ZGroups

Help With ZGroups

Purpose of this ZGroups Page

On this ZGroups Compentium page you see a list of links to Groups that Sustainers and Free Members have created and belong to on ZCom.

• You can manually browse through the full list here, click any one, and visit the Group's page.
  
  
• You can also put a bit of text in the search field and see all the Groups that have that text in their name. Try it. Obviously this option will grow in importance as the number of Groups grows.
  

Each of our Groups is a collection of members which you can ask to join. The descriptions of the basis for membership for each Group is brief, but indicative.

• Each Group has one or more "admins" assessing requests to join the Group and also maintaining the Group page which displays members' work in general, and also on some shared focus of attention, as the admins decide.
  
  
• Each Group also has its own blog posts that display on the Group's page and are also visible in the ZBlog system, featured there by using the left menu to filter for any particular Group's blog posts.
  
  
• Each Group page also displays articles, multimedia, graphics, text, pictures of members, and whatever else the Group admins pick to show on their Group Page.
  
  
• Content that is uploaded by Group members can be tagged by them as Group content, to then be displayed in content boxes on the Group page, on that basis.
   
• Group admins can also opt to display content simply on the grounds that the author is a Group member.

To see the work of a Group, just click and link to the left, and visit the indicated Group page.

Joining, PArticipating in, Starting, & Editing a Group

Joining

Once you visit a page, Free Members and Sustainers can ask to join its Group.

• To ask to join a Group, please first log in to ZCom (as a Sustainer or as a Free Member) and, second,
   
• When you are on the page of the Group you are interested in, find the link that will be there to join... it is typically near the top of the right hand column of the main display area - and click it.
  
  
• Then wait for the Group's response. In time, if accepted to join, you will appear as a member, your work will appear, etc.
  
  

Participating In a Group

• Group members can upload content, blogs, etc. and tag them as Group content.
   
• Group members who have commenting rights can also comment on all Group content and it will appear in Group content boxes, etc.
   
• Comments also appear in a group forum and...
   
• The Group Forum link, on the Group page, enables members to interact directly in a cumulative discussion
   
• Members can also propose ideas about the content and design of the Group page to the Group page admin
   

Starting a Group

Starting up and administering a Group is a bit more complex, but not much.

• First, only Sustainers or Regular Writers can start a Group and especially administer a group.
  
  
• To suggest a new Group, just click the link labelled suggest a new Group that you find on any existing Group page, and use the form to make your suggestion. Suggestions by folks willing to admin the Group they suggest are far far far more likely to be acted upon then suggestions that others should take the responsibility!
   
• A Sustainer requests a Group be created, using a link found on Group pages. This request goes to ZCom Staff. If the request is acceptable to the Staff, they create the Group and the initiator who requested it becomes first a member, then also an admin for the new Group. Until there is an admin, requests to join go to ZStaff. Once there is an admin, requests go to the admin, or admins, of the specific Group.
  
  
• For an established Group, requests to join go to the founder/administrator, who can accept or reject such requests.
  
  
• The founder/administrator can also make other members who have joined into admins of the group who can then in turn act on membership requests as well. Membership requests arrive in email.
  
  
• All Group Admins can edit the group page they are responsible for - each of them can do so - as well as okay or reject new membership requests.
   
• Editing Group Pages is done using the same tools as when editing personal ZSpace pages. If you are an admin, when you go to your Group page, you will see the tools on content boxes, etc., just as you see them on your personal ZSpace Page.