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      Timeline

      This article explains how users can manage and customize messages and channels on the platform, covering everything from creating content to setting permissions and viewing statistics.

      The timeline section is where your day to day communication will take place. You can write different types of messages within different channels. My Timeline will always aggregate all messages in the channels that a users is allowed to see and is following. So in this article, we will have a look at:

      Channels

      Messages

      Channels

      Channels help streamline information flows by ensuring messages reach the right audience. They enable you to share relevant information effectively, while also giving end users the option to follow only the updates that matter to them.

      Creating channels

      Scrolling to the right hand side through your existing channels brings you to an empty square with + Add channel. A new channel needs at least:

      • A Name
      • A Description of what the channel is used for
      • A background image (recommended format 16:9)

      In the Advanced options, you will have a few more options:

      • Users automatically follow this channel –> When enabled, all users will see messages in this channel in their timeline by default. If they have notifications turned on in their user settings, they will receive emails and/or push notifications whenever there is activity in the channel.
      • Users are allowed to unfollow this channel –> When this option is enabled, users can choose to unfollow the channel and stop receiving its notifications. As a community manager, this gives you a way to prioritize certain channels over others by controlling which ones users can opt out of.
      • Comments are by default disabled for messages in this channel –> If you do not want users to respond to messages in this channel, you can enable this option to prevent comments. 
      • Messages are by default set to public in this channel --> Third party integrations can retrieve all messages set to public in this channel via the Chainels API.
      • Permitted message types --> here you can define what type of messages are allowed within this channel. Read more about message types in Messages. 

      The final step is to define who is allowed to write in the channel and who is allowed to read messages in it.

      • Writers --> Choose who is allowed to post messages in this channel.
      • Limit recipients --> Set restrictions on who can read messages in this channel.
      • Default recipients --> Select which users will be pre-selected as recipients when someone writes a message in this channel.

      By default, each of these settings is set to "All users", but as a community manager, you can apply restrictions. You can filter access based on Groups, User Roles, Custom Fields, or a selection of individual companies, households, or users. You can choose whether to include or exclude users from your selection. If you want to learn more about managing groups, companies, households, or users, please take a look at Management.

      The rules set at the channel level always come first. Messages posted in a channel cannot change or remove these rules, but they can add extra rules to further limit the recipients to a subset of the channel recipients. 

      Once the configuration is complete, you can click 'Save' to launch the channel in your community. 

      Adjusting and deleting channels

      To make changes to an existing channel, go to the channel tile and click the cogwheel icon ⚙️. From there, you can choose to either delete the channel or edit its settings.

      If you choose to delete the channel, you will have two options:

      • Move all content to another channel

      • Delete all messages along with the channel

      If you choose to edit the channel, you will be able to adjust the settings in the same way as described above.

      Channel order

      The order of channels in the timeline is determined by activity within each channel. Channels with the most relevant or recent activity will appear first. It is not possible to manually change the order of the channels.

      Messages

      Writing messages

      To write a message in the timeline, click ✏️ Write message.

      First, select the channel where you want to send your message. The options you see next will depend on the rules set up for that channel.

      Then, choose your message type. Our system supports the following types, which are explained in more detail below:

      • Update

      • Event

      • Offer

      • Survey

      • Warning

      Make sure to select the recipients if you want to apply additional restrictions beyond those set at the channel level. If you leave this unchanged, the system will use the default settings defined for the channel.

      Update

      To write an Update, the minimum information required is:

      • A title

      • A message

      You can also choose to add an image or a file to accompany your update. Adding images is recommended because they grab your users' attention while making their timeline and Home section more visually appealing.

      Additionally, you can choose to:

      • Disable comments for this specific message

      • Disable (email) notifications for this message

      • Send a teaser in email notifications, which will show only the first 25 words. This is a great way to encourage users to visit the platform instead of reading the full message in their email.

      Event

      To create an Event, the minimum information required is:

      • A title
      • A message
      • A date -> you can choose to either have the event last the whole day, multiple days, or have a specific start time and end time on a specific day. 

      You can also choose to add an image or a file to accompany your Event. Adding images is recommended because they grab your users’ attention leading to more sign ups.

      Some other optional settings:

      • Location ->  Specify the exact location where the event will take place.
      • Video call link -> Add a link if the event will take place online.
      • If you select Allow users to sign up you can also set up up:
        • Max capacity -> Set the maximum number of guests who can register. Registration will automatically close once this number is reached.
        • Registration deadline -> Choose a specific date and time by which users must register, helping you plan ahead.
      • When you select Don't allow users to sign up, these options will disappear. 
      • Event type -> Indicate whether this is a Free or Paid event. Paid events are currently only available in a select group of communities. Our system allows creating paid events through integration with Stripe. Please contact your account manager if you would like to learn more about this feature.
      • Show in calendar only -> This option will add the event to the calendar without displaying it in the timeline.

      • Disable comments for this specific message

      • Disable (email) notifications for this message

      Events will automatically appear in the Calendar

      Offer

      To create an Offer, the minimum information required is:

      • A title
      • A message
      • A start date and End date --> optional is to include times too. 

      You can also choose to add an image or a file to accompany your Offer. Adding images is recommended because they make the offer more appealing.

      Additionally, you can choose to:

      • Assign labels to categorise the offers in your timeline. 

      • Disable comments for this specific message

      • Disable (email) notifications for this message

      • Send a teaser in email notifications, which will show only the first 25 words. This is a great way to encourage users to visit the platform instead of reading the full message in their email.

      Survey

      To create an Offer, the minimum information required is:

      • A title
      • A message

      You can also choose to add an image or a file to accompany your Survey. 

      Then you can decide to add questions to your Survey. There are a few different question types:

      • Multiple choice (single answer) -> Define a question, optionally add an explanation, and provide a list of predefined answers. The user can select only one answer.
      • Multiple choice (multiple answers) -> Similar setup as the single-answer type, but users can select more than one option.
      • Open question -> Collect qualitative feedback in the form of long text, short text, or a number.
      • File upload request -> Ask users to upload a file or image as part of their response.
      • Rating -> Allow users to give quick feedback by selecting a rating from 1 to 5 stars, based on a set of criteria you define. 

      Additionally, you can choose to:

      • Make survey results visible to all users, or keep them visible only to you as the community manager.

      • Allow each individual user to submit a response, or limit responses to one per household or company.

      • Set a closing date and time for the survey, after which users will no longer be able to submit responses.

      • Disable comments for this specific message

      • Disable (email) notifications for this message

      • Send a teaser in email notifications, which will show only the first 25 words. This is a great way to encourage users to visit the platform instead of reading the full message in their email.

      Warning

      Website and app notifications for warnings cannot be disabled in a user's personal settings.

      To create a Warning, you need to specify the issue you have encountered. The available categories are:

      • Collective warning - Theft
      • Collective warning - Counterfeit money
      • Collective warning - Phantom invoice
      • Collective warning - Nuisance
      • Collective warning - Accident
      • Collective warning - Pickpockets
      • Collective warning - Missing person
      • Collective warning - Other

      You must include a description of the situation, and you can optionally attach files or images to provide more context.

      Next, specify where and when the incident occurred.

      Additionally, you can choose to disable comments for this warning if you do not want users to respond.

       

      For any message type, you can choose to save your message as a draft to continue working on it later, send it immediately, or schedule it to be sent at a specific time.

      Managing Messages in timeline

      When you click on any message in the timeline, a pop-up window opens with several options on the right side.

      Message Details and Actions

      • Details (i icon): Get a more in-depth look at the message. This includes information like the message type, when it was sent, what channel it was in, and who it was sent to.

      • Share Message: Copy a direct link to the message to your clipboard. This is handy if you need to share a specific message with someone or if you are submitting a support request and want to refer to a specific message.

      • Statistics: This is only available for messages you have posted yourself. Community Managers can view statistics for all messages. Here, you can see how many people have viewed your message and on what type of device.

        • What's the difference between a view and an impression? A view means someone clicked on the message on the website or in an app, or read it in an email. An impression means someone scrolled past the message on the website or in an app.
        • Who viewed my message? You can also see a list of specific users or companies / households that have viewed your message. As a regular user, you will only see users who have their visibility set to Community. Users with Private visibility won't show up.

      Click the three dots (︙) for more message management options.

      • Edit Message: Make changes to a message you posted. This is available for Community Managers and for regular users who posted the message.

      • Change Channel: Move the message to a different channel. This is only available to Community Managers.

      • Duplicate Message: Create a copy of the message. This is a great way to reuse parts of a message for a new post and is available to anyone with writing permissions.

      • Send a Reminder: Send a new notification (via web, app, or email) to all users. This can be very useful for things like surveys to help increase the response rate. This is available for Community Managers and for regular users who posted the message.

      • Follow: Get notifications about new comments on the message.

      • Pin to Channel / Pin to Timeline: Keep a message at the top of a channel or the timeline so it does not get buried over time. This is only available to Community Managers.

      • Mark as Public: Allow external systems to pull this information using an API connection. This is only available to Community Managers.

      • Delete: Permanently delete the message. This cannot be undone. This is available for Community Managers and for regular users who posted the message.