FSP Alert is a one-way announcement system utilizing Yahoo Groups. Unlike other Yahoo Groups that we use, this is a “one-way” system that does not allow users to post messages to other users. Only the selected moderators are able to post.

Features

  • Attachments can be sent with FSP Alert
  • All members of the group (Moderators and regular recipients) can access and read the group archives, files, etc.
  • If a regular user replies to a post, that reply will be sent to the Moderator who posted the message they are replying to.
  • Moderators can automatically add regular users, but are limited to 10 per day. Moderators can invite an unlimited number of users per day, the difference being that users must ACCEPT an invitation.

How do I send a message?

To post a message to the group, all you need to do is send an email from your official email account to

Please note, you must be a Moderator and sending from your official email account (not home), or the email will bounce. You can also send an announcement by going to the Yahoo site and selecting Post…simply go to this address:

And click on Post…

How do I add someone as a Moderator? How do I edit a Membership?

Moderators have the power to edit memberships: deleting people, making them Moderators, etc. They also have the power to change the group settings, description, etc.

To edit a Membership (and/or make someone a Moderator)…first, go to the Home page

And then click on “Members”

Once inside this Member screen, you can change them to Moderator, etc. One thing you CANNOT do is alter the email address. If someone changes email you need to Add their new one (like you’d Invite or Add a Member), and Delete their old address.

How do I Add or Invite new Members?

Click on the “Invite” button on the main toolbar…you will see two boxes…one to add a list of emails and one to add a special message for the new members. You can Invite as many people as you want in a day.

You also have the option of ADDING people, but you are limited in the number of people you can ADD per day. The reason for this is that when you Add people, they don’t have a say in the matter: they just start getting emails. Yahoo limits this to cut down on spam and other email abuse.

To ADD people to the group, you need to go to the Invite screen as shown above, and then scroll alllllll the way down…

You can then Add members much like you Invite them.

A Few Tips about sending ALERTS of the email variety…

Having sent more than a few messages (some of which weren’t very well thought out, I must confess), here’s a little list of lessons I have learned…

  • FSP Alert will add some automatic text in the Subject Header… [FSP Alert] , and you should think a bit about putting the most useful Subject heading you can on the message. Never send out a message with a blank Subject header, always make it easy for your recipients to find it later (i.e. be as specific as possible…never say something generic like “FSP issues” or “FSP meeting,” better is “FSP issues with Specialized Foster Care” or “FSP Meeting Monday, January 28, 2008 at 1 PM, for all Adult providers”)
  • ALWAYS include date and day of the week and the time in messages about things like meetings or events. Some users are reading this stuff a day or a week or two later and might get confused. Including the day of the week is also very useful…it helps catch mistakes more often than not…I always formulate dates/times like this: “Monday, December 15, 2007, at Noon.” I also use the year because there are people who’ve got that much clutter/backup!
  • State the problem/issue clearly, and the solution too! Line staff like to hear a question stated, and then the solution.
  • Define your terms and watch your jargon…it’s easy to let it get away from you. Although we are working with a group of specialists, jargon can cause big problems.
  • Please DO give a number or resource for users who have more questions. Also: you can LIMIT resources if it’s appropriate. There are plenty of times you might want to say something like, “The FSP Team is working on this issue at this time…please do not call the Help Desk (or whoever) to resolve this problem.”
  • If you have any questions or problems, day or night, you can call my cell at 310-666-3828 or email me at