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<p><span style="font-size:20px;"><strong><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Social Groups</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Interested in a new Due Date Club? Scroll to the bottom of this post for more information. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Social groups allow forum members to create "clubs" to discuss topics of shared interest. Forum members with similar interests have a place to gather and share information, banter away, or find other forum members in the same geographical area.</span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Social Groups can be Open or Closed:</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><em><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Open Membership</span></span></em><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">: Anyone may join by clicking the "Join" button.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><i>Closed Membership</i>: Membership is by approval. Clicking the join button initiates a PM to the Group Leader requesting membership. The Group Leader must approve all new members.</span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px;"><strong><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">How To Start a Social Group</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Read the information, guidelines, and rules below.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Post to this thread to propose a new Social Group and apply to be its leader. In your post, include the name of the Social Group and whether it will be open or closed. Each group should have two volunteer group leaders.</span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px;"><strong><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">How Social Groups Work</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Social Groups are moderated by a Social Group Leader. Group Leaders are responsible for upholding the integrity of a group by making sure that participation by members follows the <a href="http://www.mothering.com/community/a/user-agreement">User Agreement</a>. </span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Each Social Group will have its own forum and the group page will list the members of the group and include a "Join" button to allow new members to join.</span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">All content in all Social Groups is visible to the public, but only group members may contribute content and participate. For example, only members of the "Minnesota Natural Birthers" group can post in the "Minnesota Natural Birthers" group forum or upload photos to its gallery.</span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px;"><strong><span style="color:#344134;"><span style="font-family:arial;">How to Use Social Groups</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">After you've joined one or more Groups, they'll show up in a box on your profile page. When you tag Groups, they can be promoted as "Related Groups" in relevant areas of the site in the same way that Related Forum Threads and Related Articles now appear in the right column of various pages.</span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px;"><strong><span style="color:#344134;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Group Leaders</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Group Leaders are the members in charge of a Social Group; the member who creates a Group is the first Lead and may appoint additional Group Leaders.</span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><em><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">What can a Group Leader do?</span></span></em></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Receive join requests (for closed groups) and approve or deny them.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Edit the Group description and change the thumbnail image.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Ban a member, making it impossible for that member to re-join the Group.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Remove images from the shared gallery.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Send a PM to all members at once.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Promote other members to Group Leader (there can be more than one leader in the same Group).</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Demote him/herself to a regular Group member.</span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><em><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">What a Group Leader can’t do?</span></span></em></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Change the name of the Group </span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Demote another Leader back to a regular member (this must be done by the member or a Mothering Administrator).</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Act as a moderator within the Group forum (e.g., delete/edit others' posts and threads, etc.).</span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px;"><strong><span style="color:#344134;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Social Groups Rules</span></span></strong> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">We follow the same <a href="http://www.mothering.com/community/a/user-agreement">User Agreement</a> for the social groups as we do for the rest of the site. Respect fellow forum members and you won't have any problems.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Remember, your posts are public and are visible to fellow members. Group members should not place posts to discuss other members or other forum or group threads. </span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"> <span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">The following types of groups will not be permitted:</span></span></span></p>
<ol><li><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Hate groups</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Duplicate groups</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Spam, advertising, or other self-promotional groups (e.g. It's okay to create a group like"Earth Mama Angel Baby Lovers" so long as you're not an Earth Mama Angel Baby employee).</span></span></span></li>
</ol><p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px;"><strong><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Due Date Clubs/Finding Your Tribe</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Going forward, all Due Date Clubs (DDCs) will be created as Social Groups and they will remain active rather than archived. DDCs that are now closed and archived may apply to create a Group. To create a Group please read the information at the beginning of this post. </span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Tribes in Finding Your Tribe and tribe-like threads in other forums will be encouraged to move over to Social Groups. The advantage for tribes is that they will have more of a forum-like atmosphere where they can create threads and have a list of all members. </span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Interested in a new Due Date Club? Scroll to the bottom of this post for more information. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Social groups allow forum members to create "clubs" to discuss topics of shared interest. Forum members with similar interests have a place to gather and share information, banter away, or find other forum members in the same geographical area.</span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Social Groups can be Open or Closed:</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><em><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Open Membership</span></span></em><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">: Anyone may join by clicking the "Join" button.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><i>Closed Membership</i>: Membership is by approval. Clicking the join button initiates a PM to the Group Leader requesting membership. The Group Leader must approve all new members.</span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px;"><strong><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">How To Start a Social Group</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Read the information, guidelines, and rules below.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Post to this thread to propose a new Social Group and apply to be its leader. In your post, include the name of the Social Group and whether it will be open or closed. Each group should have two volunteer group leaders.</span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px;"><strong><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">How Social Groups Work</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Social Groups are moderated by a Social Group Leader. Group Leaders are responsible for upholding the integrity of a group by making sure that participation by members follows the <a href="http://www.mothering.com/community/a/user-agreement">User Agreement</a>. </span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Each Social Group will have its own forum and the group page will list the members of the group and include a "Join" button to allow new members to join.</span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">All content in all Social Groups is visible to the public, but only group members may contribute content and participate. For example, only members of the "Minnesota Natural Birthers" group can post in the "Minnesota Natural Birthers" group forum or upload photos to its gallery.</span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px;"><strong><span style="color:#344134;"><span style="font-family:arial;">How to Use Social Groups</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">After you've joined one or more Groups, they'll show up in a box on your profile page. When you tag Groups, they can be promoted as "Related Groups" in relevant areas of the site in the same way that Related Forum Threads and Related Articles now appear in the right column of various pages.</span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px;"><strong><span style="color:#344134;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Group Leaders</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Group Leaders are the members in charge of a Social Group; the member who creates a Group is the first Lead and may appoint additional Group Leaders.</span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><em><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">What can a Group Leader do?</span></span></em></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Receive join requests (for closed groups) and approve or deny them.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Edit the Group description and change the thumbnail image.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Ban a member, making it impossible for that member to re-join the Group.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Remove images from the shared gallery.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Send a PM to all members at once.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Promote other members to Group Leader (there can be more than one leader in the same Group).</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Demote him/herself to a regular Group member.</span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><em><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">What a Group Leader can’t do?</span></span></em></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Change the name of the Group </span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Demote another Leader back to a regular member (this must be done by the member or a Mothering Administrator).</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Act as a moderator within the Group forum (e.g., delete/edit others' posts and threads, etc.).</span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px;"><strong><span style="color:#344134;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Social Groups Rules</span></span></strong> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">We follow the same <a href="http://www.mothering.com/community/a/user-agreement">User Agreement</a> for the social groups as we do for the rest of the site. Respect fellow forum members and you won't have any problems.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Remember, your posts are public and are visible to fellow members. Group members should not place posts to discuss other members or other forum or group threads. </span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"> <span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">The following types of groups will not be permitted:</span></span></span></p>
<ol><li><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Hate groups</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Duplicate groups</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Spam, advertising, or other self-promotional groups (e.g. It's okay to create a group like"Earth Mama Angel Baby Lovers" so long as you're not an Earth Mama Angel Baby employee).</span></span></span></li>
</ol><p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:18px;"><strong><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Due Date Clubs/Finding Your Tribe</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Going forward, all Due Date Clubs (DDCs) will be created as Social Groups and they will remain active rather than archived. DDCs that are now closed and archived may apply to create a Group. To create a Group please read the information at the beginning of this post. </span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#262626;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Tribes in Finding Your Tribe and tribe-like threads in other forums will be encouraged to move over to Social Groups. The advantage for tribes is that they will have more of a forum-like atmosphere where they can create threads and have a list of all members. </span></span></span></p>