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The basic information page is where you enter, you guessed it, basic information about your iGrOOp. Most of this information is for your iGrOOps listing in the iGrOOp directory, which can be found at http://www.igroops.com/browse . Even if you have a private iGrOOp, you should still complete all this information, as it is used in several places.
If you do not want to be listed in the iGrOOps public directory, select "DO NOT LIST - private listing" from the category pulldown menu in your basic settings.
Deleting your iGrOOp. If you are the main administrator of the iGrOOp and you are no longer using your iGrOOp and want it removed, use the link to send a private message to the administration team of iGrOOp to request that your account be deleted. These removal requests are handled manually as well as verified by an iGrOOps staff member.
iGrOOp Name is case sensitive. This should be no more than a few words -- limit 25 alphanumeric characters. Example: "Joel Barlow Class of 1990" or "Marketing 101". This name appears 1) at the top of every page in the iGrOOp, 2) in the page title, 3) in e-mail notifications from the group, 4) in the iGrOOps directory (if listed), and in a few other misc areas.
Description should describe your iGrOOp. This appears in most of the same places the iGrOOp name appears.
Keywords are used for the header tags in your iGrOOp pages -- this helps with search engine placement. Separate keywords with space and/or comma.
Custom Domain Name (PRO only) is the domain that you want to attach to this iGrOOp. Use the "www" if that is how you want to call your site, or choose another subdomain, but do enter your domain in this format: subdomain.maindomain.extension. For more details, check out method #2.
URL Mapping (PRO only) is a feature that you can only use if you are using your own domain name. It is actually two great features in one: 1) it can be used as a "URL aliasing" feature to assign shorter and easier to remember URLs to some of your existing longer URLs and 2) it can be used as a redirect for domains that have moved from another server.
When you move your server or change your URLs around, your SEO rankings usually suffer due to URLs that are no longer valid. With this feature, you can maintain your SEO rankings by forwarding your old URLs to the same content on your iGrOOp!
Example #1. On membershipsitebuilding.com, we have a podcast about launching multiple membership sites. The URL for this is http://www.membershipsitebuilding.com/igroops/msb/blog/VIEW/00000008/00000027/Launching-Multiple-Membership-Sites.html#00000027 . This is a URL that the search engines like, but not a great one to read to your friends. Using URL Mapping, we have created the URL alias: http://www.membershipsitebuilding.com/multiplegroups.html - much easier! The entry in the MAP textbox looks like this:
/multiplegroups.html http://www.membershipsitebuilding.com/igroops/msb/blog/VIEW/00000008/00000027/Launching-Multiple-Membership-Sites.html#00000027
(this is all on one line)
Note that the first part of this entry is just the path starting with a "/" and NOT a full URL, but the second part is a FULL URL. The entry will not be accepted unless this format is followed.
Example #2. I am in the process of moving my non-igroops website over to an iGrOOp. I have had it online for 4 years and I have many articles linked in many places. I do not want to lose all this traffic! So I will set up a MAP for each article and point the old URL to the location of the article within my iGrOOp.
Detailed Description should describe and sell your iGrOOp in great detail. In about 500 words or fewer, describe what this iGrOOp is all about -- "sell it". Only bold and italic HTML tags are allowed. This is for your listing in the iGrOOps directory as well as your invite e-mail.
In large textareas where text is limited, you will see a counter that reads, "you have [ ] characters left". This is a read only box that should let you know when you have reached the character limit. There is nothing you need to enter in this box.
iGrOOp image is the "logo" or image for your group that will appear only on the iGrOOps directory. You can use .jpg and .gif files, ideal size 250px wide by 250px tall, others will be resized automatically.
General category is the category listed under in the iGrOOps directory. If any of the general categories do not fit your iGrOOp, select "Other" and within 30 days, upon review, a category will be manually created for you based on your description.
You can always notify us if you would like us to create a category for you.
Who can join this iGrOOp? If your iGrOOp is "open to all", this suggests that anyone can apply for membership and be accepted into your group (assuming they can pay, if a paid group). Eligibility required means that there is some criteria that must be met, for example, "must be a member of xyz organization". This is what you would enter in the membership requirements field. This will show in the iGrOOps directory.
Security Settings
It is possible that one of your member's accounts may be compromised. The username and password can show up on a public webpage and all of sudden can be accessed by thousands of people from all over the world. This is not a good thing if you have valuable information you are trying to protect through membership requirements. The solution: monitor the numbering the logins from multiple IP addresses.
By default, settings are set to notify any admins of the group if a member's account is accessed from three or more different IP addresses in a 24 hour period, and suspend a user's account if the member's account is accessed from ten or more IP addresses in a 24 hour period.
iGrOOps suggests the default settings for most accounts, but you can adjust this. If you want to essentially shut off this feature, set both numbers to "99".
The main administrator's account cannot be suspended, but the admin will get notices for multiple IP logins for that account.
