• What is the difference between public, restricted, and private groups?
• How do I make a public group private? And vice-versa?
• How are groups managed?
• Who can see resources/wiki pages/discussions in a group?
• How do I leave a group?
• How do I delete a group?

What is the difference between public, restricted, and private groups?

Public groups are listed around the site (searches, etc.) and viewable by anyone.

Restricted groups are discoverable (searches, etc.) and viewable by registered users only.

There are three types of public groups: anyone can join and automatically is a member, restricted (anyone can request membership but must be approved by a manager), and invitation only. Group administrators can choose to show or hide resources, wiki pages, and discussion topics at any time.

Private groups are not listed anywhere on the site. You can join them only by invitation.

How do I make a public group private? And vice-versa?

If you are an administrator, go to your Groups page and select the group. Select "Edit" on the lower right. Go to Privacy toward the bottom. Click "private" and save.

Instructions are the same for making a private group public except click "public" under the privacy section.

How are groups managed?

When you create a group, you are automatically made its first manager. As manager, you can also promote members to help you run the group.

A group manager can:

1. Create group participation rules
2. Promote/demote members and approve/deny membership requests.
3. Modify information about the group
   • Create or change the group name
   • Create or change the group description
   • Associate the group with an external URL
   • Determine whether or not your group wiki pages, resources, and discussion topics can be viewed by non-members.
   • Moderate group discussions

There's no upper limit on the number of managers a group can have, but a group must have at least one manager at all times.

You can read about keeping your group happy on the Tips for Running Your Group page.

Who can see resources/wiki pages/discussions in a group?

Adding a photo to a group pool allows any group member to view your photo and add notes, tags, and comments, regardless of the photo's privacy setting.

Your photo retains the privacy settings you set for anyone who isn't a group member. It also stays in your photostream, available to everyone who can view it. You (or a group administrator) can remove your photo from the pool at any time.

How do I leave a group?

Go to your Groups tab on your members page and select the group you'd like to leave. On the right-hand side, there's a link labelled 'cancel'. Click this and you'll be taken to a page where you can leave the group.

Go to the Groups page and search or browse for the group you'd like to leave. On the right-hand side, there's a link labelled 'cancel'. Click this and you'll be taken to a page where you can leave the group.

How do I delete a group?

The only way to delete a group is to leave the group as the last remaining member. But you can quit the group (described above).

A group can't be deleted if it has more than one member.

Return to the main groups page.