Forum & Google communities members area access request

One thing you find if you look behind the scenes of a group like the GFC is that to make it function properly there are a lot of documents to create, forms to fill out and spreadsheets to look through. It starts to become a pile of paperwork.

Even to ask information from someone has a habit of requiring a google form to be loaded up in a web browser and filled out which means your having to ask people questions and cipher through one type of document or another.

Accessing inworld

Here in GFC Research its clear that there should be simpler ways of doing stuff, starting with requesting access to the GFC forums and Google communities members pages.  We have created a device where the person requesting access to those area's clicks from a list of options.

Once clicked they are given a handful of options.

1. Forum
2. G+ Communities
3 Both
4 Links
5 Notecard

When the 1 to 3 option is selected a textbox appears on your screen and it just requires you to type in your email and press the send button....Thats it...Nothing more to do, no form to open on your browser, just type it inworld and send.

Button options and entering email from textbox

From there the device will automatically fill out the form behind the scenes with your Secondlife name already added without needing to ask you, plus the email you entered gets transferred to the spreadsheet. (Those dealing with the request can have emails of application sent the moment it happens).

When selected, the forum email will go to the sheet which deals with that request, G+ goes to another sheet and the both option will send requests to both sheets at the same time if the same email is being used.

Links

One major advantage of using an inworld textbox is that when the data is sent off because you can detect who sent the message you know exactly who the person is and can use that name as the sender, the spelling will be correct and you'll have their proper legacy names so they will always be easy to find in search, also if someone wants to play about sending out silly emails or data you already have the culprit.

Notecard

Option 4 places a list  inworld in your chat channel with web links to blogs, forums, communities and facebook which you can click and be taken directly there, option 5 just gives you a notecard with the same info on.

This system makes a quick and fast way for users to apply for access to certain members areas without fuss in seconds.

This device have so far been places in recruitment and a room in Phoenix Stations welcome area.

GFC joins the Google Communities

The GFC is no stranger to Social Media, its had a facebook page going back years and little do most people know that the hash tag on twitter #galaxyfleetcommand has been available for a long time.

Though the GFC does have a forum, it seems at type of way of communication has fallen out of favour with uses and many never really got into. It doesn't help when the look and feel is very bland and hasn't changed in years.

Blogs like this one or the official one have been good ways of getting stories about the group out but generally we found its always been a bit hard to get people to post regularly. So you'd end up with a view of the world which were by one or two writers. But posting never felt as easy or immediate, I certainly know when posting on blogs I tended to want to write more and having a few days of small post felt abit like cheating, but that's just me.

What really was needed was a way to encourage participation more easily, which is simple to use, post and where you could receive updates as they happen on your mobile phone, tablet or PC if needed, plus something which you can easily just pop in and pop out.

In some respects facebook has that ability and we have had a facebook page for a long time, It was felt that something needed to be out there which was more community based where the users felt the freedom to post things which have happened in the group or even post something which they think the group would be interested in. A less corporative stamp and a more cosy members feel.

Google communities seemed a good fit to try because we already have members using services like their drive storage, docs, forms and spreadsheets as part of GFC's day to day operations

How communities works is you set up a feed like page where people simply post small articles, maybe sharing a thought, some pictures from an event, links to video etc.

Two communities were set up, one is totally public, anyone can joined irrespective if they are members or not. The other is a members only community which can be used to ask about specific group related subjects, stuff you may want to keep in house or is more relevant to members specifically than putting out to the general net.

These communities are build for the members to easily pass on things that interest them, things they want to talk about, ask questions about.

You can also communicate with members directly in chat messaging or video calls so if you wanted you could set a time to debate with members about stuff or even create regular video/voice or chat meetings.

video conference with up to 10 people and much more in messager system, also the ability to easily screen share multiple peoples videos either from their camera or computer display and software. Here we can see Richardjrn weatherwax streaming SL into the call. 

These communities were build for the members to use and make use off, don't be afraid to post or ask questions, advice or opinions, like what do you think of this picture of my latest build, what's a good time to do an rp etc or have a quick way to show what may have happened in an event. The best way to be part of a community its to share your experiences with that community.

Public GFC community link  --> HERE
Members community requires invitation.