Facebook tips for members of Groups

If you belong to a Facebook group, there are some basic things that you should know how to do.  Here are a few tips to help you navigate in your Group.

Search for your answer (before posting your question!) 

Before you post a question (i.e. "What RV toilet paper should I use?"), take advantage of the Group Search feature.

1.  Find any place on the screen with the name of the group and click on it.  You can also go to your Shortcuts on the left side of your screen, find the group you want, and click its name.  In either case,  you'll be taken to the top of the group and will see the group photo.

2.  Find the box on the left-hand side of the page that has the words "Search this group" in it.  Type in the keywords for your search, like "toilet paper". NOTE: if you are using the Facebook app, the search bar is at the top of your screen.

3.  You'll see all posts that have words matching your search terms - and will likely be surprised at how many people have previously answered the question.

Follow a post

Interested in a particular post and want to get a notification when people respond?  You don't have to type "following" (which isn't really a response to the original poster).  Instead:

1.  Click on the caret (the "down arrow") in the top right corner of the original post.

2.  Select "Turn on notifications for this post"

Don't let people continue responding to your post

If you've posted a question and responses are getting out of hand or are moving away from your original topic, you may disable people's ability to comment.

1.  On your own original post, click on the caret (the "down arrow") in the top right corner of the post (see above).

2.  If you don't see an option to "Turn off commenting", then there's nothing you can do except contact an administrator and ask them to turn off comments for the post (see below).

3.  If you see the option, you may want  to make a final reply before you select the option to turn off commenting.  Perhaps something like "Thanks for all of your help everyone.  I have my answer and will go ahead and use 10-ply Charmin".  THEN go back and turn off commenting.

Reporting a Post (abuse, something "bad" or not appropriate for the Group)

1.  Click on the caret (the "down arrow") in the top right corner of the original post (see above)

2.  Select "Report Post"

3.  A screen will appear giving you some options.  Choose one and then select "Continue".

4.  On the next screen, you'll be presented with several other options to help deal with the problem.  Choose an item for more help or to take an action.

Find out who the Group Administrators are

1.  Go to the top of the page for your group by selecting the group's name anywhere you see it.

2.  In a column to the right of the messages, find the section that says "Add members"

3.  Select the link that shows the number of members.  It'll take you to a list of the members.

4.  At the top of the member list, it shows the total number of members and the total number of admins.  Select the number beside "Admins".

5.  You'll see the list of Group Administrators.