What is this site?
LibertyDiscussions.com is a blog and social network with many of the same functions you find on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc. For example, you can:
- Create a profile
- Add friends
- Send messages
- Post status updates
- “Mention” other users by using the @ symbol followed by a username
- Create groups
- Use discussion forums
- Post blog articles
Social networking is nice, but it shouldn’t replace real human interaction. On Liberty Discussions, each online group is meant to represent a group of real people who meet together in person for discussion.
How is this site structured?
Liberty Discussions has a main blog and an unlimited number of group blogs.
Groups and Group Blogs
Each group must be based on a geographic area, preferably City, State. When someone creates a group, they have the option to also create a new blog at libertydiscussions.com/[group name]. By default, anyone who joins a group has access to the group blog.
The main purpose of the group blog is for discussion groups to report on the results of their meetings. But group members should feel free to post other information that they consider relevant to the rest of the community. It is the responsibility of the group administrator to moderate blog and forum entries, but they may delegate this responsibility to others.
Personal Blogs
Members are not permitted to have their own personal blogs on LibertyDiscussions.com. In order to blog, you have to join a group and blog on the group blog.
Tags
When you write a blog post, be sure to tag the post with relevant keywords. These keywords will show up on the homepage and on the Topics page. When a user clicks on a topic, he or she will see all the blog posts – sitewide – that have been tagged with that keyword. This is a useful tool that members can use to find others across the country with common interests.
Group Events
Groups may post public events. These events appear on the homepage of LibertyDiscussions.com. To post an event, go to your group’s page and then click Calendar. Scroll down and you will see Create Event.
Featured Articles
Blog administrators have the option to feature articles on the homepage of LibertyDiscussions.com. To feature a blog post, go to the blog backend to edit the post, then scroll to the bottom of the edit page. You will see an option to “Feature this post Sitewide.” Click the checkbox, then click “Update.”
Managing your Account
To manage your account, click the Profile or Settings link which appears in the upper right corner of the homepage when logged in.
Blog Back End
The default group blog theme allows users to post blog entries on the front end of the blog. But if you want to add any kind of formatting, you will need to log in to the back end. To do so, go to the top bar and find My Blogs. Find your blog and then click Dashboard.
Embedding Media
For security reasons, embed code is disabled on this site. But users can embed most media (e.g. YouTube videos) by putting the URL directly into a blog entry or activity stream. The full video will appear where the URL was entered.
Privacy
This site has certain privacy features, but you should only post information that you feel comfortable sharing with everyone on the Internet. Use this site at your own risk. Also, be careful when organizing face-to-face meetings. If you are expecting visitors that you do not know personally, be sure to hold you meeting in a public place, such as a library. The best thing to do is invite trusted acquaintances and grow your discussion group through word of mouth.
Something Ain’t Working Right!
Keep in mind that the platform this site runs on is open source software (WPMU+Buddypress) so you might encounter occasional bugs or errors. If you run into a problem, let us know and we’ll do our best to fix it.
Questions/Comments/Concerns
Please contact the site owner using this contact form.
