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My profile
There are two profile views, the short profile and the extended profile.
The short profile is the one most people can see when they click on your profile information, you can access this by clicking on the “profile” button next to your avatar image and username on the upper right of the page. When you first click on this you will be taken to your profile activity feed.
To edit your profile, select settings from the options on the screen on your profile page, you can then select to add/change your profile avatar and edit your profile information.
Other options for your profile include the ability to upload documents and media files that will be attached to your profile (so you can link to them in a blog for example), you can also see your forum posts and replies and your group memberships from here.
Another option that you have is to set a profile cover image as a way of further personalising your profile. To do this, simply click on the “Upload Cover” button anywhere in your profile page view.
To get to your extended profile, if you hover the pointer above the site name at the very top right of the screen, you will see an option for “Dashboard”, select that. And you will see a new side menu option including a Users/ My Profile option. Select this to get to your extended profile view.
Top Menu Bar
It is worth spending some time getting to know the top menu bar. If you hold your pointer over your name, where it says, “Hi, YOUR NAME” you will see a dropdown menu that has many options of things you might like to do, from adding links to posting Media items such as photos and videos into your own profile area and albums.
The white circle beside your name tells you if you have any notifications, such as comments or friend requests. Next to the left is the forum list, and also the area where you can add new items such as blogs (posts). There is also an area for you to moderate any comments to blog posts you may have made. Further to the left is the website name, and if you hover above that you can click on the Dashboard, which will open up your editorial features, such as inspecting comments and blog posts and setting up events.
Forums
When you go to forums you will notice that you can add links and images.
If you copy and paste content from a website into a forum topic post, there may be hidden formatting that will show up and ruin your post if you are not careful. The way to avoid this, is to copy the information, open up your new topic, select the “Text” tab and paste your information. Then you can select the “Visual” tab and you will see how the information will be posted. If you do make a post where the topic is messed up, you can contact one of our Admins who can correct it for you.
Joining Groups
If you click on Groups, this will take you to the group list, from there you can choose to join any groups you might like to get involved with. Each group has it’s own dedicated forum, a group “wall” for adding comments, a document creation and storage area (where shared documents can be stored), and also the group galleries and chat.
[important]One group you should consider joining is our Image Gallery group, this group is there to collect all of your favourite images together in one neat gallery so they are easy to find.[/important]
How do I associate a site to a Group?
The best way to associate a site to a group is to mark the site as a Group-Post when you publish it. That way you will be able to set the group for the site and choose who will be able to see that information – just the group, logged in members or completely public.
When a new site is added to Brigantes Nation, where it has minimal information or is not yet fit for public consumption we like to set that site as being owned by a visible only to the New Sites group, that way members with an interest in the site will be able to contribute (so long as they have joined the group) but the site will be hidden from public view until it is ready.
Creating a Group
To create a group, click on the groups page and select “Create a Group”.
The first thing to do is enter a Group name and description, then select “Create group and continue”. Next you get to select if the group is public, private or hidden, who is allowed to invite other members and the email notification default for the group – group members can change this selection for themselves after they join and also if you want to disable the group gallery (For images and videos).
There is also an option to disable Blog Categories for the group. This feature if enabled will allow you to associate specific blog categories as being applicable to the group. Disabling this removes the “Blog” button within the group.
Next you will select if the group is to have a forum. Most groups will have one of these since a separate group forum is at the core of most groups. Your group can have members, moderators and administrators. As will all options, if you choose not to have this feature, it can be added later.
Other options include if you want a collaborative document creation/editing area and who can edit the documents, and if you want to have a group chat page. Currently, all groups get a file library for uploading PDFs and other files.
Next you will upload an image for the group. Note that square source images are better as the crop tool is “quirky”.
Following this, if you have enabled Blog Categories for the group, you will be able to set up the blog categories applicable to the group. If the correct category is not available, skip this step and ask Admin to set up a category for you, you will be able to complete this association once the group is created by going back to the group settings.
Next you have the option of loading a cover photo for the group.
Then you get to choose which group members can upload files into the file storage area.
Finally, you can choose to invite people into your group.
Congratulations, you have created your group.
Following group creation, you will be the group admin, and you will have various management options, including adding features not created during initial setup and making group members moderators and admin.
If you do choose to have a gallery, make sure you create one after setting up the group, otherwise members will not be able to upload photo’s. Normally, the first image uploaded will become the Avatar for the gallery.
Also notice that each group has it’s own RSS feed. RSS is an Internet system for automatically updating changes and updates to people who use RSS readers, it may come in useful.
More about your profile.
If you float your pointer over your name, in the very top right-hand menu area, a dropdown menu will appear, one of the options here is your profile, you can view edit or change your avatar from this menu selection. Clicking on view will take you to your own member’s page profile settings.
In the centre column of the page you will see your Avatar image and a map of where you live, so long as you have correctly set your city and country in your profile questions.
Below this, you will see a number of options:
Activity – Shows your activity on the site
Profile – Shows your basic profile information
Notifications – Shows if you have any outstanding notifications
Messages – Will display a list of messages you may have
Friends – Allows you to display your friends list
Groups – Will show any groups you have joined
Forums – Allows you to view your activity on the Forums
Send Invites – Allows you to invite friends to join the site via email
Events – Shows any events you have created or joined
Docs – Shows any Documents you have uploaded
Gallery – allows you to create and manage your personal media galleries
Settings – Allows you to change your password and email address
Cover Photo
You also have the option of uploading a cover photo for your profile, simply visit your profile and click the “Add Cover” button.
Compliments
Members can send each other compliments, for example if another member has been of help to you or has given you a thought-provoking message. You can send a complement by going to that members’ profile and clicking on the “Send Compliment” button. The member will then be notified of the compliment, and it will appear in their “Compliments” area of their profile.
