The Campfire

This is an implementation of the Joomla JomSocial Component and gives a very similar experience to Facebook. You will find it in the "Members" menu after you sign in.

It includes facilities for members to provide their status, create photo albums, upload photos, message other members, form groups, join groups, make friends, make announcements, comment etc.

The “Recent activities” section provides a précis of many recent activities performed by members on the website.

You can read about the JomSocial extension here.

This extension integrates its own Private Messaging System, so we'll be phasing out the current PM system when we switch over.

Campfire Home

"Members>The Campfire>" will take you to the Campfire Home page and provides links to members, groups the latest photos and a list of recent activities by members on the site such as signing up for a muster, posting a travel blog item or updating a photo album.

The recent activity items often have a link that will take you to the activity in question.

Friends

"Members>The Campfire>Friends" lets you set up and participate in networks of members.

Your Profile

"Members>The Campfire>Profile" will take you to your profile page which displays your profile, member activities, your "Wall", Your latest Forum Posts, a map of your "friends" locations (if they have recorded any), your groups, latest photos, your Budget Camp listings and Events that you have registered for.

You can upload a new "avatar" image via "Members>The Campfire>Profile>Change Profile Picture". The maximum size image is .25Mb.;

You can optionally edit your profile via "Members>The Campfire>Profile>Edit Profile". Any of the information requested is optional. It is displayed when you or another member queries your profile;

You can edit your nickname, your email address and change your password via "Members>The Campfire>Profile>Edit Details";

You can edit your privacy and email settings via "Members>The Campfire>Profile>Privacy"; and

You can set the number of recent activities to display via "Members>The Campfire>Profile>Preferences".

Applications

"Members>The Campfire>Applications" will take you to a list of applications that are available to you. All applications listed are core and support the display of for instance your forum posts, access to your groups, a "wall" for you or others to write on. You see the effects of these applications via "Members>The Campfire>Profile". In the future we may be installing more "core" or optional applications to support new features.

"Members>The Campfire>Applications>Groups" takes you to Your Groups page.

"Members>The Campfire>Applications>Photos" takes you to Your Photos page.

Groups

Groups are like a collection of members. A group can be private or public.

Groups are useful tools for instance organising an event or for a Branch or a Special Interest Group.

You can set up a group (open or private) and invite friends to join.

When a group is set up, a post is made in the Recent activities section of The Campfire with links to the group.

Groups have been created for all our branches. The branch groups are currently set as private and new members will need approval from the branch secretary of their group.

To access the web Groups in The Campfire, you firstly need a personal username and password. If you don't have a personal username and password then you need to apply to the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. quoting your club membership number, surname, preferred nickname and postcode.

Photos

You can reach the photo album area in a number of ways either via

1. The "My Photos” link in your "Sign In" module to the left of the page;
2. Members>The Campfire>Applications>Photos
3. "On The Road>Picture Gallery"

To set up your own photo albums

1. You need to be signed in.
2. Go to the Photos page via one of the three methods above.
3. Click "Create Album".
4. Give your album a name and optionally provide a description and click the "Create Album" button.
5. Click the "Browse" button and select an image from your computer (maximum size for each image is 250Kb)
6. Another browse line will appear so you can select another image.
7. When you have finished selecting images, click "Start Upload" and the images will be loaded into your album.
8. Click "Back to Album" to view your album.
9. Click on one of the thumbnail images to see a "slide show" of your images (you will have to use the navigation arrows that appear on the images to go through your images.
10. Note that the images are stored in the reverse order to loading. You can sort your images within an album by clicking on an image thumbnail then moving it to a new location.

The photo albums will generally be accessible to the public but individual members may restrict access to their albums to club members or friends (who are members) or to just themselves.

Finding Other Members

Members are identified in The Campfire and the Forum by their "nickname" rather than their club membership number or real name, and unless you know what this nickname or membership number is they can be difficult to find.  Plus a number of members have picked similar nicknames.

If you know a members club membership number you can find their profile by entering that number in the search box at the top right of The Campfire page.

If you know their real name, but not their membership number you can find their number by displaying the Membership Directory and searching the list (using your browser search CTL-F) for their name.  You will find their number listed alongside their name and you can then use that number to search in The Campfire. Note: This will only work if the member for whom you are searching has agreed to have their contact details listed in the Membership Directory.

You can also used the advanced search to search for members with particular profile entries like van type or tow vehicle, again this willl only work if the member has updated their profile entry in The Campfire to include the information.