Getting Started with Communities

Communities is a feature that lets you connect with other organisations on Hail. It's a great way to share content, collaborate, and build relationships with other users. Whether you're sharing resources or working on joint projects, Communities helps you expand your network.

What’s Communities About?

Communities lets you share content with other organisations on Hail. You can share:

Articles
Images
Videos

When you share content, the other organisation gets their own copy. They can use it however they like, and even edit it if given permission, but your original content stays unchanged.

When you share something with another organisation:

They get their own copy of your content.
Your original content stays as is.
They can edit their copy (if you have allowed this), but it won’t affect your version.
If you make changes to your original content later (after you have shared it), their copy won’t update automatically.

Setting Up Connections

Before you start connecting, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Check Out the Map View
You can use the map to find organisations near you.

Based on the address you have in settings, Hail suggests other Hail organisations near you.
Make Sure Your Address is Set
If you want to appear on the map, make sure your organisation's physical address is set up properly in Organisation Settings.
Decide What Kind of Connection You Want
You’ll need to decide whether you want to send content, receive content, or do both.

💡 Connection Types:

Two-way Trust: Send and Receive Content with the organisation you are connecting with.

Sender: You are the sender. You are requesting permission to send content to the organisation you are connecting with.

Receiver: You are the receiver. You are requesting permission to receive content from the organisation you are connecting with.

Sending a Community Connection Request

Ready to connect? Here’s how to send a request:

Go to the Communities Section
Navigate to the Communities area from the main menu.
Click "Build Your Community"
You’ll be taken to the page where you can search for organisations to connect with.
Search for an Organisation

Use the search bar to find the organisation you want to connect with, or review your local organisations.

Select the Organisation

Click the plus icon beside the the organisation’s name to view their details.

4. Pick a Connection Type

Choose how you want to connect:

Send-Only: You share content with them, but they don’t share anything with you.
Receive-Only: You get content from them, but you don’t share anything with them.
Two-Way: Both organisations share and receive content.

Review and Send Your Request

Double-check everything and hit send.

💡Once your request has been approved, you will get a notification in your activity feed. After this simply hit the ✅ button to confirm the connection and after that you are good to start sharing content with that organisation!

Managing Connection Requests

When someone sends you a connection request, here’s what you need to do:

Get Notified
You’ll get a notification when there’s a new request.

View Pending Requests

Go to the Communities section to check your pending requests.
[Insert screenshot: Pending requests section highlighted]

Review the Request

Check the details:

The organisation's name
The proposed connection type

Respond to the Request

You can:

Accept: Start the connection.
Decline: Reject the request

Confirmation

If you accept, you’ll see a confirmation screen.

Managing Existing Connections

Once you’re connected, you can manage your connections at any time:

View All Your Connections
In the Communities dashboard, you can see a list of all your active connections.
[Insert screenshot: Communities dashboard showing active connections]
Modify or Remove Connections
For each connection, you can:
- Change the connection type
- Pause content sharing by disabling the connection
- Remove the connection to remove this community member from being able to send content to you
  [Insert screenshot: Connection management panel with options]

Important Things to Know

You’ll get notifications for all connection-related activities.
You can have multiple pending requests at once.
Both organisations need to agree on any changes to the connection type.
Removing a connection doesn’t delete the shared content.

Tips for Successful Connections

Update Your Profile: Make sure your organisation’s public profile is complete and up-to-date - you can review this in your Organisation Settings
Respond Promptly: Answer connection requests quickly to keep things moving.
Keep Things Organised: If you’re no longer working with a connection, it’s a good idea to remove them from your list.

Managing Your Visibility

You can control whether your organisation appears in search results:

Go to Organisation Settings
Find the Privacy Section
Toggle Search Visibility: Choose whether or not to be visible in search results.

You can share:

Articles
Images
Videos

When you share content, the receiving organisation gets their own copy. They can make changes to their copy, but your original stays the same.

FAQ

Q: What happens if I disconnect from an organisation?

A: The content you’ve shared with them stays with them. Disconnecting won’t remove any of the content they’ve already received.

Q: Can I share all types of Hail content?

A: You can share articles, images, and videos.

Q: Will other organisations see my changes if I edit shared content?

A: No, once content is shared, it’s like giving them their own copy. Your changes won’t affect their copy, and vice versa.

Need Help?

If you need more help, our support team is always here to assist. Don’t hesitate to reach out!

support@hail.to