About NHW Online Community Village

Why NHW Online Community Village?

The NHW Community Village concept came to life as we felt that members needed an environment where they could express their views on NHW issues at their convenience not just to suit the executive.

The Online Community Village allows all those interested in Neighbourhood Watch Victoria’s mission to ‘Create Safer Communities’ to have their say on the issues they feel most strongly about.

How can NHW Online Community Village help me?

NHW The NHW Community Village works on a number of levels:

1. The NHW Community Village provides members with an online space to share views and experiences, and to seek advice and learn, on topics of their choosing. This is done at Discussion HQ forums and, in private, through the Have Your Say box.

2. The NHW Community Village provides the NHW Victoria Executive a much broader reach into the membership to capture unfiltered feedback, opinion and ideas on issues that matter and can impact the achievement of NHW objectives.

3. The NHW Community Village enables its members to become more active ‘co-producers’ of the policies and actions of NHW Victoria in Creating Safer Communities. The NHW Executive will have access to member feedback, real time, so that they can work with members to develop ideas and better understand member views and needs.

What should I do if the NHW Online Community Village site contains a post of specific interest and I want to contact the member?

If you are part of NHW Victoria or one of its affiliate organisations, and you wish to talk to a member in regard a specific post made onsite, you are welcome to post on the NHW Community Village site 24/7. Please note the Village forum rules as they apply to NHW Victoria management.

Alternatively, If you are a nominated member of the NHW Victoria management team and wish to contact the member directly, you can sign-up for the eAlerts service administered by BrandAide. Please just let us know via the Contact Us menu option and we'll pass on to BrandAide Communications.

How much Traffic does NHW Online Community Village Attract?

We’ll publish this information on site periodically as our community develops. But we have high hopes of reaching all the 22,500 plus registered NHW Victoria members, and many more interested parties besides.

What is the "Hot Issues", “Top Concerns” and “Most Asked Questions” lists?

These “lists” displays a selection of issues, concerns and questions taken periodically from Discussion HQ and Have Your Say. Whilst posts remain on these lists, members are encouraged to read and express their views, and give answers or suggestions.

What is the methodology of selection of the “Hot Issues”, “Top Concerns” and “Most Asked Questions” lists?

Posts that appear on these “lists” represent a broad cross section of posts logged on the the NHW Community Village website.

Members are not notified of listing of their post on the homepage.

Is Neighbourhood Watch Victoria allowed to respond to any feedback or comments posted?

Yes NHW Victoria is welcome to respond at any time. The door is always open, indeed they are part of the community and are encouraged to engage with members within the community.

How does the NHW Village Community Managers determine which of the many posts that the website receives are suitable for the homepage?

The NHW Village Community Manager selects posts for the homepage ‘lists’ based on a) general interest, relevance and educational potential, b) quirkiness c) seriousness and d) readability. This is a qualitative methodology and may change from time to time.

What is the Business of NHW Online Community Village?

The NHW Community Village is run and managed by an independent organization, BrandAide Communications. The site currently does not receive any funding during this Pilot first 6-months phase.

Why is NHW Online Community Village a dot.org and not a dot.com?

We like the connotations of being a dot.org as we have a strong social agenda - “Creating Safer Communities”.

Who owns the NHW Online community Village?

The NHW Online Community Village is ultimately owned by Auris Communications a related company of BrandAide Communications which undertakes operational responsibilities.

Who works for the NHW Online Community Village?

The NHW Online Community Village has a small community management team – all of whom are volunteers who help out daily. The Administration team is highly experienced at managing online communities.

About the NHW Online Community Village Website

Is the NHW Online Community Village Site moderated?

Yes, the NHW Community Village site is monitored by the NHW Community Village website team. Discussion HQ is covered by strict guidelines in an attempt to maintain NHW Community Village as a family-friendly place to visit. Posts that break the rules of Discussion HQ may be removed without explanation.

It is the responsibility of all users to abide by the rules of the website. These rules form part of the NHW Community Village Terms & Conditions.

The Terms & Conditions can be viewed on the sign up page. Contravention of either may lead to the suspension of membership privileges.

What happens to my postings on the NHW Online Community Village website?

All posts submitted to this website are reviewed by the NHW Community Village website team. All posts are considered for the Home Page “lists” (see above for methodology for further details). All posts are made available for reading, viewing and responding to members including members and staff of Neighbourhoodwatch Victoria. Posts may remain within the NHW Community Village database, archived or non-archived, indefinitely or otherwise deleted and are not searchable by search engines. Please think before you submit a Post.

Website Questions

Can I submit my comments, concerns or questions via email, phone or snail mail?

No. All comments, concerns or questions must be logged at either Have Your Say or Discussion HQ. Please do not use Contact Us to send your comments, concerns or questions.

Why do I have to Register?

You need to register so we can contact you to verify your posting and to ensure that you are who you say you are. You must provide a valid name and contact details in My Profile.

NHW Community Village takes as many steps as possible to ensure that honest, accurate feedback is logged on the site. User details help in this regard.

Equally importantly, NHW Community Village wants to be able to contact you. So please do give us your correct name, email and phone number and don't forget to keep these, and your profile, up to date.

Why can't I Log in?

Have you registered? Seriously, you must register in order to log in. Have you been banned from the board? If you have registered and activated your membership, do not have multiple usernames (not permitted) and are not banned, but you still cannot log in then check and double-check your username and password. Usually this is the problem; if not, refer to the Contact Us link.

Why do I get logged off automatically?

If you do not check the “Log me in automatically” box when you log in, the board will only keep you logged in for a preset time. This prevents misuse of your account by anyone else.

To stay logged in, check the box during login. This is not recommended if you access the board from a shared computer, e.g. library, Internet cafe, university cluster, etc.

I've lost my Password!

Don't panic! While your password cannot be retrieved it can be reset. To do this go to the login page and click Forgot your password?. Follow the instructions and you should be back online in no time.

I Registered but Cannot Log in!

First, check that you are entering the correct username and password. Your account may need activating. When you registered you would have received an email containing activation details, just follow the instructions; if you did not receive the email then check that your email address is valid.

One reason activation is used, is to reduce the possibility of rogue users abusing the website anonymously. If you are sure the email address you used is valid then refer to the Contact Us link.

I Registered in the Past but Cannot Log in Anymore!

The most likely reasons for this are: you entered an incorrect username or password (check the email you were sent when you first registered). Have you changed your details and not followed the instructions? Or perhaps if you have ignored site rules, your membership has been suspended.

Who do I ask for help Logging on and all other problems?

First check for the answer in FAQS. If you still need help with the NHW Community Village site select General Enquiries from the Contact Us link.

User Preferences and Settings

How do I change my settings or update my details?

All your settings (if you are registered) are stored in the database. To alter them click the My Profile link My Profile(shown at the top of pages). This will allow you to change your settings.

How do I opt out of the Weekly Email?

Make sure you are logged in. Go to My Profile and untick the box.

What does NHW Online Community Village do with my personal details?

The personal details that members provide to NHW Community Village are solely for the benefit of verification purposes. These details are stored in a database facility and kept secure. They will never be sold. No organization, including Neighbourhood Watch Victoria, has access to your details without your explicit permission.

You are asked for your consent for your details to be forwarded to any organisation in search of follow-up or response.

What is contained on the NHW Online Community Village website?

The NHW Community Village website contains all threads that are live. Posts appearing in key forums are archived after 30 days inactivity. The archive is not available to members. Members should store a copy of their posts for future reference if required.

Posting Issues

How do I Post a topic in a Forum?

Easy Easy - click the relevant Forum and then click the 'New Topic' button and follow the prompts. You must be registered before you can create a new topic or post a message.

NHW Division Name field

In order for the most appropriate Region Division of Neighbourhood Watch Victoria to receive your comments via eAlert, it is essential that you correctly enter the correct name.

If you are unsure then you can select ‘Other / Unsure’ as your choice and it will then be added to our database.

If your post does not contain a post about a specific Neighbourhood Watch Victoria simply select ‘Other / Unsure’.

This applies to all forums except those that are ‘social’ in nature such as the Talk Club, that is, forums for community members to get to know each other better.

How do I Edit or Delete a Post?

After typing your message select 'Preview'. Now is the time to carefully read your post through and edit where necessary. When you are happy with your comments select 'Submit'. Members cannot edit once the post is submitted.

Members are encouraged to think carefully before posting as only administration can delete a post and only when the post breaks the forum rules. Posts will not be removed on demand.

Why can't I Access a Forum?

Some forums may be limited to certain users or groups to view, read, post, etc.

Why can't I Vote in Polls?

Only registered users can vote in polls to prevent spoofing of results. Only one vote per username can be cast.

What is Have Your Say?

If you've only got 60 seconds and want your gripe logged with NHW Online Village, then use Have Your Say. Gripes entered here go to our off-screen archive, visible only to NHW Community Village management. Selected posts can still appear in Home Page “lists”.

How do I Post to Have Your Say?

Click the link on the front page in the Have Your Say section. A new window will open. Simply fill in all the details and hit Submit to send it off to the NHW Community Village team.

Where's my Have Your Say posting?

Postings Postings to Have Your Say are currently stored in an off-screen archive. While they are not visible to the public, be assured we have them and they will regularly be selected for the Home Page “lists”. If you want everyone to be able to read your thoughts, post it in Discussion HQ.

My post/thread in Discussion HQ has disappeared. Where did it go?

NHW Community Village reserves the right to remove any post/thread/forum at its discretion. Member posts in Discussion HQ can be removed if they break the rules of Discussion HQ. Threads which deteriorate or become inactive may also be removed without notice. Warning is not given and debate and argument is not entered into by NHW Online Village. Removed threads or posts will not be reinstated. Please do not email demanding reinstatement.

All members are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the Village Rules of Discussion HQ and the NHW Community Village Terms and Conditions. NHW Community Village reserves the right to amend the rules without notice. Please check the rules from time to time.

Why does my post have a Blue Eye icon?

A Blue Eye next to a post means that a selected NHW Division named in the "NHW Division Field" of a post is registered with NHW Community Village to receive an eAlert from BrandAide Communications. What this means is that the NHW Division receives the BrandAide eAlert service. This in turn means that your post will be delivered by automated email to that NHW Division. If you want a NHW Division to listen and respond to you, please be sure you enter the correct NHW Division in the applicable field.

What does the Talk Bubble Icon Mean?

This means the NHW Division has requested to contact the member via NHW Community Village

What are Smileys?

Smileys, or Emoticons, are small graphical images which can be used to express feeling using a short code, e.g. :) means happy, :( means sad.

The full list of emoticons can be seen via the posting form. Try not to overuse smileys, as they can quickly render a post unreadable and the NHW Community Village Website Team may need to edit them out or remove the post altogether.

What are Announcements?

Announcements contain important information and you should read them as soon as possible. Announcements appear at the top of every page in the forum to which they are posted.

What are Sticky topics?

Sticky topics are posted by the NHW Community Village Website Team and sit at the top of a forum. They are often important so please take note.

What are Locked topics?

Locked topics are set this way by the NHW Community Village Website Team. You cannot reply to locked topics. Topics may be locked for a number of reasons.

What Are Your Feelings?

What?

The purpose of this section is to ask members to rate their ‘feelings’ in respect of the issue they are raising or simply responding to or adding to, as it relates to Neighbourhood Watch Victoria. This information sends a powerful message to Neighbourhood Watch Victoria about how its members feel about them and the job they are doing.

Why?

Answering these 3 issues tells Neighbourhood Watch Victoria how you feel. This extra information not only gets it off your chest but helps Neighbourhood Watch Victoria to understand. This is a win all round.

When?

You need to answer the feelings questions when you (1) Start a thread in the discussion forums and (2) reply to someone else's post for the first time.

The default is based on the first post so you can change the scale if your feelings differ. Posting in HYS also asks you these questions.