General | Top
Q: What is my username/password?
A: GSA uses a Single-Sign-On (SSO) system to make it more convenient for members to conduct online business with GSA without having to log in more than once and remember multiple username/password combinations. This is where you will now go for address changes and other updates to your membership record.
If this is your first time signing in to the GSA Member Community, you will need to activate your profile. Members already have accounts that just need to be activated. Click "Forgot Password?" Enter your member ID and submit. We’ll send a link and instructions to the email address associated with your account. Details for how to log in as well as other useful instructions can be found under "HELP" in the main navigation.
Q: How do I update my contact information?
A: Go to "My Profile" > "Edit Member Record". Note that changes made to this page will update your member record in GSA's database as well as your profile page in the Member Community. To return to the community site once you have edited and saved the desired information, simply click back in your web browser or press the "Community" link in the page header.
Q: How do I control what information is visible in my Profile?
A: Go to "My Profile" > "Privacy Settings." Here you can control what information is visible to whom. After you’ve made changes, click the "Save Changes" button at the top or bottom of the page.
Q: How do I upload my picture?
A: On your profile page, look for the "Actions" menu just below the image placeholder. Click on the downward pointing arrow and select 'Change Picture'. You will then be able to browse your computer for a file to upload. Accepted file types: (.jpg, .bmp, .gif, .png). If you are importing from LinkedIn, your picture will migrate over along with the rest of your data.
Contacts / Connections | Top
Q: How do I find other members?
A: Click on "Directory" in the main navigation. The Directory lets you search for other members based on:
- First and/or last name
- Company/Institution name
- Email address
Use the "Advanced Search" option to increase your search to:
- Location
- Member Type
- Community/Member of a Group
- Professional Interest
Q: How do I add contacts to my contact list?
A: There are several ways to add contacts. When you perform a search in the Directory, you will see an "Add as contact" link to the right of each person in your search results. Just click this link to send a contact request. If you click through and view an individual’s profile, you can click the contact request link to the right of his or her profile picture.
Q: Why should I add contacts to my contact list?
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 with them. You can choose to let only your contacts view certain demographics in your profile as well.
Q: I signed into the Member Community but I can't use the directory.
A: Your GSA membership must be current in order to use the member features of the Member Community. Click here to check your membership status. If that does not solve the problem, please contact community@geosociety.org and we will be happy to figure it out.
Communities / Discussions | Top
Q: What are communities?
A: Communities allow you to participate in discussions and share resources with members.
Q: What communities do I already belong to?
A: To view the communities you’re currently a part of, click "Communities" in the main navigation bar and select "My Communities." You can also click on the drop down menu in the top right welcome box and select the "Communities" button.
Q: How do I join/subscribe to a community and the affiliated Discussion Group?
A: Click "Communities" in the main navigation bar and select "All Communities." Set the second drop-down menu to "Communities I Can Join". Click on the purple "Join" button to the right of the Community that you wish to join. Then choose an email delivery option (Real Time, Daily Digest, or No Email) which defines how you will be notified when there is community activity.
Q: How can I control the frequency and format of emails I receive from community.geosociety.org?
A: Go to "My Profile" > "Community Notifications." You can control the frequency and format or your email notifications here.
For each community discussion, you have the following delivery options:
- Real time: sends an HTML email every time a new message is posted. This option acts much like a list serve in that it allows you to reply directly from your email to participate in the discussion without having to log in to the community via your web browser.
- Daily digest: sends one HTML email to you each day (only when there is activity), consolidating all of the posts from the previous day. You can reply from these emails by using the "Reply to Discussion" link to the right of the item in the body of the message. Doing so will open your web browser and take you to the "Post a Reply" screen in the corresponding community thread.
- No Email: allows you to be part of the group without having emails sent to you. You can still post and read others’ messages by logging into the Connected Community and navigating to the community.
Q: How do I leave a community or unsubscribe from a discussion?
A: Select "Unsubscribe" from the footer of any email notification for the discussions you wish to leave. You will get a message confirming that your subscription options have been successfully updated. Please note that you might not be able to unsubscribe from certain communities such as committees, Council, etc. In those cases, simply choose "No Emails" from the delivery options (although we strongly recommend "Real Time" for any governance groups).
Q: How do I respond to others’ posts?
A: Click "Reply to Discussion" to send your message to the entire community or "Reply to Sender" to only send your message back to the sender; both links are located to the right of the post on the email or to the left of the post on the site. We recommend only replying to the sender for simple comments like "me, too" that add little value to the overall discussion. If you are replying to a post, DO NOT use the 'Post Message' link as this will create a new thread.
Q: How do I start a new discussion thread?
A: Go to the Community to which you would like to post (use the Open Forum for general posts). Click on the 'Discussions' tab and press the 'Post New Message' button on the far right of the screen. You may also use the 'Post Message' link in any email notification to create a new thread in that community's discussion group.
Q: I’m having trouble viewing the HTML email messages. How do I fix this?
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 email client's security or viewing options.
Q: Why do I have to post messages and reply through community.geosociety.org?
A: There are many upgraded features made possible because of the web interface:
- When you send an attachment through this new system, it automatically places it in the Community’s library and sends a link to members.
- All posts and associated resources are automatically archived and very easily searchable.
Q: Can I search for posts across all the communities?
A: Yes. Use the search box at the top right of each page (above the main navigation) to search all communities. At the top of the results page, you can narrow your search by entering a specific date range or author. You can also search specific communities from there.
Q: How do I see a listing of all of the posts to a specific Community?
A: Go to "Communities" > "My Communities." Click on the "Discussions" tab. If you see post you’re interested in, click the subject line which will take you to the entire thread.
Q: How do I change the information showing up in my signature block?
A: We have set a default signature, but if you would like to change the information that appears or the order in which it appears, click "My Profile" > "Discussion Signature." You can add, delete or reorganize the fields that show up in your signature by clicking the variables on the right-hand side of the screen. Please note that the content of these fields is pulled directly from your profile.
Library / Resources | Top
Q: How do I find resources that may have been uploaded by other members?
A: If you know where the resource might be, go to "Communities" in main navigation bar, then click on the particular community. Click on the "Library" tab and search there. If you do not know which community the resource might be associated with, enter search term in the main search tool above the navigation bar the same way you might enter search terms into Google or another search engine.
Q: How do the libraries get populated?
A: The libraries are populated in two ways: You can upload documents directly by using the "Create New Library Entry" button found in the library tab for your community. That is to say, library resources are not required to be associated with a discussion. Alternately, when you include an attachment in a discussion post, the system automatically places it in the community's library.
Q: How do I upload a file?
A: Navigate to your community and go to the "Library" tab. Select the "Create New Library Entry" button. Please note that uploading a document is done in a few steps, and each step must be completed before you can move on to the next:
- Choose a title for your document, include a description (optional), select the library to which you’d like to upload it, select a folder to which you’d like to upload it (optional) and choose an Entry Type (most will be Standard Files — please be cognizant of any copyright licensed material). Then click "Next."
- Browse and upload your file. Click "Next" if you want to add tags to your file or click "Finish" (you may have to scroll down to access these buttons).
Q: What kind of files can I upload?
A: The system supports multiple file types including hyperlinks, standard files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), photo and video files, and YouTube videos.
Q: What are the "tags" for?
A: Tags are another way of organizing and searching for documents. You can help others find the file you uploaded by including tags when you upload it. There are many pre-loaded tag categories to choose from.
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