Public / Private and Groups

05/15/2009 - 08:32

Hello All - apologies for some frantic changes in the setup this morning. I think we now have a situation we are happy with. Here is what changed.Until yesterday almost all posts in the community where only visible to registered users. As I mentioned in the "old" forums our intention is to keep most things behind closed walls. On the other hand we don't want to impose certain preferences on everybody. Technology allows us to be flexible so we though we'd take advantage of this.So here is the new setup:

Public Space

By clicking on "Create A Post" on the right hand side you will post something that will be visible to everyone, whether they are registered or not. Comments are not visible however - the idea behind this is that you have the choice to make your story visible but those commenting don't need to have their comments public. Anyone can register to view comments (following the usual approval process) and they then get the usual visitor status.

Group Space

Content created within a group is only visible to members of that group unless a member chooses to explicitly make their content public.For example a group might want to get together to do a guide on buying property - they don't necessarily want all the discussions public but they don't mind sharing the final guide. The can just share that.Community Members (not visitors) will be able to create groups and the manager of the group can define whether membership is open, closed, on invitation or following moderation. So each one of you can create their own sub-community in a way.What we envisage is that the majority of content will probably be public - but specific group-related content may selectively be public or private

Approving Groups

The site administrators get final say on whether a group can go ahead or not based (i.e you create the group and define its purpose and an Administrator need to let it go through). Our discretion, common sense and the usual content rules and the community statement of purpose are the measures we will use in approving groups or not.

Member Profiles

Member profiles are strictly community only - beyond username no-one will be able to see any information relating to a member. It is just simpler and safer that way.

Comments

Comments are also private - someone will need to register to actually follow discussions and participate in them.

So when can we get started then?

All currently registered users will be moved to Full Community members by this afternoon so you will be able to create groups, etc.

Comment

Hi RonaldSounds clear and straightforward to me - lets go!One question - if a group is formed - say in your example - to put together a guide in buying property - how would the finished aritcle be published - is there a place for that in the community?

sounds good... I'm confused about the difference between groups and topics though...

I have just opened two groups, Gardening and Northern Tuscany which I started in the old forum and which were quite popular. Let's see how they go.

These seem to arrive showing email account details. Is this correct?

Including full names in most cases - Some members might be a little concerned by this! :(

That's a bit worrying.Ronald. 3 Thoughts:1) Can we please have a 'quote' facility2) Can we please have an 'alert' when we receive a PM and3) Can we please know who posted under 'Last Change'Thanks from your furry friend :bigsmile:

Have I got this right (please)...OK - Someone opens two or three (some) groups - they use the process where members applying to join what is 'their' groups are vetted by them and are then accepted - or not - as the case may be, by them. Am I right so far?Someone arrives/joins the Community who is, for the group owner, a 'persona non grata' but even though they are interesed in the subject matter of these Groups they are NOT accepted. Would this then mean that someone could 'possibly' or 'effectively' be ostracised from participation in such groups?

Hi Carole,Think they are just the same rules as the old forum groups - but a bit easier to set up?Basically the only "closed ones" are the same as "invite only" which were closed to all but the selected few...hope it won't be the same here...You can be in ALL my groups when I start them :)Especially when I work out how to make a Come Si Dice? one :)Talking of which I can't find this is any of my five Italian dictionaries (when in doubt I buy a new one)un'oretta (di treno) think it's something to do with looking out the train window - maybe you'd need the whole text - but that would mean I was cheating so I can't give you it!CheersJinty

"Talking of which I can't find this is any of my five Italian dictionaries (when in doubt I buy a new one)un'oretta (di treno) think it's something to do with looking out the train window - maybe you'd need the whole text - but that would mean I was cheating so I can't give you it!"Well, not seeing the whole text leaves me to suggest that the 'un oretta di treno' means that you are on a journey that will take "just under an hour by train...." - the use of the word 'oretta' as opposed to 'un ora' indicates that it will take just under the hour... orettas.f.less than an hour, about an hour, (Br) under an hour:torno tra un'oretta = I'll be back in less than an hour (o in an hour or less).

Carole - absolutely spot on! This assignment should be easy - I have translated (so far) the Italians are on a tour arriving at Prestwick for a sightseeing tour of Glasgow - and in the evening they end up in a nightclub (a real one in Glasgow that my son knows!)....Have you thought of applying to the OU to be an online tutor? I think you'd be great - Anna Proudfoot runs the L195 Andante Course....have a wee look?ThanksJ

so if they set up a "closed" group and don't want someone to partcipate then that is their choice. think of it as a free market scenario - few groups will be successful if they are closed - closed groups only really make sense if you really only want few people in them.at the same time - groups fall within community rules. so all the house rules that apply to individual posts apply to groupsbut again - as long as things are sensible, done in a generally positive spirit (rather than "let's us do a group so that we can discuss member x which we don't like ") things should be ok.

When we started having Groups in the Forum, I did not like the idea and it took a while for me to join any. Little by little, I started enjoying them, I joined quite a few and created a couple of them. My conclusions are:As Ronald says, if you want the group to succeed, you have to keep it open. Closed and moderated ones are at the mercy of their creators. I went through that experience. I made contributions to two groups which I thought were going to assist other members and I had those moderated because the creator did not want to discuss certain initiatives which were positive and did not involve any offending or arguable content. The two groups where this happened did not get off the ground and died of natural death. You cannot muzzle members unless they post offensive material, because groups are for general discussion and input, otherwise they become a monologue.To create a group and to keep it healthy and informative requires a lot of personal work for the creator and administrator. You have to check posts preferably several times a day, find information about any questions which do not get answers from fellow members, keep it alive and well. Basically, it needs nurturing on a permanent basis. If you do not have time to devote to it, do not create a group.If you notice that there is no discussions or new posts, initiate topics within the group's scope. It keeps it alive.The group has the same sorts of traps and danger zones as a thread or group of posts, but if you are the creator/administrator of a group you need to use humour and common sense to defuse potential time bombs and they do exist.Be kind to all members. Some may not be exactly whom you wanted to be in your group, but tolerance and subtlety are needed to successfully run a group.Otherwise, they are great fun and most instructive.

Thank you all for the explanations. All I was trying to clear in my mind (as I've only ever belonged to two groups on the 'old' Italy Mag) was that used in a certain manner the 'Group owner' could establish an 'ignore' situation should they choose to do so. I have never used, or liked the Ignore Button on ANY forums and thought that it would not be availabe here either, but I sense that this set up may allow that rule to be circumnavigated. Perhaps I'm wrong. But if, and when I ever fathom out how to set up Groups for any reason - they wil NEVER be closed groups - that would seen totally counter productive.