Help for Site Users

This page gives some guidance on the facilities available on this site. It does not provide more general help with house group issues. If you wish to contribute material on that topic, please feel free.

There is additional help available for group leaders on how to use this site.

Finding a House Group

If you are trying to choose a house group, your best bet is to look at the full list of house groups. You can get to this page at any time by clicking the link labelled "list of house groups" in the menu to the left.

Logging In

If you are a member of a house group registered on the site then you can get a password enabling you to log in to this site. Once you have signed in (by entering your name and password into the bar at the top of this page), you will have access to features of the site not available to you at the moment.

How to log in / get a password?

If you have already been provided with a password, type your full name and this password into the boxes in the bar at the top of this page and click the button labelled "Log In". To obtain a password if you do not have one, give your house group leader your name and email address. They will be able to log on to this site and add you as a member of their house group. You will then be sent a password automatically by email.

If you are a house group leader and have not received an email telling you how you can obtain a password for this site, please use the feedback link in the bar to the left to let us know. Please include your email address in your message.

Forgotten password?

If you have forgotten your password then attempt to log in by typing your full name and what you think your password is into the boxes at the top of this page and clicking the button labelled "Log In". If you get your password wrong then you will be given instructions on how to find out what it is.

Login problems

For you to be able to log in your browser must support cookies. If you are having difficulty logging in, please click here to try our (partially completed) cookie checker.

Login benefits

Signed in users have access to the following additional features:

• Links relevant to the house groups that they are signed up to
• Ability to control the information held on them (their profile)
• Access to restricted parts of their house group's home page

Sending a Message

You can send messages through this site to members who have asked to receive them. Some members may only allow you to send messages to them when you are logged in yourself, others may allow anyone to send them messages. To control whether other people can send you messages edit your profile. To send your message, go to the directory for the house group of the member you wish to contact and click the link next to their name labelled "send message".

To someone not listed

If the member is not listed in the directory then you can click the link labelled "send a message to a member not in the directory" and enter the member's full name to send them a message. If they have declined to receive messages from members you will then be informed of this.

To the whole group

To send a message to your whole house group, go to the members' directory for your house group and click on the link at the bottom of the page labelled "Send a message to the whole group". Your message will not go to people who do not have an email addresses on the system or people who have indicated that they do not wish to receive messages sent by members of the site.

When things go wrong

If you send a message to someone for whom we have a bad email addresses on record, you will receive a failure report for that message. You may like to forward this to your house group leader so they can update the address.

House Group Links

When you are signed in, links relevant to the house group(s) that you have signed up to appear in the menu on the left of each page. If you are not signed in, you will still have access to much of this information, but to find it you will have to browse the list of house groups and follow the link to "more info" next to the name of your house group. The links that appear in the side bar relevant to each house group include:

• Your house group's details page. Here you will see who the leaders are, where it meets and when.
• Your house group's members' directory. This page enables you to see a list of, and send messages to, other members of your house group. Members of a house group are able to sign up to be listed in this directory by editing their profile.
• Your house group's home page. If your house group has a home page, there will be a link to it in this menu.

Some people go to more than one house group, they will see a list of all the house groups they are signed up to in this menu with the options above available for each one. To sign up to additional house groups use the section at the bottom of your profile.

Profile

Your profile is the place where you can control the details held on you by this web site that will be used to help you get the most from house groups and from this web site. This includes things like whether other members can send you messages using this site (by default they will not be able to unless you explicitly allow them). To access your profile log in and then click on the link labelled "Your Details" that appears in the menu bar at the top of every page.

Home Page

Your house group may have a home page. A home page allows your house group to share more detailed news and information on what you are doing than the details page on this site conveys. Some of the information on your house group home page may be restricted to members of the house group or members of any house group. For example, on the Cowley Pastorate home page, logged-in members can see which members have birthdays coming up and play the points system game.

Mailing Lists

You can create mailing lists to allow you to easily send messages to groups of people. Click on the link labelled "mailing lists" in the menu to the left and give your mailing list a name to create it. You can then add people to it using the form displayed. You can add anyone who has edited their profile to agree to let members send messages to them. You can select members of the house groups that you are in who have agreed to receive messages (and be listed) from a list or you can enter the full name of a person in any house group to search for them. If they have not agreed to receive messages you will be informed.

Mailing lists are community-managed: any member can add more members or remove members. Hopefully this will enable the groups to be as useful and flexilble as possible. If this causes problems in practice then please send feedback on this feature.

Submit website comments here
Site use subject to terms & conditions
Last updated: 24/3/2006