Announcements
/members/announcements lists everything your group has published, newest first, each with its subject and when it went out: “Announcements and discussion topics are listed here.” Open one to read it. Until there are any, the page says “No announcements have been posted. Check back later.”
Announcements also arrive by email. Which ones you get is yours to choose — see “Choosing which emails you get” below.
Messages
/members/messages is your group’s chat. On a computer the conversations run down the left and the one you are reading fills the rest; on a phone you get the list, and opening a conversation replaces it.
The list has two parts, headed CHANNELS and DIRECT MESSAGES.
- Channels are conversations with a name, around a subject. You see the ones you belong to, and while you belong to none the list reads “You don’t yet belong to any channels”. With more than three, a line below them reads “2 more channels” and opens the rest; Collapse puts them back.
- Direct messages are conversations with particular members. Each is named after the first other person in it, with the rest counted after it as “+2”.
Starting a direct message
1
Open New Message
Press the + beside DIRECT MESSAGES. Its tooltip reads New message.
2
Pick who it goes to
Type a name into To — the box reads Search by name… — and choose from the list. Add as many members as you want; the window keeps a count beneath, “3 recipients”, and each has an ✕ to take them off again.
3
Start it
Start message… opens the conversation.
Writing a message
The box at the foot of a conversation reads Type a message…- Enter sends it, and Shift+Enter starts a new line instead. On a phone Enter gives you a new line, and the send button sends.
- The photo button beside it — Attach image — adds an image. It appears below the box before you send, with an ✕ to drop it again. You can send an image on its own, with no text.
Channels and conversations you are in
The ⋮ menu at the top of a conversation — Channel options — holds Silence notifications, which asks how long for, and Leave channel or Leave conversation. Silencing is covered under “Following a topic, and quietening one” below; it works the same way here. Members at the top lists everyone in the conversation. A one-to-one direct message has no such list — there is only the two of you.The Discussion Forum
/members/forum is the Discussion Forum: “Discussion topics are listed here.”, newest activity first. Each topic shows its subject, how many messages it holds, and the photos of the members taking part with a count beside them. A topic you haven’t opened yet is marked NEW, and a count beside it says how many messages in it you haven’t read. Until there are any topics the page reads “There are no discussion topics yet. Create one now.”
Starting a topic
New Topic opens a short form, and the page tells you what happens next: “Start your post here. After you’re finished, press ”+ Add Topic”, and your post will be submitted to the moderators for approval.”1
Give it a title
Title is required and takes up to 100 characters. The box suggests making it short and descriptive.
2
Write the first post
Start the discussion is required and takes up to 10,000 characters: “Put the content of your post here. You can use Markdown to format your text.”
3
Send it for review
+ Add Topic submits it.
While a group has no published topic at all, the new-topic form offers help: a panel headed “This is your group’s first post”, with Insert Template to fill both fields with a welcome post and a set of community guidelines you can edit. Once a topic is published it stops being offered.
Taking part in a topic
Open a topic to read it and add to it. The box at the end reads Write a message…, with Add image… beside it for a picture and Send to post it. Every message after the opening post carries:- Reply, which answers that message rather than the topic and keeps the answers together under it. Replies go one level deep. The three most recent are shown under the message, and View 4 more replies opens the earlier ones.
- Like on somebody else’s message, which becomes Unlike once you have pressed it. The number beside a message opens the list of who liked it.
- Edit on your own messages, and a bin button to delete one.
Following a topic, and quietening one
At the top of a topic sit two controls for how much it reaches you by email. The bell button reads Notify me — “Get notified when new comments are added”. Press it and it becomes Following — “You are being notified of new comments. Click to stop.” The ⋮ menu beside it holds Silence Notifications, which asks for how long: 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week, 1 month or 1 year. “You won’t receive notifications for this discussion for the selected duration.” A silenced topic shows Silenced at the top, and the menu item becomes Enable Notifications. Two things turn a topic read-only. Topic Archived says so in a panel above the messages — “This topic has been archived. You can still view the messages but no new messages can be added.” A Paused marker in the row of controls at the top means a moderator has stopped new messages for the time being; the ones already there stay readable.Choosing which emails you get
Notification preferences — the Notifications section of your Account page, with Manage — opens Email Notification Settings, which decides what reaches your inbox: “Select what kinds of emails you would like to receive:”. The ones to do with talking to each other sit under Communications:- Group-wide announcements
- Notification of a new chat message to you
- Forum: Notification of new messages in forum topics you’re following
Managing Your Membership
Dues, renewal, saved cards and closing your account.
Updating Your Profile
Your photo, your answers, and who can see them.