Welcome to the "GWC Messageboard" a service available to Golden West College faculty, staff, and administration. This is a web-based tool allowing for the posting of committee minutes, communication between group members, posting of articles, polling, etc.

For those who subscribe to a message board, there are many similarities and the features provided by this service may be easy to use. For the majority of users there are a few procedures to learn - but the potential that this Messageboard has to offer is worth the effort.

What is a Messageboard? - simply put, a message board is a web-based repository for messages to be posted and replied to by members or guests. Messages are posted to a Forum. A forum is a grouping of messages and/or replys related to any subject. A forum may be open for anyone to view or can be private so that only registered members of a usergroup have access to the posted messages.

Why not just use email? - posting a message to a forum allows everyone to view the message. An email must be sent to each individual you wish to view your message. The messageboard serves a similar purpose to the campus bulletin page - which posts one message for multiple viewers, but in addition, it also allows for replys to be posted (publicly or privately). The messageboard is easily accessible via the Web 24/7 and opens a line of communication to all members from any computer that has web access.

What is a Usergroup? - a usergroup is a group of members that have a common interest (campus or non-campus related). A usergroup can be "open" to allow members to join or "closed" whereby all communications are only open to those registered within the group. For example, the Safety Committee may wish to have all their posted messages available for general viewing. The College Preview Day committee and/or the Chicano/Latino committe may wish to provide access to high school administrators and staff involved in the activity - allowing them to review the minutes of a meeting and participatein discussions without having to physically come to our campus. The task of distributing multiple copies of a document is replaced by a single posting.

Where do I start? - start by registering yourself as a member, and determine how this message board can serve you, your area, your group, etc. The following screen captures may help assist you with the process.

registration and setting up a user profile is required in order to join a uergroup and access additional privileges available to members