FAQs

A: Your username is the email address you used to register.  If you have forgotten your password, click here.  If you're having trouble logging in and need assistance, please click here.

A: On your profile page, please select the pencil icon next to "Contact Details" in the left column.

A: Please navigate to your profile page, then select the "My Account" tab and choose "Privacy Settings" from the drop-down menu. This will let you control what information is visible to whom.  After you’ve made changes, click the “Save Changes” button at the bottom of the page.

A: Click on "Directory" in main navigation at the top of the page. The Directory lets you search for other users based on:

• First and/or last name
• Company name
• Email address

Switch to the “Advanced Search” tab to refine your search results by:

• City
• State/Province
• Country
• Community Type
• Community Name

A: There are several ways to add contacts. When you perform a search in the Directory, you will see an “Add as contact” button to the right of each person in your search results. Just click this button to send a contact request. If you click through and view an individual’s profile, you can click the "Add as Contact" button to the right of his or her profile picture.

A: Creating this virtual address book makes it easy to send your contacts messages through the community site to stay in touch, ask questions or even build a referral network. Additionally, when you view another member’s profile, you’ll be able to see any contacts you have in common. You can also choose to let your contacts view certain demographics in your profile that others can't.

A: Communities and groups allow you to participate in discussions and share resources with other members.

There is one main community called "Animal Welfare Professionals and Volunteers". This community is a collaborative community for animal welfare professionals and volunteers to ask questions, connect, share expertise, and learn from each other.

In addition to the main community, there are smaller member-created groups.  

A: Go to "My Shortcuts" and select "My Communities & Groups" to see a list and description of groups and communities you are a member of.

A:  When you register for Maddie's Pet Forum, you are given access to the Animal Welfare Professionals & Volunteers Community. 

To join member-created groups, go to "Browse" in the main navigation bar and select "Groups" from the dropdown. Then click on the "Join" button to the right of the group name you'd like to join.

A: Navigate to your profile and click on the "My Account" tab. Choose "Community Notifications" from the drop-down menu.  On that page, there are subscription options for the main "Animal Welfare Professionals and Volunteers Community" and subscription options for Groups you are a member of.

For each discussion in the main "Animal Welfare Professionals and Volunteers Community", you have the following delivery options:

• No Email: You will not receive any email notifications from the community.
• Personalized Digest: sends a daily email summarizing all content relevant to your preferences, interests, and activity.
• Personalized Digest & Real-Time Discussion Emails: Personalized digest and real-time emails for discussion threads related to your stated interests. 

For each discussion in the member-created Groups, you have the following delivery options:

• Real time: sends an email every time a new message is posted.
• Daily digest: sends one email to you each day, consolidating all of the posts from the previous day.
• No Email: You will not receive any email notifications from the community.

A:  To leave a group:  Go to "My Shortcuts" and select "My Communities & Groups". Click on the name of the group to go to that group's home page. Click on the teal "Settings" button next to the group name and select the "Leave Community" button.

A: To respond to a discussion post, please navigate to the discussion post and click “Reply” to send your message to the entire community.  To send a message only to the author of the post, please select “Reply Privately” (located in the "Reply" drop-down).  We recommend replying to the sender for simple comments like “me, too” that add little value to the overall discussion; and replying to the entire community when you are sharing knowledge, experience or resources that others could benefit from.

A: Go to “Participate" > “Post a message.” From an email (HTML version) for a particular discussion forum, you can use the “Post Message” link located at the top of the discussion email.

From the Home page, click on the "Post a Discussion" button in the Quick Links box.

From a Community or Group home page, click on the Discussion tab, then click on "Post New Message" button on top right side of page.

A: If images are not appearing, it is likely that your email client is set to suppress images. This should be something you can change in your security or viewing options. If you would rather receive text-based email, go to your profile page and click on the "My Account" tab. Choose "Community Notifications" from the drop-down menu. Select the “Plain Text” format option for each of the discussions you are subscribed to.

A: Yes, please enter a keyword in the search bar located in the main navigation. Refine your search results by checking boxes in the left column.

A: Go to "Browse" on the main navigation bar and locate the community or group you are interested in viewing. Click through the community's landing page, then click on the “Discussions” tab. If you see a post you’re interested in, click the subject line which will take you to the entire thread. “Show Original Message” at the bottom of all of the posts in a thread will display the original message that started the discussion.

A: If you know which community or group the resource might be located in, find the community or group via the Browse page. Click through the community's or group's landing page, then click on the “Library” tab . If you do not know where the resource might be, enter search terms in the main search box the same way you might enter search terms into Google or another search engine.

A: Yes. Enter your desired keyword in the main search box. From the search results page, click "Show Advanced Search."  Then click on “Search for Specific File Types.” This gives you the option to specify file type: Document, Image, Spreadsheet, etc.

A: The libraries are populated in two ways:

1.  When you include an attachment in a discussion post, the system automatically places it in the affiliated community/group library.

2.  You can also upload documents directly to a library by using the “Share a File” link found under “Participate” in the main navigation or "Create New Library Entry" button on any community's library page. Library resources are not required to be associated with a discussion thread.

A: Select the “Share a File” link found under “Participate” in the main navigation or "Create New Library Entry" on any community/group landing page. Please note that uploading a document is accomplished by completing a few steps, and each step must be completed before you can move on to the next:

• Choose a title for your document, and include a description (optional). Select the library to which you’d like to upload it, and select a folder to which you’d like to upload it (optional).  Then, choose an Entry Type (most will be Standard Files, but be cognizant of any copyright licensed material). Once you have completed these steps, please click “Next.”
• Upload your file.
• Select “Next” if you want to further describe your files and/or add tags to your file.  Otherwise, please click “Finish” to post your library entry

A: The system supports dozens of file types including hyperlinks, standard files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), webinars, images and YouTube videos.

A: Tags are great way to organize and categorize content on your site. Tags can be applied to discussion posts/replies, library entries, and events.  Tagged items are prioritized in the search results.