multiple messages at once, you can check the boxes to the right of them in the folder view, and use the Bulk Operations menu on the top/right. When no messages are checked, the Bulk Operations operate on all messages in the folder.