N4M group lists

[lynda n]

Just wondering if other people have difficulty locating groups they might be interested in. It also seems there are a lot of groups with a similar premise, but no one knows, so they just start another group, not knowing there might already be one that is representing the same thing. There is no alphabetical listing, which would be helpful and it seems the groups should also be listed in groupings of similar interests. Are you listening N4M?

[Melissa (Tucson)]

I had this discussion with our first admin. There were only 60 groups then and I was worried!! Now look where we are. Elle, are you listening??

[Brenda Sue]

amazing - I suggested this to CC also - back before I met Mel in person!!
Hi, Mel!!
You and your co-horts (or partners in crime) REALLY filled by email box today!!
Did ya'll have fun? I had to be careful that kids weren't reading over my shoulder!! :)

[Melissa (Tucson)]

I guess it was one of those days! I don't know how anyone got anything done, but it was fun. We missed you. You need to glue those kids to their seats so you can play with us! I'll wait a couple days till everyone cleans out their mailboxes and send ONE descriptive email of what transpired today!

(They are definitely my partners in crime!)

[Brenda Sue]

It was truly - extremely funny - I replied once - but I think only to one person - and I don't know who.
I did not have much time today - but I do want to be a part of the next party (and the endeavors discussed today). Keep me posted!

[Melissa (Tucson)]

Outlook froze up and I never did get all the emails. I'll probably get them tomorrow and by then they won't make any sense...

[Navy for Moms Admins]

Hey guys -

I've been thinking about ways to organize the groups for awhile. Unfortunately, Ning doesn't offer any easy solutions. I'd love to be able to put the Groups in categories (regions, rates, PIR dates, common interest, etc.) but there is no current way to "tag" them or label them. Hopefully this is a feature Ning is already working on.

I could always type up a list and make it a page on the site. This is time consuming and would have to be updated all the time to stay accurate. Group creators sometimes change the names of their Groups which also changes their page links so that would make this even more difficult to maintain. I just don't think it's the best solution.

In the meantime, the best way to find Groups of interest is by using the Group search box. I know there are some duplicates on the site - but a few of those are there because certain members wanted to start their own Group if they were dissatisfied with a similar Group that was already in existence.

Any ideas you guys have - just shoot them my way or post them here. I'll follow this discussion and hopefully we can find an temporary solution until Ning gives us some better integrated options!

Elle

[Brenda Sue]

aw - Elle - You are doing a GREAT job - one that you could NOT pay me MILLIONS of dollars to do (well, I might think about it for that).

The main problem is people's lack of knowing how to navigate ANY website or computer issues. They don't about "tabs", "links", and especially "search" boxes. If people would just use that search box - ugh - soooo many discussions could be deleted - questions answered, etc.

[Navy for Moms Admins]

Brenda Sue -

I feel you. I've been looking at ways to make this so much more user friendly. I realize that for a lot of our members, this is their first time really getting involved with something online so if we can cut that learning curve and get people to find the answers they need faster - all the better! I think I've figured out a few good solutions that we can try and I'll hopefully be able to start rolling them all out before the end of the year. Thanks for the support :)

Elle

[Melissa (Tucson)]

I suggest if a group hasn't been active for a given amount of time we check with the group admin. If group admin is no longer active, delete it. I will even help with this group project.

[Melissa (Tucson)]

Brenda, you're following me again.

[Brenda Sue]

nope, YOU are following ME!! I know of TWO groups that WON'T need deleted due to lack of activity - and ONE of them is the TEXAS (biggest and best) state group!!!

[Melissa (Tucson)]

You're tempting me....