Two groups interacting when a subgroup is NOT the answer?
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Although it may be confusing, you could use a subgroup. The main group would be the less restrictive one (chicken), then the one with limited access (bird) would be the subgroup. You'd need to do it this way because you have to be a member of the main group before joining the subgroup. If you reversed it, the 'chicken' members could see all posts. You could limit who would be able to join the subgroup.
I don't think there's a way to 'link' 2 groups the way you want to. Duane |
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Hi Deborah,
We don't want the non-members to have access to the bird groupThe only way for non-members to (directly) contribute to a group's messages archive is check the "Allow Non Subscribers to Post" box in the group settings. Messages sent to the group's posting address by non-members will automatically be placed in the moderation queue rather than rejected. A disadvantage is that, as non-members, they don't receive anything back from the group - not even replies to their own posts unless the person replying takes the effort to CC them or to address them rather than the group. So this isn't a particularly convenient way to hold a discussion with those non-members. A subgroup is out of the question, yes?Maybe not. As Duane suggested you could have a main group that is open to more people than your restrictive bird group. But even so, the archive of the main group is separate from that of the bird group. On the other hand, every member of the bird group is per force a member of the main group, so that isn't necessarily a problem. Members of the bird group can hold private conversations in that group, or can converse with everyone in the main group. I think my options are either:There's no way to make an automatic connection of that sort between groups. Someone posting a message (or replying) who wants it to go to both groups must ensure that both groups are included in the TO or CC (or BCC) fields of the message. That's possible when posting or replying by email, but not when using the groups' web "New Topic" or "Reply" features. or 2) Create an overarching group - uberbirds, say. Have that groupSame problem. The uber group would have its own archive, separate from the other two groups. But, as in Duane's case, if the uber group were the main group and the bird and chicken groups subgroups of uber, then members of both the bird and chicken groups would per force be members of the uber group. In this arrangement people can talk privately about chickens, or birds, in their own subgroups, or post to uber to involve everyone. I looked into hashtags as an alternate solution, but it doesn'tNope. That's not going to help. Shal |
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Deborah,
I think under your scenario, chicken would be able to access itsNo, not if the bird subgroup has its archive access limited to bird members. I would imagine this need comes up fairly often - how have otherPresumably not both ways, that would mean everything posted to bird would be available to chicken. I've heard of people using an email account to automatically forward messages from one group to another (using a filter in the email). One needs to be careful not to create a loop when doing this. Shal |
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Deborah,
So if I understand correctly, a group CANNOT see a subgroup'sThat's controlled by a Privacy option available in the subgroup Settings: o Listed in parent group, publicly viewable archives o Listed in parent group, archives viewable by parent group members o Listed in parent group, archives viewable by subgroup members only o Not listed in parent group, archives viewable by subgroup members only Next question, then: can I take an existing stand-alone groupNot by any means that I'm aware of. But you could inquire of [email protected] - Mark may be able to do behind-the-scenes magic to make that happen. If yes, then the only thing my bird members would have to understandCorrect, but note that both the email and web address format will change - groups with subgroups, and the subgroups in them, have what's called subdomain addressing style. In that style there is a name that goes with all of the groups, plus a name for the parent group and a name for each subgroup. So you might have: chickens @ avian.groups.io (the parent group) birds @ avian.groups.io (the subgroup) The chicken group, on the other hand, ALWAYS sends to the chickenCorrect. If they sent a message to the bird group that message would be treated as being sent by a non-member (rejected or moderated). Bird members, on the other hand, are also members of the parent chicken group, so they can send as members to either bird or chicken. In fact, they don't even know that the bird group exists, right?Depends, see the subgroup's Privacy option, above. However, any chicken members familiar with groups.io will know from the address format that there must be (or have been) at least one subgroup within the avian subdomain of groups.io. Also, if you allow chicken group members to see the member directory for the chicken group, the bird group members will be among them. Apologies for the extended animal metaphor. The real purpose of these two groups isn't half as interesting or picturesque.Mundane is ok. My PTA group (and its subgroups) are pretty utilitarian, but it has been very handy to have subgroup lists restricted to active volunteers, special projects, PTA board members, teachers, the school administration, and so forth. Shal |
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Hi Shal, Just trying to piece the bits together for the wiki and I have a question. The?chickens @ avian.groups.io is the parent group) and?birds is the subgroup. You said "Also, if you allow chicken group members to see the member directory for the chicken group, the bird group members will be among them." Is this because all subgroup members must also be members of the parent group? (I understand it wouldn't work the other way round - only some members will be part of the subgroup.) Frances |
Duane
Shal Farley
Frances