While Groupsites are a new, powerful tool that change the way groups make things happen, email is still the glue that holds much activity on the Internet together. And, while Groupsites "play" very nicely with email, every user has their own definition of what that means.
Some of you want everything delivered to your inbox, while others would rather keep things out of your inbox. That's why Groupsites give you lots of ways to control exactly how much comes to you, and how much stays where it is and lets you go to it.
There are 4 things you can do to control how much (or how little) email you receive from a Groupsite:
Start under the MY SETTINGS tab, and then select the "My Preferences" sub-tab.
On the "My Preferences" page, you want to first look at "My Email Preferences."
1. The first selection allows you to decide from whom you want to receive group-related email blasts (in the form of calendar, discussion and email blasts). You can choose to allow "all group members" or "group managers only."
2. The second place to control how much or how little Groupsite-generated email is delivered to your inbox is under "My Email Preferences".
By default, your are "subscribed" to any discussions to which you reply in a Groupsite. This means that every subsequent reply posted to that discussion by other members will immediately be sent directly to your inbox.
You can change this to "Do Not Subscribe," which lets you reply to a discussion without receiving emails for all other replies. If you choose this option, you can always "subscribe" to particular topics that interest you, on a topic-by-topic basis (here's a video on exactly how). Or, you may want to subscribe not just to one topic, but to all topics in a particular Discussion forum. (here's a video showing you how).
Note - If the Groupsite manager allows, when you create a new topic, you are offered a choice to "email the entire group immediately" in a checkbox below your post. If you choose this option, the post will be sent to all members (except those who have selected "Managers Only" as described in Option 1, above).
If you create a new topic and don't choose the "email the entire group immediately" option, this message will still be generated on the page:
You see this message, showing a blast to 1 member, because we always send you an email of the initial posts you create in a new topic, and because you are subscribed (by default) to all topics you initiate.
3. The third area controls whether or not you receive an email every time someone "endorses" you (here's a video on Endorsements and Kudos).
4. Finally, you can control how often (if at all) you receive Recent Activity Updates. The choices are: Once a Day, Twice a Week, Once a Week, Every Two Weeks and Never. Additionally, by checking or un-checking the boxes next to each type of activity, you can decide which types of activities will be included in your update.
By choosing your own preferences in these four areas, you control how much of the Grouspite's content stays in the Groupsite -- and how much touches your inbox.
Remember, technology is supposed to work for you - not vice versa!