Groups.io - What is it and what does it do?
As some of you may or may not be aware there is a web-based platform which is free to join and provides great chat facilities and more. This platform is to be found here https://groups.io on the Groups.io platform. RAFARS already have a presence on the platform, and it can be accessed by simply signing up to groups.io and requesting to join the RAFARS group.
So, what can RAFARS groups.io provide for you as a member?
The first thing is a method of keeping in touch with news and views of other members and what is happening within RAFARS. This is achieved by members and or council members raising a topic (message) on the group, it is then not only possible to read what is going on but respond to the message thereby interacting with the people submitting the message and give your opinion and views.
These topics/messages are received by one of 2 methods.
Method 1 is by direct email. This is completely controlled by the individual; you can elect to receive emails either individually, a full featured digest i.e. up to 12 messages grouped, a daily summery or in fact no emails, there is one email you would always receive and they are special notices, these are topics created by the moderators to inform members of something that needs to be delivered to all members.
Method 2 is to install the groups.io application on your phone. There is an app available for both Apple iPhones and Android. You then only need open the app to browse all topics for any group you belong to.
Remember, groups.io do not run advertisements and your data is never submitted to any ad tracking network, No spam.
Only The Messages You Want You can also mute topics and keywords, ensuring you only see the messages you're interested in. Take advantage of better email delivery options, including receiving the first message only in each thread or receiving replies only, It’s very versatile.
At the moment there are 40 RAFARS members who belong to the group, and we are hoping to get RAFARS council to agree funding so we can become a premium group.
As a premium group we would gain additional features, each of which is fully integrated with the group. Start with the calendar, where you can schedule events and send reminders, such as for RAFARS meetings including the weekly Zoom meetings. You can also set up an unlimited number of chat rooms. There's a poll feature, where you can ask questions of your group. Each group also has a full featured database, where you can define tables with different column types. There are sections for uploading photos and files. And a wiki, for storing group knowledge. Finally, each Premium group can have an unlimited number of subgroups.
So why not join us and keep abreast of what others are up to.
73 Hamish G0GLG
RAFARS 2508