Groups

Different functions and groups within SJAA.

Overview

Groups are organizational units that allow you to categorize and manage collections of members. They provide a flexible way to track membership in committees, special interest groups, programs, or any other organizational subdivision. Groups can also be synchronized with external systems like Google Groups and Discord.

Managing groups requires the “write” permission. Permissions can be assigned by administrators with the permit permission. Once you have the appropriate permission, navigate to the Groups page by selecting the “Groups” link in the menu.

What Are Groups?

A group represents any collection of people within your organization. Common examples include:

• Leadership roles: Board of Directors, Officers, Committee Chairs
• Programs: Star Parties, Imaging Programs, School Outreach
• Special interests: Astrophotography, Deep Sky Observers, Solar System
• Communication channels: Email lists, Discord channels
• Operational teams: Volunteers, Event Coordinators, Newsletter Contributors

Each person can belong to multiple groups, and groups can have any number of members.

Group Properties

Each group in the system has the following attributes:

Name

The full descriptive name of the group (e.g., “Board of Directors”, “Astrophotography Interest Group”)

Short Name

An abbreviated version for display purposes (e.g., “Board”, “AP Group”)

Email Address

The associated email address for the group, typically a Google Group email (e.g., “[e-mail]”). This field:

• Links the database group to a corresponding Google Group
• Enables CSV import functionality to sync members to Google Groups
• Appears in group listings and reports

Discord ID

The Discord channel or role identifier if the group corresponds to a Discord community. This allows tracking which members have access to specific Discord channels.

Joinable Flag

Indicates whether members can self-select to join this group through their profile. When set to true, the group appears as an option on member profile pages, allowing members to opt in.

Members Only Flag

Restricts group visibility or functionality to current members only. This is useful for groups that should only be available to active members versus the general public or former members.

Creating and Managing Groups

Creating a New Group

1. Click the “New Group” button on the Groups page
2. Enter the group name and short name
3. Optionally provide an email address if this group corresponds to an email list
4. Optionally provide a Discord ID if this group corresponds to a Discord channel
5. Set the joinable flag if members should be able to self-select into this group
6. Set the members_only flag if appropriate
7. Save the group

Adding Members to Groups

There are several ways to add members to a group:

Manual Addition

1. Navigate to the group’s detail page
2. Use the “Add Person” dropdown to search for a member
3. Select the member and click “Add Person”
4. The member is immediately added to the group

CSV Import to Google Groups

For groups with an associated email address (Google Group):

1. Navigate to the group’s detail page
2. Prepare a CSV file with an “Email address” column containing member emails
3. Choose either:
   • Import Now: Process immediately and see results on screen
   • Import as Background Job: Queue for later processing (check logs for results)
4. Upload the CSV file

The system will:

• Add each email address to the Google Group
• Add matching members to the database group
• Report which members were added, skipped (already in group), or had errors

This is particularly useful for bulk synchronization between the membership database and Google Groups.

Viewing Group Members

The group detail page displays:

• All group properties
• A complete list of members in the group
• Links to each member’s profile
• The total member count

Editing Groups

1. Navigate to the group’s detail page
2. Click “Edit this group”
3. Modify any group properties
4. Save the changes

Removing Members from Groups

To remove a member from a group, edit the member’s profile and remove the group association from their groups list.

Deleting Groups

1. Navigate to the group’s detail page
2. Click “Destroy this group”
3. Confirm the deletion

Note: Deleting a group removes the group record but does not delete the members who belonged to that group.

Groups and Equipment

Groups can also be assigned as owners of equipment. This allows tracking which program or committee owns specific telescopes, cameras, or other gear. For example:

• The “Imaging Program” group might own several cameras and laptops
• The “Star Party Team” group might own portable telescopes
• The “School Outreach” group might own presentation equipment

This ownership tracking helps with inventory management and accountability. See the Equipment Tracking page for more details.

Integration with External Systems

Google Groups

When a group has an email address, you can:

• Import members from CSV directly to the Google Group
• Keep the database group in sync with the Google Group
• Automatically configure group settings (e.g., restrict posting to managers)

Discord

When a group has a Discord ID, it serves as a reference point for tracking which members have access to specific Discord channels or roles.

Use Cases

Example: Board of Directors

• Name: “Board of Directors”
• Short Name: “Board”
• Email: “[e-mail]”
• Joinable: No (board members are appointed, not self-selected)
• Members Only: Yes

Example: Astrophotography Interest Group

• Name: “Astrophotography Interest Group”
• Short Name: “AP Group”
• Email: “[e-mail]”
• Joinable: Yes (members can opt in if interested)
• Members Only: Yes (requires active membership)

Example: School Outreach Volunteers

• Name: “School Outreach Volunteers”
• Short Name: “Outreach”
• Email: “[e-mail]”
• Discord ID: “1234567890”
• Joinable: Yes
• Members Only: Yes

Database Representation

A group record contains:

• An internal id
• A name (full descriptive name)
• A short_name (abbreviated version)
• An email address (optional, for Google Groups)
• A discord_id (optional, for Discord integration)
• A joinable flag (boolean)
• A members_only flag (boolean)
• A many-to-many relationship with people (a person can be in multiple groups, and a group can have multiple people)
• A one-to-many relationship with equipment (equipment can belong to a group)