Help/FAQs

IPEM Communities of Interest (CoI) FAQs:

Background

Q: Why are CoIs being introduced?

A: To make it easier for more members to join in IPEM discussions and activities, particularly if they can’t travel to meetings or find it hard to get time out of work.

Q: How will they operate – will they be like the old IPEM forums?

A: No – we are using much more up-to-date software to combine the benefits of a mailbase, a networking platform and a resource library. It’s called the Higher Logic platform – they provide this service to many membership organisations, including Memberwise.

Q: Will I have to log in to this separately to the IPEM website?

A: Yes, there will be separate log in for access to each site, so you won’t need to log in to the IPEM site to reach the communities. There will be a link from the IPEM website to the CoIs; or you can go direct (it would be useful to bookmark the URL for the site for speed).

Q: If the site is separate how will personal information be kept up-to-date

A: The information on the platform will be synchronised with our main system (CRM) at the end of each month.

Q: Will I have to log in to see the discussion, or post a comment?

A: No – you can arrange to have posts emailed to you from any CoI you join, either in real time, daily or as a daily or weekly digests. Or you can choose to have no emails. And you can reply directly from your email, including with attachments, so you don’t need to log in to participate. The system automatically checks that you are a member of the CoI then posts your message on the board.

Q: Can I use any browser to access the communities of interest site?

A: Experience at the testing stage shows that there can be problems getting in using Internet Explorer, so we recommend using Chrome, Firefox or a different browser for the best experience.

Q: Why is it not available on Internet Explorer?

A: The problem is  mainly coming from Microsoft themselves. I.E. does not support the latest CSS and HTML versions making most sites on the internet have limited functionality, not just Higher Logic.

Starting the Communities of Interest

Q: What CoIs will there be on the site?

A: Initially we have set up Communities based on the SIG topics (radiotherapy, clinical engineering, rehab engineering, ultrasound and non-ionising radiation, etc), and also communities for trainees, technologists, academic and industry members, people interested in outreach, Aspiring MPEs and early career members.

We have also set up a CoI for each region – this will enable Regional Chairs to have discussions and share information with all members in their region without the need to go via the office.

 Q: What if I want a different CoI?

A: You can get in touch and let us know, and we can set one up for you.

Q: How will you populate the CoIs initially – or will you rely on members joining?

A: All members will be made members of the Directory (unless they have opted out of the current electronic directory via MyIPEM): this is essential for access to the platform. We will pre-populate the Regional CoIs with all the members in that region for their convenience. There are a few other communities for which we will automatically register people based on their role e.g. Regional Chairs will be put into the Regional Chairs CoI, and their interests e,g we have automatically registered people with an interest of Nuclear Medicine in the nuclear Medicine CoIs.

 Q: Can I opt out of this if I’m not interested?

A: Yes, you can unsubscribe from your Communities by navigating to the settings and clicking unsubscribe, unsubscribing via the link at the bottom of a community email or by emailing us at office@ipem.ac.uk .

Q: What are the Privacy Defaults
A: The default is to show a very limited amount of information to Members only. The only bits of information shared by default are. Your picture (if you have uploaded one), mutual contacts, MY communities, Country, Job Title and Department, email address, send message, add contact , interests and, areas of expertise.

Q:Can I control how much personal information I share?

You can control how much information about you is shared, and with whom e.g. just members of that Community. Just click on your profile picture (or space for picture), then Profile, My Account, Privacy Settings. You can also use this menu, choosing Email preferences, to control the frequency of updates from your Communities.

Q: Can I choose which other Communities I join?

A: Generally, yes. Some may be set up as closed communities, for which members need to be invited e.g. for a committee; others will be open for any member with an interest to join.

Q: Can I suggest a new Community, based on something else that might be attractive to a number of members – like members doing research, overseas members, or members aspiring to Fellowship?

A: Yes, we can set up new CoIs at any time.

Using the Communities of Interest

Q: What will I find on the CoI?

A: There is a message board for you to post comments or information for members of the Community. There is a library for documents and resources to be shared and accessed by members. And you can see an events list, to keep you up to date with IPEM meetings, conferences, committee meetings etc. We can also organise online polls of all members of a community – just contact the office to arrange this.

Q:  How do I opt for a daily or weekly digest from my Community?

A:  Navigate via your picture to Profile>MyAccount>Community Notifications and select either daily or weekly digest.

Q: Will the Community message boards be moderated?

A: The site has some standard guidance (called a ‘Code of Conduct’ on the site) on appropriate behaviour in discussions, but we do not plan to designate an individual moderator for each Community to approve each message before it is posted.

There is an option to report an inappropriate message in each Community space: click on ‘Reply inline’ and choose ‘Mark as inappropriate’ from the drop-down menu. This will send the message to the National Office for review. Inappropriate messages can be edited or removed.

This form of ‘self-regulation’ is common in professional body sites. Higher Logic tell us that, in the vast majority of cases, this is used to alert the office that someone has posted in the ‘wrong’ Community (i.e. not the most appropriate one for the topic), rather than there being a serious problem with the content of the post.

Q: If I break the site’s Code of Conduct, does that mean I’ve breached IPEM’s Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct?

A: Not necessarily! Only in the most serious cases would this be a possibility, and lead to a referral to the Professional Conduct Committee.

Q: Will the Community have a Chair, or leader?

A: Yes. There are some natural leaders in each Community who will be active contributors and encourage discussion and activity in their CoI. For example, the Regional Chairs will be the natural leaders of the regional CoIs; and the SIG Chairs can take this role for the specialism CoIs, Vice President Industry for the Industry CoI, etc.

Q: What if I want to post something that is relevant to more than one CoI?

A: There is a ‘cross-post’ option when you are drafting your post, so you can send it to any additional communities of which you are a member.

Q: Why are some Members hidden?
A: Members are hidden when they have opted out of the Members Directory.

Q: How do I opt out of the Membership Directory?
A: Members can opt out of the Members Directory by navigating ton MyIPEM > MyPreferances> Membership Directory Preferance and unticking the Membership Directory opt-in (this will only be updated monthly) or just from the Communities of Interest Membership Directory  by navigating to the Head Shot >My Profile>MyAccount>Privacy Settings and toggling the Yes/No slider to no.

Q: What information is on my Profile?
A:  The following information is extracted from our CRM to include on your profile: Contact Ref No, Email Address, Title, First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, Known as, Gender, Post Nom, Company Name, Job Title, Home Phone, Business Phone , Mobile Phone, Preferred Membership Address (this could be either home or work). Only a very limited amount of this information is shared by default. 

Q: Can I advertise a job on the site?
A:   No.  Jobs or any other commercial advertsiing can only be done via IPEM Jobs. This is because Jobs advertsiisng is an income generator for IPEM.

Additional Functionality
Q: Can I create folders in the Community Library?
A: No Members cannot create folders but the Community Admin can - so please ask if you want folders creating. 

Q: How do I save a document to a specific folder in the Community Library?
A: Only Community Admins can do this -  so please ask if you want files moving into a specific folder.

Q: Can I create a Survey/Poll?
A: No Members cannot create polls - But community admins can - so please ask if you want to create a survey/poll

Technical Help

General Contacts / Connections Communities / Discussions Library / Resources

General | Top

Q: What is my username/password?

A: Your login username is your preferred IPEM email address. Your password is selected by you but must be between 8 and 12 characters and must include a capital letter, a number and a special character.

Q: How do I update my contact information?

A:  Please change your details on MyIPEM or contact membership@ipem.ac.uk. These will be synchronised with this site at the end of each month.


Q: How do I control what information is visible in My Profile?

A: Please navigate to your profile page, then select the "My Account" tab and choose "Privacy Settings" from the drop-down menu. This will let you control what information is visible to whom.  After you’ve made changes, click the “Save Changes” button at the bottom of the page.

Contacts / Connections | Top

Q: How do I find other members?

A: Click the “Network" or "Directory” link found in the main navigation bar. The Directory lets you search for other users based on:
  • First and/or last name
  • Company/Institution name
  • Email address

Switch to the “Advanced Search” tab to refine your search results by:

  • City
  • State
  • Country
  • Community
  • Education

Q: How do I add contacts to my contact list?

A: There are several ways to add contacts. When you perform a search in the Directory, you will see an “Add as contact” button to the right of each person in your search results. Just click this button to send a contact request. If you click through and view an individual’s profile, you can click the contact request link to the right of his or her profile picture.


Q: Why should I add contacts to my contact list?

A: Creating this virtual address book makes it easy to send your contacts messages through the community site to stay in touch, ask questions or even build a referral network. Additionally, when you view another member’s profile, you’ll be able to see any contacts you have in common. You can also choose to let your contacts view certain demographics in your profile that others can't.

Communities / Discussions | Top

Q: What are communities?

A: Communities allow you to participate in discussions and share resources with other members.

Q: What communities do I already belong to?

A: Go to “Communities” in the main navigation bar. Select “My Communities” to view the communities you currently belong to.

Q: How do I join/subscribe to a community and the affiliated discussion group?

A:  Click on “Communities” in the main navigation and click on “All Communities” in order to see a list of available communities. Click on the community that you wish to join and simply click "Join," then choose a delivery option for posts (Real Time, Daily Digest or No Email).

Q: How can I control the frequency and format of emails I receive?

A: Navigate to your profile and click on the "My Account" tab. Choose "Community Notifications" from the drop-down menu.  On that page, there are subscription options: Real Time, Daily Digest, No Email.  

For each discussion, you have the following delivery options:
  • Real time: sends an email every time a new message is posted.
  • Daily digest: sends one email to you each day, consolidating all of the posts from the previous day.
  • No Email: allows you to be part of the group without having emails sent to you. You can still post and read others’ messages by logging into the community site.

Q: How do I leave a community or unsubscribe from a discussion?

A:  Go to your profile and click on the "My Account" tab. Choose "Community Notifications" from the drop-down menu. Here, you will see a list of available communities and those to which you’ve subscribed. Select "Leave Community” under the Actions column for the discussions you wish to leave.

Q: How do I respond to others’ posts?

A: To respond to a discussion post, please navigate to the discussion post and click “Reply to Discussion” to send your message to the entire community.  To send a message to the only author of the post, please select “Reply to Sender” (located in the "Reply to Discussion" drop-down).  We recommend replying to the sender for simple comments like “me, too” that add little value to the overall discussion; and replying to the entire community when you are sharing knowledge, experience or resources that others could benefit from.

Q: How do I start a new discussion thread?

A: Go to “Participate" > “Post a message.” From an email (HTML version) for a particular discussion forum, you can use the “Post Message” link located at the top of the discussion email.

Q: I’m having trouble viewing the HTML email messages. How do I fix this?

A: If images are not appearing, it is likely that your email client is set to suppress images. This should be something you can change in your security or viewing options. If you would rather receive text-based email, go to your profile page and click on the "My Account" tab. Choose "Community Notifications" from the drop-down menu. Select the “Plain Text” format option for each of the discussions you are subscribed to.

Q: Can I search for posts across all the communities?

A: Yes, please enter a keyword in the search bar located in the main navigation. To refine your search results, please select "Show Advanced Search".

Q: How do I see a listing of all of the posts to a specific Community?

A: Locate the community you are interested in viewing from the appropriate communities page. Click through the community's landing page, then click on the “Discussions” tab. If you see a post you’re interested in, click the subject line which will take you to the entire thread. “Show Original Message” at the bottom of all of the posts in a thread will display the original message that started that discussion.
Libraries | Top

Q: How do I find resources that may have been uploaded by other members?

A: If you know which library the resource might be located in, find the affiliated community via the All Communities page. Click through the community's landing page, then click on the “Library” tab . If you do not know where the resource might be, enter search terms in the main search box the same way you might enter search terms into Google or another search engine.

Q: Can I search for specific file types?

A: Yes. Enter your desired keyword in the main search box. From the search results page, click "Show Advanced Search."  Then click on “Search for Specific File Types.” This gives you the option to specify file type: Document, Image, Spreadsheet, etc.

Q: How do the libraries get populated?

A: The libraries are populated in two ways:
1.  When you include an attachment in a discussion post, the system automatically places it in the affiliated library.
2.  You can also upload documents directly to a library by using the “Share a File” link found under “Participate” in the main navigation or "Create New Library Entry" button on any community's library page. Library resources are not required to be associated with a discussion thread.

Q: How do I upload a file?

A: Select the “Share a File” link found under “Participate” in the main navigation or "Create New Library Entry" on any community landing page. Please note that uploading a document is accomplished by completing a few steps, and each step must be completed before you can move on to the next:
  • Choose a title for your document, and include a description (optional). Select the library to which you’d like to upload it, and select a folder to which you’d like to upload it (optional).  Then, choose an Entry Type (most will be Standard Files, but be cognizant of any copyright licensed material). Once you have completed these steps, please click “Next.”
  • Upload your file.
  • Select “Next” if you want to further describe your files and/or add tags to your file.  Otherwise, please click “Finish” to post your library entry

Q: What kind of files can I upload?

A: The system supports dozens of file types including hyperlinks, standard files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), webinars, images and YouTube videos.

Q: What are the “tags” for?

A: Tags are great way to organize and categorize content on your site. Tags can be applied to blogs, library entries, events, and glossary terms.  Tagged items are prioritized in the search results.