Participating in the Community

How do I translate the website into another language?

kantin — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:57:02 -0500

Thanks to Google, you have the ability to translate this website into one of several different languages. In the box below, choose the language that you would like to translate the website into. You will then be able to navigate throughout the website in the language you have chosen.

Please note that you will not be able to translate external documents or websites.

How do I contact a community member?

kantin — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:43:20 -0500

Each person that is a member of the New Tactics website has the ability to contact one another through this website. Here are the steps that you can take to contact a community member directly:

Find the member. You may have already found the community member that you would like to contact from a dialogue, or a blog entry, or any other piece of content from the website. If this is the case, move on to step 2 below. If you are looking for a member that you would like to contact, take a look at our member directory. Here you can search for members by several categories including country, organization, expertise / interest, and username.
Click on the username (this is a hyper link, highlighted in blue). You will find this hyperlinked username if this member is the author of any content on the website, including comments or blog entries. This will bring you to the biography page of this member. On this biography page, you have several different tabs to choose from including 'view', 'biography', and 'contact'.
Click on the 'Contact' tab at the top of the page (under username).
Type your message and click the button that reads "Send e-mail".

Your message will be sent as an email from the website, and will be received as an email by the recipient. We have created the contact process in this way so that those would prefer to stay annonymous have the ability to do so and still be able to accept contact emails from community members. A member does not need to know another member's email address in order to contact them! Nor does one need to know the name of the community member - the only necessary piece of information is a username.

How do I participate in the online dialogues?

kantin — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 11:45:08 -0500

How to participate in New Tactics online dialogues

The first step in particpating in a dialogue, is to make sure that you are registered as a New Tactics community member and logged in to the website. If you are not logged in as a member, you will be able to read the comments of the dialogue, but you will not be able to add your own comments to the dialogue.

To register as a new member, click here.

To login as a member, cick here.

To participate in a dialogue, click on the title of the dialogue to view the conversation.. Participants can either add a new comment to the dialogue,

or reply to an existing comment.

Each comment consists of a subject title field, and a body field. Click the “Post comment” button to add your comment to the dialogue.

Participate by Email

Participants in the dialogues have the ability to participate in the conversation by email. Simply click the 'Participate by Email' button when you are in the dialogue.

If this option is selected, the participant will receive an email each time a comment is added to the dialogue. The email includes the full text of the comment. The participant receiving the email can participate in the dialogue by replying to the email. The text that is sent in the email reply will be automatically posted in dialogue on the website. This allows for users to participate in the dialogues without having to access newtactics.org. Click here for more information.

To stop email participation, click the ‘Stop participating by email’ button in the dialogue.

Viewing Options

Participants in the dialogues can choose how they would like to view the dialogue. Under “Comment Viewing Options” there are 4 choices: Flatlist expanded, Flatlist collapsed, Threadedlist expanded, Threadedlist collapsed.

Flatlist aligns all the comments flat against the left margin of the page. Threadedlist includes indentations of comments depending on whether the comment is a reply to a previous comment, or whether it is a new comment. Expanded displays the full text of the comment, whereas collapsed displays only the subject title of the comment. You can also modify the view by changing the number of comments displayed, and other options.

Note: if you are not logged in, you will not be able to change the 'comment viewing options' so make sure you are logged in first!

Share your idea for Featured Dialogues

New Tactics is very interested to know what tactic topics you are interested to see featured. Share your ideas or questions with us by sending an email to New Tactics at newtactics [at] cvt [dot] org

Translation

Now it's time to get started! Find a dialogue you would like to participate in at newtactics.org/dialogues/home!

About New Tactics Online Dialogues

New Tactics encourages communication among our community members in order to share information and tactics with one another. We capture this communication in online dialogues. In addition to the many dialogues taking place among the community members, New Tactics promotes Featured Dialogues each month.

New Tactics Featured Dialogues are in-depth, online discussions on a particular tactic. These discussions are held once a month for one week. Participants in these dialogues include resource practitioners, members of the New Tactics human rights community, and YOU! The dialogue's resource practitioners are invited to lead the discussion because of their experience in the tactic being discussed.

The ongoing community dialogues allow New Tactics community members to start their own dialogues and/or pose a question to their peers. These dialogues have no end date. We hope that the information captured in these ongoing dialogues will be useful to human rights practitioners around the world searching for resources regarding new tactics.

What if I don't want to "Participate by Email" anymore? I am getting too much email!

lsuits — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 17:50:10 -0500

New Tactics dialogues include the option to participate by email. If you've selected this "Participate by email" button, you will receive new comments posted to that discussion as email messages. If you want that email to stop and no longer wish to participate by email, you need to go back to the dialogue and select that button that now reads "Stop My Email Participation."

What does "participate by email" mean in New Tactics dialogues?

bharris — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 18:59:27 -0500

The "Participate by email" button gives you a two-way communication channel (via email) to a given dialogue on the website, without actually having to stay online to contribute.

This is useful for those who aren't or can not be online all the time, but like to participate in a discussion; hence the name "participate by email".

All New Tactics dialogues, including users' blog entries, include the option to participate by email. You must select this option specifically for the discussion/dialogue/blog you like to engage.

When you click on the button to "Participate by email", the page will refresh, and you will receive subsequent new comments posted to that discussion as email messages. You can verify this worked by scrolling to where the button is, and noting that the button now says "Stop my Email participation".

At that point, you can use email to interact with the discussion. To post your own comment, you can simply reply to one such email message. Your comment will be posted online and be sent as a message to all other members who have subscribed to that discussion.

If you no longer wish to participate by email, you need to (get online, then) browse to the dialogue and select the button that now reads "Stop My Email Participation." After clicking, the button will toggle back to "Participate via email."

Why should I register for an account in the New Tactics Community?

bharris — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 17:40:13 -0500

Get involved with human rights advocates around the world! Meet and interact with activists, educators, students, and other practitioners. Share ideas and seek feedback, join discussions and collaborate with colleagues.

The New Tactics community-based website is an expansion on the resources available through the New Tactics in Human Rights project. In addition to training exercises and tools for strategic thinking and planning, a workbook for practitioners, and materials from several workshops, the New Tactics website focuses on tactic case examples as short descriptions in the Tactics Database, and in-depth case studies as Tactical Notebooks, which provide a detailed look at how a tactic was implemented, and the challenges that were faced along the way.

New interactive features added to the website allow for members to network with each other and seek or give feedback on their activities as human rights advocates. By joining the New Tactics Community, you will gain at least three main ways of interacting with others. These include participation in the new dialogues area, professional networking with the member directory, and the ability to join groups. You will also have the opportunity to share (and receive feedback on) Tactics in progress. Membership in the website is free and open to anyone interested in sharing ideas relating to human rights as well collaborating with others in a respectful manner. Members will be able to work privately within the community or seek interaction with a broader audience.

Each member of the website will have the opportunity to post to a blog (an online journal or “soapbox”). This is a place to announce plans, campaigns or events as well as share reflections or opinions with the community. For example, some members shared thoughts and photos about events held in observance of the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (June 26^th). The author may choose to share each blog post with the public, or select various audiences within the New Tactics community. Only members of the community will be able to post comments to blogs and other content.

The dialogues area is a collection of community member blogs and serves as a forum to ask questions and participate in dialogue about various issues surrounding human rights and advocacy. Members may participate in dialogues on the website or by “subscribing” to a topic as an email list.

Members of the New Tactics community may also organize themselves into groups based on any area of shared interest. For example, groups can be created for members in a geographical location, attending an event or workshop, or concerned with an issue. Members of a group may post blog entries or hold discussions privately, create a “tactical portfolio” for planning action, raise and address issues, and report to each other on events or presentations.

Additional benefits of membership include networking and updates. Members may network with each other by joining or creating new groups, and by creating short biographies of themselves, which are then listed in a members directory. Members may also receive email messages when new blog entries or discussion topics are posted to one of their groups.

Public users (who have not logged in as members) of the New Tactics website will be allowed to read blogs and discussions as indicated by the author, but will not be permitted to post comments or read items intended just for other community members. Public users will have no access to the members directory.

Users may login or register from any page on the New Tactics website (click on “Create new account”). New members will be asked to confirm their email address and will be sent a message containing information on logging in.

Why am I asked to "Please log in"?

bharris — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 14:54:03 -0500

The New Tactics Community is designed to be a place for human rights advocates around the world to gather, share thoughts and reflections, hold discussions, and collaborate with others. Some content may be designated as private by the author (allowing specific groups to view the content, but not all members or the general public). To respect this privacy, and to maintain the New Tactics Community as a positive environment for interaction with (and respect for) others, membership registration is free but required to participate fully.

What is the difference between "subscription" and "email notification" in a group?

bharris — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 17:55:18 -0500

If you click on "My groups", you will see a list of every group to which you belong. Every registered user is automatically a member of the 'New Tactics Community Members' group, but you may create or join as many other smaller groups as you like.

To join another group from the Groups directory, you "subscribe" to it. In some cases, the subscription is by invitation only, meaning that a group "administrator" or "manager" must invite you to subscribe. If the subscription is "closed", then the group administrator is the only one who can subscribe you or unsubscribe you.

"Email notification" is the service available only to members of a group (those who have a subscription to that group). You may choose to receive messages by email when new content is posted in any of your groups. This is useful if your internet connection allows you to check email more reliably that browsing the web. This setting is something you can control for all of your groups together, or selectively for each one (see How do I stop or start receiving email messages when something new is posted to the website?)

Too many email notifications - how do I stop (or start) receiving them?

bharris — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 17:39:33 -0500

As a member of the New Tactics community, you can choose to receive email notifications when new posts are added to the website. You may, however, chose to limit the messages you receive in various ways.

By going to "My information and settings" (then click on the "Edit" tab) you can change several options. In a box labeled "Organic group settings", you will find "Email Notifications".

Options are to have email notifications sent "never", "always", or "selectively".

If you choose to have email notifications sent "selectively", and you subscribe to (are a member of) multiple groups within this community (all registered users automatically become members of a group called 'New Tactics Community Members', for example), you may navigate to "My groups" and click on the "My subscription" link (under the column lableled "Manage"). Here you can control the email notifications sent to you for one specific group at a time.

How can I be included in the member directory?

bharris — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 13:31:11 -0500

The member directory is a listing of community members who have submitted biographies online. Under "My account", your biography is a place to introduce yourself to others. You may indicate your geographical region, languages you speak, areas of expertise, and any other information you wish to share. When you have submitted a biography, inclusion in the directory is automatic.