This page explains how to set up your own discussion group on Informed Consent, using some additional options of the member weblogs. This allows you to moderate discussions to keep them on your chosen topics, and makes it easier for people to see when new posts are made, via the subscriptions feature.
First, you need to create a new IC profile, just as you did to join IC initially. It's a good idea to choose a name which reflects both the topic and the fact it's a group - perhaps including "blog" or "forum". It's best to avoid a name ending in "group" though, as the system will refer to "The_XYZ_Group group" in some places. Remember that you can use underscores ("_") in the profile name to space the words out.
Once you've created the profile and activated it using the confirmation email the system sends you, sign-in for the first time and go to Your Settings, and then to Profile Settings. Set the profile type to Group. You can also write a description of what the group is about on the same form, or come back and do that later. The profile page is probably the best place to set out the scope and purpose of your group. The profile page must also state who owns the group, and the easiest way is just to include an "@" link to your normal profile. For example, @Admin if Admin ran a group. If more than one person knows the password and signs-in with the group profile, they all need to be listed.
Posts to your group will appear on its weblog, which works just like a normal user weblog except that other people can start threads on it. To enable that, you need to go to Chat, Weblog and Web Board Settings. On that page are a series of options for allowing other people to start threads on your group's weblog, to make replies and whether those replies start visible.
The simplest choice is to tick the boxes allowing all IC members to start threads and make replies. Then anyone can use the group.
However, it's also possible to have more control over who posts using your group profile's Real-life and Online networks. For instance, if your group is about a munch you run, you could add people to its Real-life Network if they've been to the munch, and you could add people to the Online Network if they seem ok and want to post. You could then set the options so Real-life and Online Network people can start threads, but other IC members can post replies and their replies start invisible. That gives you a chance to vet new people's replies, but doesn't stop people you trust from making posts that are seen immediately. Lots of other combinations are possible of course, and you may need to experiment.
In addition, you can use the Block weblog replies buttons on profiles to stop individuals from starting threads or making replies. This may be sufficient to remove troublemakers, rather than have to pre-approve everyone via your network.
Whatever settings you choose, all users of the site (including non-members) can view the posts in your group.
Due to the 3 day waiting period, your group profile won't be able to make posts itself to your group or the rest of IC. However, if you allow other profiles to post, you can start discussions on your group using your normal profile without having to wait the 3 days (you may need to send a network invitation from your normal profile to your new group profile and accept it first, if you've set your group up that way.) To see your empty group weblog with the button to make posts, there's a link near the top of the profile page.
Once your group is up and running, threads you start with the group profile can appear on the list of weblog posts, but threads started by your members won't. However, people can use the subscribe button at the top of your weblog to show its threads their "Your Subscriptions" activity list on the main page. Whenever a new thread is posted or a reply is made, the thread will go to the top of all the "Your Subscriptions" lists of your subscribers.
Like a weblog, you are in charge of your group. You can use the Hide buttons to stop other members of IC from seeing posts that are outside the intended scope of your group. As the group owner, your decision on this is final and will not be overriden by IC. However, the poster will still be able to see what they've posted even if it's hidden from other users, and they may decide to cut and paste it and repost it elsewhere on the site.
You are also responsible for ensuring that visible posts comply with the IC AUP, as soon as you become aware of what each post says.
As long as it's set as a "group profile" (rather than male, female etc), has at least one subscriber, and one post or reply within the last two weeks, it will be listed on the list of active groups. This is the main place people look for groups. The profile picture of your group profile will be used on this page, so it's worth choosing one which will look good at 80x80 thumbnail size.
As this list is sorted by the number of subscribers, encouraging people to subscribe will give your group more prominence. This also means the group will appear on their profile pages in their list of subscriptions.
When you start your group, you're welcome to start one thread about it on the Website Help board, which gives you a chance to advertise it and other people a chance to comment (either way!)
It's also a good idea to mention your group in your signature (see your Chat, Weblog, and Web Board Settings page) so it gets advertised when you make posts on other groups and on the boards. The "@" links provide a quick way of doing this. For instance, if your group profile name was ABCD and your signature text included "Interested in ABCD? Try the @ABCD group!", then it would appear like this:
Interested in ABCD? Try the @ABCD group!
The people on your group's real-life or online network can choose to display a "group icon" 20x20 pixel version of the group's profile picture on their posts, memos etc and below the list of their subscriptions on their profile page. Again, choosing an image which is still recognisable at 20x20 is worthwhile.
Please do not use an image which will cause confusion. This includes an icon that looks like any of the icons used by IC to indicate online chat status, the sponsor's gold star, the green £, or those of other people's groups.
