Instant hat on Communicating through our Website
NOTE re use of public email: Here’s some comm from Lee Wilson: CPG PL #5 was not intended to be a stop on comm or complicated, we are just tightening up security for the future. We need to wean ourselves away from so much email.
This was the intention behind “Also we will not discuss agendas, plans, organization or any other business of CPG in or on a public email and limited brief communication on phones.”
If one must use public email, just don’t say what group – just refer to our group, or the event on [date] but don’t way where. Instead refer them to the site events or a particular link. You can put any of our site links into a shortened version so the name doesn’t show in an email https://goo.gl/ or https://bitly.com/ are good. If you need to send an attachment, you can zip it with a password if it’s sensitive. (see more on this below).
(It is known that the website messaging is not secure and Lee is working on an alternative.)
That said, below is an Instant hat on Communicating through our Website:
Messaging:
After you’re logged in go to Members tab, click on member you want to send a message to and click on the Private Message button, write it and send. There is no attachment capability, so send an attachment by regular mail. You can zip it with a password if it’s sensitive. In your message, just refer them to attachment name and use email for now. To secure an attachment you just highlight all the files you want to send (one or more), right mouse click and achieve them into a zip file. When you are doing that you have the option of setting a password to the zip file (you might have to click on Advanced tab). Get with someone if you need assistance creating a zip file with a password.
You have to be logged in to see if you have any new messages. The notification shows at the top next to your Howdy, (name). Also if you hover over your “photo” you get a drop-down menu which includes messaging and going to your inbox, sent box and composing a new message.
Chat: To chat with anyone on line at the same time you are, you go to chat bar (at the bottom of the home page) and click who’s there and say chat and start. It’s pretty intuitive, but you can just refer to the section of the Chat Hat for what you want to do, lots of images showing what they are talking about. http://www.cometchat.com/documentation/end-user-manual/
Or, to arrange a chat in advance:
- Notify by public email or by phone the person(s) you want to chat with confidentially on our site. Just coordinate time to meet up at our website and nothing else. Describe the topic as a general understood topic, not specific.
- Then log into site and either start a one-on-one chat or create a chat room for multiple people.
Posting info & articles
(See full write-up PDF in the Website Orientation Doc which is found under “Read This First” then “Community Preparedness Group Site Orientation.” )
- a) Post into the right category (following the org board, see others on the site)
- b) For posts specific to your area, put the city initials at the beginning of that areas post so they can be spotted easily. Examples: LA – Unique Gardening Tips” “NY – Additional Water Supply”
NOTE: Checklists need approval by your local group execs, then sent to CPGI exec over the area and then to CPGI Qual Sec for approval & posting.
Posting a password protected doc: Any sensitive files, when they are posted, can be password protected for downloading to whoever you want to view them. Within the top right hand box (Publish) you will find Visibility: Public Edit. Just click the edit and you can make it password protected before you save it and then verbally give out the password to whoever needs to have that data.
A lot of learning the ins and outs of the website is just trying things. You can’t really break it. It’s understood that nobody has time to read another manual! (It’s also known that the site is slow and Lee is going to get the site going faster but it costs a bit for a faster server, so it’ll have to be done after the first of the year.
Here’s a link to download a word doc for easier printing:
Instant hat on Communicating through our Website
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