How to use Clubs

[DanielJUK]

Clubs are a feature we will be using more in our forum software and allows social groups and small areas of the forum with better administrating rights for the people looking after them. Think of them like little forums in our forum. They have powerful features and usability and will make a good addition to the other features we currently have.

 

We are currently using them for these purposes....

 

- Deck and Book Study Groups - in time we will gradually migrate them over to groups. If you want to start a new deck study group or take over an existing one and migrate it over, you just need to fill out an application here:-

 

We ask that if you are starting a new deck study or taking over one that you will at least commit some time adding to the group by studying the deck. These groups can have multiple people managing them and we reserve the right to remove the rights for people who are no longer around the forum or maintaining them.

 

- Subscriber Clubs - Subscribers are now allowed to apply for their own club and can use it how they like (within the forum rules).  These are like social groups. You can apply here -  https://www.thetarotforum.com/clubs/  there is a Start a Club button on the top right if you are a subscriber. New clubs will need our approval and you are allowed one per subscriber.

 

Viewing Clubs and Filtering the type

 

You can see all current Clubs here https://www.thetarotforum.com/clubs/ or select Clubs in the main forum menu. You can filter by type by selecting "filter".

 

Guide to Creating a Club

 

The study groups will be created for you with the name of the study. Their privacy will be set at Open (Everyone can see these clubs and their posts, however you have to join the club in order to participate. Anyone can join) and you have the default settings to start with.

 

Subscriber Club Creators can choose what privacy they would like whilst creating them. Here are all the choices and options...

 

 

Private Clubs cannot be seen by members who are not invited in to join, so really give a lot of privacy (note: the forum staff can always see every club created and every thread for safety reasons)

Closed Clubs are visible but members have to be invited in or accepted. Closed clubs can allow different privacy settings for each column or section, will go into that further in the how to use section.

 

⚠️ Think carefully what privacy level will work best for you, you cannot change it afterwards yourself and will need to contact a member of staff to do it for you or post below.

 

You can also select a logo picture, the name, a description of it and what type of group it is.

 

Also you can select the privacy of the members list of people who have joined it, the options are....

 

Who can see who is in this club?

•  Everyone
•  Club Members
•  Club Moderators

 

There is a default setting depending on the privacy you choose but you can override this

The final option, Rules lets you select rules for joining. You can ask people to accept some text before joining and even ask them to do it twice.

 

💡 All these options and the title are possible to change later yourself, apart from the privacy, so don't worry too much about it! You can change them again under Manage Club > Edit Club Settings

 

After you have submitted this info as a Subscriber Club, you will need to just wait for it to be approved.

 

 

How to Use Clubs

 

- Customising

Once your club is approved and going, you can make it yours! You can change the initial settings, logo and the title and the description under Manage Club > Edit Club Settings

You can upload a cover photo for the top of your club as well by clicking on the photo menu on it

 

- Creating Content and Sections

The Clubs work by creating sections, they appear as columns or tabs across the top, To create your first section or tab....

 

Go to Manage Club in the top right-hand corner

 

 

You will get a menu of all the settings for managing your club

 

 

Add Club Feature is what you need to add a new section, here we have Topics, this is what our forum software calls a new forum of threads. So each "Topics" you add is a new section of threads

 

💡 The same menu settings and features appear on the mobile site version of your Club, but will be in different places to this guide so you might need to look around. Instead of tabs / columns going along the top, on the mobile view they are a pull down menu and you select a section.

 

As well as adding a section in this menu you can edit your club settings (we talked about that earlier on), Invite Members into your club and that's the important functions.

 

If you click the Club Settings menu on one of your sections, there is a further option at the bottom "Edit this Forum" This has the settings for that section, the forum software regards each "section" as a new forum. If your privacy is Closed you can change the privacy per section / tab. The options are....

 

 Make content public?

•     Club members can view and participate
•     Anyone can view
•     Anyone can view and participate

 

The default setting is only Club Members can view and participate. Please take care changing the privacy if there are personal or private posts in threads in that section. Anyone can view is like "read only", they have to join to post and the last option is open for people to read and post without joining.

 

 

- Moderating your own area

You can moderate and move around your own posts in your own club. If you need any help with this, please reach out to a member of forum staff.

 

To moderate your threads, there is a new menu at the top of a thread

 

 

By clicking it you get this menu

 

 

A Quick Guide to the Moderation Tools

 

Pin / Unpin - lets you keep a thread to the top of your section. You can pin as many or few as you like. You can select the option again to remove them from the top

Hide / Unhide - lets you keep a thread or a post of yours out of public view. Maybe you are still working on it or want to reveal it later. No Club members can see it but is visible to staff and any Club leaders / moderators you select. The thread or post will be in red to show it's not viewable currently

Lock / Unlock - lets you make a thread read only, No members in your club can post on it. You can still write on it (and other leaders / moderators you appoint)

Move - you can move your threads between sections in your club. You have options to move threads around by selecting them in the index of that section as well. A menu will appear below

Delete - Sends threads or posts to the forum's recycling bin

 

💡 The forum staff are able to move global forum content into your club, let them know if you have content or a journal that you want moved into your club

 

- Club Member Ranks

Your club can have members with different ranks, here is a guide to them....

 

Owner - This is the starter of the club and has automatic Leader status. You cannot change an owner

Member - these are the members of your club

Leader - A leader can moderate content and manage members in the club, including making other members leaders. They can also customise and change your club's settings

Moderator - A moderator can moderate content and the threads only. They cannot make any structural changes to the group, nor make any other members leader or moderator.

 

You can change a member to a leader or moderator, from the members tab within your club

 

⚠️Think carefully if you decide to change a member's status, please ensure you trust them to have such a role in your club. It could be useful to have multiple people running some social clubs but you might just want to keep it for you with a personal club.

 

 

Enjoy your club! 🙂

 

💡 If you have any questions or have an issue, do post in this thread below ⤵️

Also for any help or assistance, do contact any of the forum staff