The problem: You have a message board, but nobody remembers to check it, so they don't get the announcements, then they don't show up to meetings, and then you don't get officers elected in time, the club can't turn in a roster card, and then all of a sudden you're out on the street and can't get any funding from the school. Bad stuff, right? Makes you want to turn to alternative forms of communication?
The solution: Fear not! Not only can you use the message board as pull technology (i.e., members have to remember to visit), you can use it to push information as well (i.e., information gets sent to members). Members can subscribe to topics and boards and receive posts via email. Announcing the birthday party for your club's president? Post to a board to which people are subscribed and they will get your post in their inboxes. Trying to figure out a schedule when everyone can't be online all day? Keep posting in the same topic and the people who are subscribed will receive the replies via email.
All options are controlled by each individual member, not by the group moderator.
Individual Member Options:- Notification of new topics on a certain board.
-- Visit the board to which you want to subscribe. In the upper right should be a "Notify" button. Click it.
-- You will be asked if this is okay; say yes. Now you will receive an email every time a new topic is posted
in that board. To reverse, click "Unnotify" in the same location.
- Notification of new replies to a topic in which you have posted.
-- This is the default setting. To check, visit your
profile, go to "Modify Profile," and select "Notifications."
-- Make sure the box next to "Turn notification on when you post or reply to a topic" is checked.
-- If you have turned this feature on after having posted in a topic already,
you will need to manually subscribe to that topic.
- Notification of new replies to a topic in which you haven't posted but would like to follow.
-- Visit the topic to which you want to subscribe. In the upper right should be a "Notify" button. Click it.
-- You will be asked if this is okay; say yes. Now you will receive an email every time a new reply is posted
in that topic. To reverse, click "Unnotify" in the same location.
- Getting the text of each post in the notification email.
-- This is the default setting. To check, visit your
profile, go to "Modify Profile," and select "Notifications."
-- Make sure the box next to "When sending notification of a reply to a topic, send the post in the email
(but please don't reply to these emails.)" is checked.
Congratulations! If everyone is subscribed to the right things, they will get all the information they need.