Groups in this community are simple yet powerful tools. Anyone can create groups! And the great part is that since you can elect to attach forums to your group, you can have a great place for your group to get together. You might use forums to create organized discussions on specific topics, to create stories, and coordinate activities.
You can create a group any time by going to your personal menu (click Howdy, [your name]), and choosing Groups -> Create a Group. Once you do this, you are presented with a very simple wizard that asks a few questions.
First you need to come up with a name and description for a group. All groups need something here to describe them. For example:
Second, you need to choose what type of group you want to make. There are three types.
- Public groups visible to all and are open for anyone to join.
- Private groups are visible, but people must request to join them. What goes on in a private group is visible only to other members of that group.
- Hidden groups are like private groups, but since only members of hidden groups can see these groups, new prospective members must be invited to join.
The second choice you need to make on this page is who should get to invite people. Since you are creating the group you will be considered the group administrator (admin for short). You can choose to make other members of your group moderators (mods for short) or admins, too.
Next you need to decide whether or not to attach a forum to your group. When your group has a forum of its own, the forum takes on the same characteristics as the group. In other words, the forum will be public, private, or hidden depending on your choices for the group. Moderators and admins you choose for your group will also be admins and mods for your group’s forum.
Setting your photo and cover image for your group works just like setting one for your own user. And the final bit, Invites, lets you choose from among your friends who to invite to the group to get things started. It’s just a simple checkbox and everyone you select will get an invitation. When you click Finish, the invitations are sent and your group — and forum if you chose to make one — is ready to go!