7 Managing member notices

7.1 Overview

Group owners and moderators can create customized, prewritten messages, called member notices, that can be sent to group members for various reasons. Member notices make it convenient for moderators to send commonly used messages to members under different circumstances without having to rewrite the text each time. In the case of a member-initiated event, such as someone leaving a group or joining an unrestricted group, having an member notice makes it possible for a message pertaining to that event to be sent to the person automatically.

7.2 Creating, editing, or deleting member notices

To create a member notice, follow these general steps:

On your group’s left navigation menu, select Admin > Settings. The main Settings page appears.
At the top of the Settings page, click the Member Notices button.
On the Member Notices page, click the New Notice button.
Complete the fields and selections for the new notice:

In the Notice Type list, select the type of notice you want to create.
In the Name field, you can leave the default name as is or change it. This name is displayed in the list of existing notices on the Member Notice page and in selection lists on other pages.
Tip: If you intend to create multiple notices of the same type, you should ensure that each notice of that type has a unique name so you will be able to easily identify specific notices in the lists.
In the Subject field, you can leave the default subject as is or change it.
Select the Active Message checkbox if you want to make this message the active notice—that is, the one that is sent automatically at the time of its corresponding event.
Note: Only one notice of each type can be the active message at any given time.
In the text formatting field, enter and format the body of the notice.
Tip: To see all of the formatting tools, click the Show Advanced Toolbar “hamburger” icon at the right.

Note: For some notices, the system provides default text for the message body. This text appears automatically when you select those notice types. You can edit the default text as desired.

Click the Add Notice button at the bottom of the page.

To edit an existing notice:

On your group’s left navigation menu, select Admin > Settings > Member Notices.
On the Member Notices page, click the notice’s name.
Make your changes to the notice.
Click the Update Notice button at the bottom of the page.

To delete a notice:

On your group’s left navigation menu, select Admin > Settings > Member Notices.
On the Member Notices page, click the notice’s name.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Delete Notice button.

The topics that follow describe the available types of member notices (in alphabetical order) and how they are used.

7.3 Banned Member notice

This notice can be sent automatically when a moderator bans a member from the group. To be sent automatically, the notice must be the active notice (set to Active Message). If no Banned Member notice is set to Active Message, none will be sent.

7.4 Direct Add notice

Note: The Direct Add feature is available only in Premium and Enterprise groups.

This notice is sent when a moderator adds a member directly to a Premium or Enterprise group. The active notice, if any, is used as the initial text, and you can edit it for one-time use during the direct add process.

A Direct Add notice is always sent; if the owner or a moderator has not created and activated a custom notice, the system activates and uses a default.

7.5 Group Guidelines notice

The Group Guidelines notice is a unique type of notice that provides a convenient and versatile way to communicate and maintain the group’s posting and conduct guidelines, rules, best practices, and so on.

A Group Guidelines notice:

Can be sent automatically on the first of each month as a message to the group, with an option to include members whose subscriptions are set to Special Notices Only.
Can be sent automatically to all new group members.
Can be sent manually by a moderator to a group member at any time.
Appears under its own Guidelines entry in the left navigation menu on the group’s website, with an option for that entry to be visible to group members only or to the general public.

Unlike the other notice types, a group can have only one Group Guidelines notice. When the notice is created, a Guidelines entry automatically appears on the group’s home page. The rest of the notice’s features are optional, and you can specify them when creating or editing the notice:

Subject: Enter a subject line that will appear in the message when the notice is emailed to a group member separately from the monthly message to the group.
Email Subject: Enter a subject line that will appear in the message in the group archive, if the notice is emailed monthly to the group.
Private: Select this checkbox to make the Guidelines entry on the group’s home page visible only to group members. If you do not select this checkbox, the Guidelines entry is visible to the general public.
Send on Join: Select this checkbox to send the Guidelines notice automatically to new group members through email.
Send monthly to group: Select this checkbox to send the Guidelines as a message to the group on the first of each month.
Note: The system sends the message with the #guidelines hashtag. If that hashtag does not already exist, it is created with a topic duration of one month, causing the archived message to be automatically deleted after one month (when it is superseded by the next monthly message). The #guidelines hashtag is set to “Use by moderators only” and “Replies by moderators only” to prevent nonmoderators from using it.
Send monthly as special: This checkbox appears only when the Send monthly to group checkbox is selected. When you select Send monthly as special, the monthly Guidelines message to the group is sent as a special notice, so that members whose email delivery option is Special Notice Only will receive it (in addition to members whose email delivery option is Individual Messages). In this case, the #guidelines hashtag is also set to “Special.”

Tip: Sample Guidelines notices are available in the wiki in the GroupManagersForum group. You can use those samples as a basis for your group’s notice.

7.6 Goodbye notice

This notice can be sent automatically to someone who leaves the group. To be sent automatically, the notice must be the active notice (set to Active Message). If no Goodbye notice is set to Active Message, none will be sent.

Some groups use this notice to ask members why they left the group. Responses go to the group owner email address.

7.7 Invite notice

You may create as many Invite type notices as you think you might need. For example, you might want one for general use and one for special reasons.

When you are sending an invitation to join the group, you can select an Invite notice from the list of notices at the bottom of the Customize Message area, and then you can customize it further as needed.

Note: The further customization is not saved to the notice. It applies only to that one-time use.

7.8 Locked Group notice

This notice can be sent automatically when the group is locked but someone sends an email to it. To be sent automatically, the notice must be the active notice (set to Active Message). If no Locked Group notice is set to Active Message, none will be sent.

7.9 Monthly Reminder notice

This notice can be sent to the group automatically every month. To be sent automatically, the notice must be the active notice (set to Active Message). If no Monthly Reminder notice is set to Active Message, none will be sent.

7.10 Note To Member notice

This notice is a prewritten message on any subject that an owner or moderator can send at any time to a member, or to multiple members, through the Send Message feature from either a member’s individual page or the member list page. See Sending messages from the owner email address.

You may create as many Note To Member type notices as you think you might need. When you send a Note To Member notice, you can customize it further as needed.

Note: The further customization is not saved to the notice. It applies only to that one-time use.

7.11 Pending Subscription notice

This notice can be sent automatically to anyone who applies for membership in a restricted group (a group that has the Restricted Membership setting). To be sent automatically, the notice must be the active notice (set to Active Message). If no Pending Subscription notice is set to Active Message, none will be sent.

Tips:

Some groups use this notice to screen potential members by asking questions for applicants to respond to in support of their applications to join the group. Responses go to the group owner address and are recorded on individual members’ pages under “+owner messages.”
Templates for Pending Subscription notices are available in the wiki in the GroupManagersForum group. You can use those templates as a basis for your group’s notice.

7.12 Rejected Message notice

This notice is sent when a moderator rejects a pending message from a moderated member or a message in a moderated group or topic. The way it is handled depends on the method the moderator uses to reject the message:

By email: When a moderator rejects a pending message by email, using the link in a “Message Approval Needed” notification, the Rejected Message notice can be sent automatically. To be sent automatically, the notice must be the active notice (set to Active Message). If no Rejected Message notice is set to Active Message, none will be sent.
On the group's website: When a moderator rejects a pending message on the group's website, the text box for the rejection notice is initially left empty. The moderator can write the entire message by hand or select one of the Rejected Message notices as the initial text.

7.13 Rejected Subscription notice

This notice can be sent automatically when a moderator rejects an application for membership in a restricted group. To be sent automatically, the notice must be the active notice (set to Active Message). If no Rejected Subscription notice is set to Active Message, none will be sent.

7.14 Removed Member notice

This notice can be sent automatically when a moderator removes a member from the group. To be sent automatically, the notice must be the active notice (set to Active Message). If no Removed Member notice is set to Active Message, none will be sent.

7.15 Welcome notice

This notice is sent automatically to members who join an unrestricted group or whose membership in a restricted group has been approved. A Welcome notice is always sent to new members. If the group has not created and activated a custom welcome notice, the system activates and sends a default notice.