5 key ways to use the WCA Forum

Written by Riley West

One of the many benefits WCA members receive is access to the WCA Forum. The forum is an E-List open only to WCA members to network online. The Forum is designed to provide a place for members to post job openings, ask questions, request resources or referrals, and share experiences with other professional communicators. However, every time you send a post through WCA Forum, it automatically gets sent to all subscribers. Therefore it is important to be aware of the best practices for using the forum.

Here are the 5 intended purposes of the WCA Forum:

1. Ask and answer questions – members can use the forum to ask the membership questions seeking advice on communications matters, looking for professionals in certain industries, etc.
2. Provide tips – members can share their experiences working with clients in certain industries or on specific projects and share some tips and advice to other members.
3. Post job openings – if they know of any communications related openings they want to share with the group.
4. Share events – post event details that they think would be of interest for members to attend or participate.
5. Off-topic messages – the forum is not limited to communications topics. You can send messages about finding a babysitter, asking advice, etc. We want the forum to be a resource to WCA members in life, not just in work. However, we ask that you post any such off-topic messages with the subject header OT:, so that people can set a rule to have those messages go to another folder if they don’t want to read them.
   For example: “OT: Need an electrician in North Austin”

What the WCA Forum is NOT for

• Sell your services – the listserv is not meant to be used for solicitation purposes, nor do we want our members to feel spammed. Content should be for the benefit of the group.
• Spam – be cognizant of how often you are sending out emails to the listserv. Ask yourself: “Will this information be useful to other WCA members?” If not, don’t send it.
• Express political and religious beliefs – The forum is intended to uplift and support our members and is not a place for debates. Please honor this request in your postings.

Be mindful when posting the following

• You can promote your own events, communications-related or not. However, avoid repeated postings of the same information. For instance, if you have planned a conference outside of WCA, you can share a link, invite members and this is especially nice if you offer a discount code to WCA members. It would also be fine to invite people to see your chorale recital or to a neighborhood garage sale. Keep in mind that content should be for the benefit of the group.
• Be aware that forum messages go to all subscribers. If you hit reply on a message, it will go to the entire forum. Take a moment before you hit send to ensure that’s what you intend to do. Message posters should also be sure to include their e-mail address if they want replies to come to them only – otherwise people trying to reply just to the original poster will not be able to do so.

The WCA Forum is one of the many benefits that WCA members have access to. In order to maintain the forum’s value to members, please be mindful of what you are sharing on the forum.

Instructions to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the Forum:

1. Log in.
2. Go to https://aa.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_community&view=profile
3. Mouse over the “My Features” tab, the second of the two tabs near the top menu.
4. Click on “E-Lists” in the drop-down menu when it appears.
5. Click the “Subscribe” button on the right side of the WC Austin Forum list.
6. Check the “Email delivery” box and enter the email address you would like to use for the Forum.
7. Click “save” and you are finished.
8. When you are ready to post on the forum, simply send an email to: forum@wcatx.org. Make sure to include your email address in the body of the email e.g. in your signature so members can respond directly to you with information that might not be valuable to the entire list.