Overview: Subgroups

Subgroups are smaller groups within your group that organize members around a special interest (e.g., a hobby club or playgroup) and keep the main group focused on events and discussions that are relevant to everyone. Subgroups can have their own forums, events, news, polls, and all the other features of a main group.

Because subgroups are smaller and more intimate, members often choose to share more information with subgroup members than with the top-level group.

Examples of subgroups include a board or steering committee, classrooms or grades, book clubs, or playgroups. You can see a list of your group's subgroups by going to the "subgroups" tab.

---

Visual Aid

---

How do I join a subgroup?

Some subgroups have open enrollment and other groups while others may require your membership to be approved. Go to the "subgroups" tab to see what subgroups are available. Learn more about joining a subgroup here: How do I join a subgroup?


Will I get even more email when I join a subgroup?

Subgroups can have their own forums, so be sure to set your email preferences for these forums as well to control the amount of email you receive from your groups and subgroups. Learn more here: Video & Guide: How do I control the emails I receive from my group(s) on BigTent?


Do I have to join a subgroup?

All groups are set up differently, and while most groups have some optional interest subgroups you can join, some top-level groups have little activity but have very active subgroups. Contact your group's leaders if you have questions.

Where do I go to complete the registration for my group?

To complete your registration for your group on BigTent:

* Go to the "my bigtent" page.
* Click on the tasks link.
* Click on the enrollment task to continue your enrollment.

**NOTE** If you do not have an enrollment task, you do not have any active invitations to join a group on BigTent, and/or you have successfully completed your enrollment already. Please contact a leader of your group if you need a new invitation to register or renew with your group.

What computer and/or browser do I need to use BigTent?

A browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web.

* BigTent is optimized for Firefox 3.0+ (Windows & Mac). You can download Firefox for free here: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/.
* We also work great with IE 7.0+ (Windows), Safari 1.2+ (Mac), and Google Chrome (Windows).
* You can use other browsers with BigTent too. However, depending on the popularity of the browser and the version, these other browsers may not work as well as those listed above. Much older versions will be much less likely to work well or may not work at all. We recommend upgrading to the most recent version of your browser.



You can use pretty much any computer to access BigTent, however, some older computers use browsers which we do not support.

* If you're trying to sign up for your group but can't get past the membership form and/or everything is hard to read, it's likely that you are using an older Mac (made before 2002) and IE 5.0. BigTent is no longer tested for IE 5.0, and unfortunately there are no browser upgrades available for your computer.
* If possible, it is recommended that you continue the enrollment process using a different computer that runs a newer version of IE and/or Firefox.

Why do I need to provide info like my birth year and time zone?

Each member of a group on BigTent must have a BigTent account to connect with his or her group online. To create your BigTent account, we must collect certain information about you:


* Email address - so we know where to deliver messages
* Birth year - to deliver relevant content and know that you are old enough to use BigTent
* Geographic location and time zone - to ensure accurate listings of group events


Read BigTent's Privacy Policy for more specific details.

Troubleshooting registration issues

Check below for help troubleshooting common issues with the registration process:


Can't find your emailed invitation or registration link

Please note: You will only receive an email with a link to activate your BigTent account or your invitation to join a group on BigTent if a group leader has sent one to you or you have entered your information on the group's public Website. Please contact your group's leaders if you need them to send you an invitation. However, if you know you're supposed to receive an email with a link to activate or you can't find your emailed invitation to join, check out these helpful tips to troubleshoot.

* Check your Spam folder for an email from no_reply@lists.bigtent.com.
* Add no_reply@lists.bigtent.com to your address book and email's "Safe List." Check out this article for a link to each email provider's step-by-step instructions: How do I add BigTent emails to my email Safe List? Then re-send the email to yourself by going to https://www.bigtent.com/resend_invitaiton and entering your email address.
* If none of the above work, contact Customer Support for assistance.


****Note: Hotmail and MSN email users may have trouble accessing this email. Please read this for more information about this issue: KNOWN ISSUE: Hotmail or MSN users may have trouble getting BigTent emails ****


Getting an error on the membership form

You will get an error message when a required field of the membership form has not been filled out. Sometimes it can be hard to tell which field was mistakenly left blank. Return to your form and double-check the following:

* Make sure you have chosen a title (Miss, Ms. or Mrs.) from the pull-down menu.
* Make sure you have checked the terms of service box at the bottom of the form.
* If your group requires you to add a due date, a child, or children, make sure you have filled out this field. Click "add child or children" to open the box and enter the relevant information.


***MICAH does not use online registration at this time.  06/01/10***

Trouble paying with a credit card

If you're having trouble paying for your membership with a credit card, check for these common errors on the payment screen:

* Be careful to enter your credit card number without spaces.
* Make sure your card type is correct and matches the number you've entered. Note: Mastercard numbers always start with 5, and Visa numbers with 4.
* Double check that you've entered the correct three digit security code.
* Ensure you've listed the correct billing address, email, and phone number


If you continue to have trouble, please contact Customer Support, and we'll be happy to help. In your message to us, please include any error messages you see when you are trying to pay, as this information will help us troubleshoot the problem.

Can I reply to TentMail over email?

Though you can have an email notification sent to you when you receive new TentMail, you cannot respond to TentMail through email. Copies of your Tent Mail are sent from our system address (service- bounces@bigtent.com). If you wish to reply, please click the link included in your the notification mesasge to respond on BigTent.

How can I contact members or leaders of my group individually?

While BigTent offers the Forums and News features to allow you to communicate with many or all group members simultaneously, at times you may want to send a private message to your group's leaders or to a fellow group member. For this purpose, BigTent offers a private messaging feature, calle TentMail. You can send TentMail to any group member or leader who is registered with your group on BigTent.

You have three different options to send a TentMail message.


OPTION 1: Go to my bigtent > tentmail and click "Write TentMail." Enter the name, screenname, or email address of the recipient in the "To" box and wait for a list of matching group members to appear. Click the name of the desired member, enter your subject and message, and click "Send."


OPTION 2: Visit a member's profile page. You can access a member's profile page by clicking on his or her screenname from the member list, the "New Members" area of the "what's new" page, or from any page where the member has entered content (e.g., the forums or reviews areas). Once on the member's profile, click "Send TentMail." Enter your subject and message and click "Send."


OPTION 3: Contact a group leader using TentMail directly from the "Leaders" section of the "about" page. Simply navigate to my groups > [group name] > about. There, if your group has listed any leaders, you will see group leaders and their contact information. Click on the name or screenname of the leader to view that leader's profile. Then compose your TentMail message as explained in option 2, above.