Groups

[Brandi]

I have heard an increasing number of complaints about feeling lost in the shuffle as we've grown... people feel disconnected from friends and people they would like to know better, because there is simply too much going on as far as new posts and new members.

So, in the updates to our site over the next 4-6 weeks, we're undergoing several updates and upgrades that will hopefully help.

Our Groups feature http://militarysos.com/forum/group.php will have a ton of added functionality including real forums with the ability to post individual threads with replies AND the ability to subscribe to your groups and get notifications when there are new threads, replies, etc.

My hope is that with this added functionality, everyone who is feeling sort of lost on the main forums, can network with friends in the "Groups". The groups feature allows all of you to have groups for all sorts of different things, but I thought it would be especially useful for those of you who would like to make connections with people just in one specific area (keeping up with get togethers, local events, etc) or just one specific branch (Navy Wives, Army Girlfriends, Military Husbands, etc).

With the added functionality of subscribing, everyone will be much less likely to forget that the groups are there and more likely to get the group more active.

We really do have a ton of new things coming up in the next month, but I'd rather you just see for yourself when it's actually done, instead of me blabbing about it. I just thought this one update in particular would give all of you who are feeling kind of lost a little something to look forward to

[Germanchick]

That sounds wonderful!

[mjsparkles2001]

I don't know but do you think it will force the group into cliques?

I love the idea of groups but I like being able to go through all of the different posts.

I'm sure it will be great though!

[mjsparkles2001]

That post sounds bad ... I don't mean cliques ... I just think there are girls on here that I'd like to connect with that I don't really have anything in common with ... such as branch or area of the country ... etc.

[Becca]

I think we'll still be able to view all the forums, even if you're not in a group - but you can choose specific groups to subscribe to/join for notification of new posts.

Is that right Miss Brandi?

[Brandi]

Originally Posted by mjsparkles2001 I don't know but do you think it will force the group into cliques? I love the idea of groups but I like being able to go through all of the different posts. I'm sure it will be great though!

All of the groups will operate under our moderation policy, so there won't be any trashing of other members or anything like that.

As far as the "cliques"... if people feel like they need to gravitate from the main forums to a smaller setting with closer friends, I'm okay with that. It's really not harming anyone if some people feel like they need to network in a smaller setting/environment.

I don't think it will turn bad, I really don't.

[SarahElizabeth]

That sounds great!

[princessbunny197]

I think its a great idea. I can't wait to see the new updates. We will still have the "new posts" feature right? I think I might be lost without it.

[Brandi]

Originally Posted by Becca I think we'll still be able to view all the forums, even if you're not in a group - but you can choose specific groups to subscribe to/join for notification of new posts. Is that right Miss Brandi?

Well, there is an option for the moderator of each group to set the group as private (that option already exists right now) which I thought would be especially helpful for things like local forums where additional security and privacy are needed sometimes, BUT I personally have the capability to turn that option off, to make all forums viewable by anyone IF there were issues that made that necessary.

I HOPE that it does not turn bad like that but, in the worst case scenario, I'd just make everything public or remove a bad moderator from their group

[Brandi]

Originally Posted by princessbunny197 I think its a great idea. I can't wait to see the new updates. We will still have the "new posts" feature right? I think I might be lost without it.

Oh yes. In fact, I'm going to be highlighting the new posts function to make it stand out a bit more