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As most of you know, we’ve had the ability to create custom private groups for a while now. Some SpiceHeads have taken advantage of this and we’ve seen a lot of promise with the idea. Due to that, we wanted to expand on this and put more control in your hands when it comes to molding the community.

We’re going to be expanding the idea of private groups into a feature we’re calling User Groups. User Groups are still private groups created by SpiceHeads. Where it differs from a private group is that User Groups will be publicly listed, allowing SpiceHeads to browse the available groups and apply to join any ones that catch their eye. User Groups can be created for any topic you’d like, assuming it’s in line with our Community Guidelines . Want a group called “Battle of the NIXes” to debate the best Linux distro? Or just a private area to talk with your IT friends? Anything’s fair game, both technical and just-for-fun. The key is that you get to make these groups and run them how you want.

Just like private groups , these are not actively moderated by Spiceworks. However, if reported, we will take appropriate action. Groups do have to be approved by Spiceworks before they can be created, so SpiceHeads should make sure their idea is appropriate for our community. We’ve already seen some very smart uses of private groups, like the IT Banking group run by Lauren7060 and Ihatsynot . This group is for those in the banking industry to discuss federal regulations and dive into some specifics they may not be comfortable talking about on a public site.

Given all you’ve seen (or maybe haven’t!) with private groups so far, we’re looking to hear what concerns you have, if any. Are there any ways this could go horribly wrong that we haven’t thought of?

Also, if you have any ideas for User Groups, let us know what they are! We’d love to hear your ideas so we can brainstorm additional future features.

Lastly, here are some screens of the group creation and management process. Do you see anything confusing or unintuitive here? What other features or tools would be helpful here? (We can grab you more screenshots if there are any areas you’d like to see in more detail. Let me know what you want to see!)

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Above: You can request a User Group right from the Start Page!

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Above: The group creation page (plus an explanation of the restrictions).

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Above: The group management screen for User Groups. You can invite SpiceHeads, and if the group is open to join requests, you can approve and deny them here too

Thanks in advance for the feedback!

25 Spice ups
2

If a user not in a group gets tagged in a post will they get notified?

3 Spice ups
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Only if the group is public. If the group is private and they are not a member of it, they will not receive notifications (works the same way private groups do now… after the change in the last update went out , heh).

4

So there are 2 ways to find out about a group, then? Someone tells you about it OR you happen to notice it by browsing a master list that SW will place somewhere?

1 Spice up
5

If I see a group that looks interesting and request membership and get denied is that the end of it? Anybody can deny entrance to new members for any reason they want?

4 Spice ups
6

What are the boundaries on these groups? Still have to be IT Related? or can they be WC style rooms about like, lets says DnD or Magic the Gathering?

4 Spice ups
7

This sounds like a great feature!

2 Spice ups
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Yes… these are SpiceHead-controlled private groups; however the owner wants to manage their group, they can.

They can be non-IT related! We’d encourage it, in fact, especially if you want a more specific group for a general WC group we already have.

1 Spice up
9

I want a vegetarians group! Sharing veggie-specific recipes would be great. :B I nominate you to create one, @evanalmightyyy !

4 Spice ups
10

I would LOVE to be involved in this!

2 Spice ups
11

I suppose this is the part where I jump in and suggest a Spicy Singles group. :wink:

7 Spice ups
12

Will you be giving the admins of these groups the option of disabling the auto language moderation feature?

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Not at the moment, no. We can look into it in the future, though!

1 Spice up
14

A active duty and military veterans group would be awesome.

5 Spice ups
15

Question - do the creators of these user groups get added to A&M as a group admin?

3 Spice ups
16

…So I could create a group solely dedicated to My Little Pony? I’m In!

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3 Spice ups
17

We’re not planning on it; A&M is intended really just for “official” group admins who handle our official groups/categories.

2 Spice ups
18

And, conversely, I’m guessing that the existing mods won’t have access as these groups fall outside the official groups, and it will only be CMs that moderate the private groups?

1 Spice up
19

We can discuss how moderator stuff works in the A&M group; I don’t want to dive into explanations of features that most people can’t see or use here.

20

If there is one, I’d join it.

3 Spice ups