Participating in a Group How do I find a group to join? How do I join a group? How many groups can I join? What can a group administrator do? What can a group member do? How do I leave a group? Interacting with Group Content Why can I view content in one group and not in another? What kind of group modules are available? What can I do with these modules? How do I add content for a group? How do I edit content in a group? Can I add pictures and videos to my group? Can I upload files to a group? Can I remove content from a group? Can I persistently display certain items in a module? Interacting with Group Members How many administrators can a group have? What are group roles? How can I grow my group's membership? Is there a limit to the number of group members? How can I send a message to other group members? How can I network with other people in my group? Creating and Managing a Group Should I create a new group? How do I create a group? What is the distinctions between an organization page and a group page? Are there groups designated for the entire WiserEarth community? I need help with managing my new group, where should I go? Can I delete my group? Should I? If you have any other question, please consult the Group Tutorial, go to Help Desk or leave a comment. To give your feedback for improving WiserEarth groups, please go to WiserEarth Suggestions.

 

 

Participating in a Group

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How do I find a group?

 

Groups can be found using the search bar at the top right of your dashboard. You can search by keyword, name, or location.

 

Alternatively, you can look for groups by browsing. Go to the WiserEarth homepage and click on Groups under the Explore tab.

 

 

You can browse groups by name (in alphabetical order), or by recency (most recently active).

How do I join a group?

 

When you visit any group page that you are not a member of, the first thing to look for is what type of membership settings it has.

 

There are four different types of membership settings:

 

1. Open - any member of WiserEarth can join this group.  Just click on "Join this group" to become a member.

2. Open to Apply - a prospective member must click on the application link and explain why they want to join. Upon review and approval by the group administrator, they become a member of the group.

3. Member Referral - Existing group members can refer someone to the administrators for joining the group.  If the administrator approves, they will send an invitation out to the person to join the group.

4. Invitation Only - Only those people who have received an invitation to join the group from the administrator will be allowed to become a group member.

How many groups can I join?

 

There is no limit to the number of groups you can join.

What can a group administrator do?

 

Group administrators create and manage their Group. They have controls to manage content, members, and general group structure. Members do not have access to adjust these functions.  The following is a list of a group administrator's abilities:

Content View content View group activity log Comment on and rate content Add or edit content Add, move or remove modules Edit module title and settings Manage content in modules Send message to all members

Membership Refer WiserEarth members to join group Invite WiserEarth members and non-members to join group Manage members Edit member status: - change member to administrator - cancel someone's group membership - block certain people from joining group

General Group Management Change group logo Edit group title, tagline and information Customize group layout Change membership and privacy settings

Group admins can do these via the pop out menu in a module's header and the Administrator Tools button.

 

What can a group member do?

 

Group members are registered with a Group and can create and edit entities (discussions, events, wikipages, resources, organizations and jobs) on the Group page. The following list shows the actions available to group members.

Content View content View group activity log Comment on and rate content Add, edit and remove content Send message to all members

Membership Refer Members

Group members can do these via the pop out menu in a module's header, or through the Group Tools button:

How do I leave a group?

 

You can leave a group at any time by clicking on the blue "Group Tools" menu (or "Administrator Tools" if you are a group administrator) and selecting Cancel Membership. 

 

 

(Note: If you are the last group administrator left in your group, you cannot cancel your membership unless you add another admin to the group first. )

 

 

Interacting with Group Content

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Why can I view content in one group and not in another?

 

What is viewable by visitors of a group depends on the privacy settings of that group, which is shown in the Group Details section as pictured on the right.

 

There are 3 privacy options available for WiserEarth groups, as explained below:

 

1. Private - Only members of a group can view the information posted on the group home page.  Non-Members are restricted to only seeing the limited 'about' information for the group, but will have the opportunity to join depending on the membership setting.

2. Semi-Private - Non-Members will be able to see all of the group's information.  However, a non-member may not participate in the discussion or edit any content in the group.

3. Public -  All information is accessible and editable by all WiserEarth members.

 

As a special note, in a private group, all comments and discussion topics are closed off to just members of the group.  However, if a comment has been flagged for review due to inappropriateness, a WiserEarth administrator will have access to view just that comment and determine if it warrants removal.  Otherwise, all comments are sealed from view for any non-member of the group.

What kind of group modules are available?

 

There are 17 modules available for use in WiserEarth groups as listed below. Group admins can choose to show all modules or just some, depending on what type of activity the group is facilitating.

 

The module title displayed on top of each module's picture below is the standard title but group admins can change them at will. For example, the first one on the list, bulletin board, which is quite a flexible module, can be titled as "Latest Updates", "Schedule", "Announcements", "Featured videos", etc., depending on how it is being used. While the discussion module, for example can be titled "Let's talk", "Share your stories", etc.

 

So, here they are:

	Bulletin Board Think of bulletin boards as blank canvases that allow you to put any sort of content inside it (text, table, pictures, videos). You can use as many bulletin boards as you want - add a bunch and put them all over your group to completely customize the look!
	Members Gallery See who's in your group with the module! If you're an administrator, you can choose to feature more of less of your group members through the "Edit Settings" link under the drop-down menu on the far right.
	Discussions Host discussions with your group here! Post interesting questions and headlines to get the conversation flowing. Don't forget to add it to your watchlist so you receive email alerts anytime someone's replied to the topic!
	Chatterbox A chatterbox is a great way for group members to post quick messages to the entire group. Perfect place for members to drop by and say hi, to host an informal chat, and for group admins to welcome new users.
	News Add Newsfeeds to your group. These are RSS feed subscriptions that are relevant to the group.
	Events List all upcoming events created for your group, or any events that you've pulled from WiserEarth's directory!
	Resources Bookmark all the best web resources you've found on WiserEarth, or create new resource entries for anything you want to share and archive with the rest of the group.
	Wikipages Wikipages are blank web pages that you can use for whichever purpose you wish - as a blog, as a collaborative document for everyone to edit and maintain, anything that you see fit to post online.
	Jobs Post any job opportunities here, including internships, volunteer opportunities, paid positions, or just general requests for help.
	Related Organizations Highlight the organizations that you have connected to your group. A great way to bring visibility to organizations hard at work in the areas of focus matching the interests of your group. The WiserEarth directory comprises over 110,000 organizations working in the social justice and environmental field around the world.
	Solutions Solutions showcase a wide range of ideas used to combat growing environmental and social threats. Learn about the best practices in this growing directory, and add any to your group that you feel is relevant to your group's interests.
	Map Use this map to highlight where your members are, where related organizations are based, and where jobs and events are being held.
	Search Module Quickly find any and all content that's been added to your group.
	Network Visualizer Use this nifty flash module to see all the connections from your group. A great visually enticing way to see how your group is growing, and what sort of connections are being made to the rest of WiserEarth.
	File Library Post any files you want to share with the group, including videos, podcasts, powerpoints, pdfs, docs, etc. WiserEarth offers generous storage space of 1GB per group, and allows a maximum of 50mb per file. If you need more, contact support@wiserearth.org to discuss possible upgrade options.
	Suggested Content Jumpstart the content in your group by adding from a list of recommendations that we think are relevant to your group's interests. You can also configure filters so that the content that we recommend is more specific to you interests or geographical location.
	Related Groups Showcase connections to other groups - very helpful especially for large groups that split off into many regional sub-groups.

What can I do with these modules?

 

What you can do with each module depends on what you see in the module header. Here's a discussion module's header:

 

 

• If you only see title and numbers, you can click on and view items in a module.
• If you also see the pencil icon on the right corner, you can create new content and add existing content from WiserEarth. You can also remove content from a group, except for discussion topics.
• If you also see the four-way arrow, you can move modules around, edit the title, change module settings, manage module content, and even remove the module.

How do I add content for a group?

 

There are four ways to add content to a group:

1. Creating new content from within the group
2. Adding existing content on WiserEarth from within the group
3. Creating new content from outside the group and then adding it to the group
4. Adding existing content from outside the group

Method 1 and 2 can be done by hovering mouse over the pencil icon in module headers. It will pop-out a menu like shown below for a wikipages module.

 

 

Method 3 and 4 involves creating new content in WiserEarth or browsing existing content, and then adding it to a group via the "Add to a group" link in the 'Action' box on the right of each page. This will allow you to add content (except discussions) to groups that you administer, or groups of which you are a member of.

How do I edit content in a group?

 

You need to open individual items in each module and then find the "Edit this page" or other edit links on that page. Here's an example of such links on a wikipage and on an organization listing.

Can I add pictures and videos to my group?

 

Yes. Anywhere you see an 'edit' link, and see the editing toolbar below, you can add pictures and videos. In groups, these are bulletin boards, wikipages, about section of resources, events, jobs, etc., and also comments in discussion forum. You can add them by using one of the three buttons on the bottom-left corner.

 

Can I upload files to a group?

 

Yes you can. There's a "File Library" module in your group. Each file can be up to 50MB and each group has a maximum storage capacity of 1GB. If you need more, contact support@wiserearth.org to discuss possible upgrade options.

 

Otherwise, you can also upload files on individual pages. See screenshots in the "How do I edit content in a group?" section above. You will see a "Files & Photos" tab where you can upload files.

Can I remove content from a group?

 

Yes. Group admins and members can remove content from a group. This is done via the 'Manage...' link in the pop up menu over the pencil icon. Here's an example for the wikipages module.

 

 

Clicking on "Manage Articles" will display all articles in the group. Removing one or more is done by clicking on the red-colored cross sign.

 

 

There are limitations however:

• Removing content from a group does note remove it from WiserEarth
• Discussion topics can not be removed from a group
• Comments can only be flagged for review

Only WiserEarth administrators and editors can remove content from WiserEarth, upon which, will remain visible to them for transparency reasons. In other words, as a check and balance mechanism to ensure that they're not abusing their privileges to 'remove' content. This is also to ensure that only content which violates WiserEarth's content standards, community guidelines and terms of use gets removed.

Can I persistently display certain items in a module?

 

Yes, if you're a group admin. You can do that via the 'Manage...' link in the pop up menu over the pencil icon.

 

 

Clicking on "Manage Articles" will display all articles in the group. Making items 'sticky' is done by clicking on the gray thumbtack icon. It will turn to yellow, indicating that an item has been set as 'sticky' as shown below.

 

 

Once an item has been set to sticky, you will see a small fold on the top-right corner of each item in a module:

 

      

                 Normal items                                          Sticky items

 

 

Interacting with Group Members

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How many administrators can a group have?

 

There's no limit to the number of administrators a group can have.

 

While making everyone an admin makes no sense, it's better to have more than one. This will allow other admins to manage the group when the lead admin is inactive.

 

It's not uncommon for a group to have at least three admins. You might want to make active group members into an admin to show appreciation for their contributions.

What is "group role"?

 

This is a way for group admins and members to share roles in managing, enriching and growing a group.

 

One person can have "Discussion moderator" role and be in charge of starting and moderating discussions. Another can be "Content builder" who is in charge of adding new content to the group.

 

Group admins can assign role to members, or members themselves choose from available roles that group admins or all group members have formulated.

How can I grow my group's membership?

 

There are many ways to grow your group's membership base. Here are some:

• Send invitation to WiserEarth members and people outside of WiserEarth using the "Invite members" feature.
• Explore the (...people) links in the Areas of Focus page, or use the search feature to find people matching specific keywords.
• Visit people's profile pages and click on "Invite to a group" to send individual invitations
• Make sure that your group is active so that it constantly shows up in the first pages of the browse groups page.
• Write something about your group in your profile page and invite people to visit and join.
• Participate in WiserEarth. Add and edit content. Join discussions. Join other groups. People will naturally want to know about you, visit your profile page, and find out about group(s) you administer.
• Put a link to your group on your main website and in your email signature

Is there a limit to the number of group members?

 

Technically, no. You can have as many members as you like. Practically however, the limit would be the number of members in WiserEarth as a whole. But you can always invite non WiserEarth members to join the community!

How can I send a message to the group members?

 

You can send a message to group members by clicking on the blue "Group Tools" menu (or "Administrator Tools" if you are a group administrator) and choosing "Send Group Message".  Both group administrators and members are provided this option. 

Once the messaging window has loaded, just select the member you wish to contact and click the "Add" button to move them into the "Selected Recipients" field.  You can also choose to "Add All" to message everyone in the group. All messages sent with this method will be viewable by other group members, and are recorded in "View sent messages" tab.

How can I network with other people in my group?

 

You need to visit their profile page and invite them to your network. You can do that via the "Invite to your network" link under the avatar image. You will need to write a short message along with your invitation. Tell people why you'd like to network with them.

 

 

 

Creating and Managing a Group

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Should I create a new group?

 

If you've tried searching for existing group that match your interest but haven't found any, you may want to create one. Creating, growing and managing a group will take you some time and effort, so it's best to be prepared and probably get other people to help you do it. Read also some tips on creating a successful group.

How do I create a group?

 

The option to create a group can be found on the left-hand sidebar under the Contribute section. Click Create a Group to begin. There will be three steps in creating a group: entering group details, choosing layout, and inviting early members.

Are there groups designated for the entire WiserEarth community?

 

Essentially, every group in WiserEarth that are not 'private' and 'invitation only' is open for the entire community. But we're planning to create key destinations groups as meeting points for the entire community. If you're interested to help out, leave a comment on that page.

I need help with managing my new group, where should I go?

 

Please visit WiserEarth Group Support to get help and tips in managing your new group. You can also visit the group tutorial pages.

Can I delete my group? Should I?

 

At the moment, only WiserEarth administrators can delete a group. Usually, this is done to groups that contains nothing but spam and advertisements. If you want to delete your group, make sure you have the consent of other admins in your group and also the consent of group members.

 

Even if you no longer have the time or resources to administer a group, leaving your group as is can still be useful for others because the content of the group is valuable. Alternatively, you can pass on the baton and appoint several members of your group to be administrators.

If you have any other question, please consult the Group Tutorial, go to Group Support, or leave a comment.

To give your feedback for improving WiserEarth groups, please go to WiserEarth Suggestions.