CALLING ALL PEOPLE THAT CREATED GROUPS HERE, ON NING

[Alla]

Today we have 200 groups. Great! Very creative people. I love it. I looked at some of the groups and I noticed that not all of them are set to their fullest capacity. The left column, the widest – is a ‘Discussion Forum’. It has 3 items. The last one – ‘Show’ has maximum of 20. It means that 20 discussions can be displayed at the same time on the page. I think it is very important to display as many discussions as possible. If people do not see a discussion, chances are they are not going to click on ‘View All’ button at the bottom of the ‘Discussion Forum’ and a discussion is going to be left unanswered by a person.

‘Admin functions’ include options:

Edit Group

Delete Group

Send message to the group

Follow/Stop Following

All those above features are self-explanatory. Ask questions if you have them.

Manage Group members – this option has interesting features we did not have on old TBD. The group creator can promote a member to Group Administrator. The level of control is similar to the level of control to the Group Creator.
You can ban a member of the group. This option brings me to a question. Why would you ban a member of the group and how do you see this happen?

We all know that we have the best intentions in mind. Do we always get the best treatment? No, not at all. Do we always deserve to be treated poorly? No, of course not. So, what do we do? Kat is most likely not going to watch out for us, although I do not really know for sure. I think that group creator and/or group administrator have to take care of the problems. People come to TBD at different time of their lives and rather often they are hurt deeply and they try to unload their problems on people that are trying to help them. Sounds familiar?

I created ‘Loyal TBDers’. That’s how I felt when we heard the bad news. I hope that we do not have people that disturb peaceful life of ‘Loyal TBDers’ and other groups. But if push comes to shove, this is what I will do or the Group Administrator will do: if we get ‘bad sheep’ we will talk to the person and try to resolve the issue. If we have irreconcilable differences, this person has to be banned from the group. What do you think? Let’s hear opinions.

[SeaRain]

Thanks for the info Alla, every little bit helps.

Question: Can we click the 'stop following' link and still belong to the group?

[Alla]

I think so. Try to do it. You can set up a test and play. Keep clicking! Something good comes out of it every time I click, lol.

[SeaRain]

One thing I miss - a head's up when someone responded to something I wrote.

Or am I missing it?

[Alla]

You are supposed to get an alert in your home email box. It does not send alerts here, on ning. What do you think about managing members and what is the name of your group?

[J Lee S]

Hi Alla. I would never consider "managing" members of the group I started.I am a youngster here as I was at TBD1, but I believe in the maturity of my friends and members here. We are adults and should be able to check ourselves or each other if necessary. The Lavender Lounge so far has had a positive vibe , but I understand that the mere nature of the group could bring a naysayer or two around. It would have to be an absolute last resort for me to have to "manage" a member. Fortunately I have Dodger as a co-administrator so I have somebody to check ME on issues of management. Great info and mentoring Alla, Thank-You. Jack

[Alla]

Jack, my intention was not to mentor, but rather to help. Unfortunately, there is no good ol' TBD. I was insulted several times yesterday. Would I tolerate it? No way. So, I want to see what happens now. About adults being able to check themselves: it's not happening. Ning gave people feature. Does it have to used extensively? No. But it's there. That's what I wanted to bring across, nothing else.

[SeaRain]

Alla, I don't think I started a group. Yes, wait, I did. Someting about TBD help! Gosh, the mind is a good thing to lose. Or did I say that wrong?

I don't think there should be a manager. If someone gets out of line, I think the other members will 1. ignore or 2. correct.

Thanks, Alla

[Alla]

It's not really what we think. Creator of the group is the moderator and has administrative functions. If you did not know that, then you are in the right place. Ning gave the creator of the group authority. Administrator of the group has a similar authority.

I agree,some things can be ignored. But if someone insults one member, the chances are that other members will be insulted as well if nothing is done to prevent it. Do you realize what it means? We will be losing people. That's how I see it.

[Deb Hursa]

I believe there's an option at the bottom right-hand side of the page that you can check to "follow". You will be e-mailed for responses to that discussion.

[Alla]

Martie, I agree.

[SeaRain]

Martie, first I agree with you. We are not in grade school.

Second, how would we go about banning someone from a group if said person was a jerk?

Thanks.

[Alla]

Steven, if you don't want porn, you have to add this to the description of your group. If you don't, that could be the reason for a conflict. And yes, people are still lost a little. That's why I am trying to do what I can to ease the effect of moving.