Groups is a thoughtful system that supports the many reasons why a network would want to further organize members and content.
Below is a general overview of the groups system, along with basic rules, common use cases, and links to related articles.
Groups System: Basic Rules
Groups can only be created by network admins. Community members can not create groups. This is to give network owners more control over the organization of the network.
There is no limit to the number of groups a network can create.
Groups are defined by access rules called group "type": read & write rules relative to the group type and a member's subscription to the group.
Once a group is created, you can not change the group type or group url.
Groups, their content, and member subscriptions can be deleted by a network admin at any point. Group deletion can not be undone.
"Premium" groups require members to have a paid subscription. Note that members can carry more than one paid subscription at one time.
A member of a group will get posts from a group in their Home Feed, unless they choose not to (group settings).
Groups, by default, have 4 main areas (tabs): Posts, Chat, Member Directory, and Events. Admins can configure which tabs are active, including adding custom tabs that point to other areas inside the network, or links outside of the network.
Groups can have admins of their own. Learn more about creating a group administrator here.
Common Use-cases
Groups can be used to organize a network based on all kinds of factors. Using the group name, description, color, artwork, and type will allow network admins to create a naming and visual system to further "organize" the groups in the network. The name alone creates good context for what the group is about.
The application word "Group" (singular) and "Groups" (plural) can be translated into other words in using Honeycommb Language Customizations settings. This can help frame a network's use of groups. For example, if groups are created to create organization around a company's office location, changing the word "Group" to "Office" and "Groups" to "Offices" will help set good context for what groups are and which ones a member should join and participate in.
Networks use Groups to organize by:
Geography
Team organization
Topic
Educational-based experiences
Cohorts
Interests
How-to information
Content type groups (ex. Livestreams)
Resources or content Libraries