CBA Record October 2018

Create a New Post in a Forum To create a new post in a committee forum, select the orange START A NEWTOPIC button from a committee’s page. Create your post. Be sure to add a brief title (as you would a subject in an email) in the Enter a title field, and put the body of the post in the Write a description… field. You can add images, video, or attachments using the icons directly under the Enter a title field. You can use the text icons to apply formatting to your post as well. Hit the orange POST button when you are ready to publish. Once a post is published, you can “like” it, follow it, and/or reply to it. To like a post, first select the post by clicking on it from that committee’s page. Simply hit the LIKE button to like the post. Liking a post is a good way to acknowledge that you have seen and noted it when no further action is needed. The number of total likes a post has garnered is displayed to the right of the LIKE button and indicated with the thumbs up sign and a number. “Following” a post means that you will receive email notifications when new replies are added to it. To follow a post, hit the FOLLOW button. If you later decide you do not want these notifications, just hit the same button (which will now say UNFOLLOW). To reply to a post, just type your com- ment in the Add a reply…section below the post. You can also reply to other replies. In order to do that, just select the smaller Reply button located directly under the reply. You can also like replies by hitting the Like button in the same location. Replies automatically display from oldest to newest, a style recognizable to social media users. If you want to change this, select the drop down menu next to Oldest first and select your new view. Conclusion You can get back to the forums either by going through the Chicago Bar Associa- tion’s website at Committees–View/Join Committee (select your committee from the drop down menu) and once on the Engaging With & Replying to a Post in a Forum

LPMT BITS & BYTES BY CATHERINE SANDERS REACH Talk, Talk: New Online Committee Forums at the CBA

A long with a new website, the new YLS blog, the new LPMT blog, a new online Lawyer Referral Service platform and a new CBA Insurance portal, the Chicago Bar Association has rolled out a new platform for members to commu- nicate with each other between meetings and to foster community online, as well as in person! If you ever used an email discussion list like LSoft’s Listserv, or if you are a big fan of social media discussions and group platforms like LinkedIn or Facebook, this private committee forum gives you the best of both types of communication. Threaded discussions, robust search, direct messag- ing, email notifications and full mobile capability are just some of the features of the new forum. You can start a discussion and answer questions with CBA members in different committees/substantive areas, share information, post documents, post events, send direct messages and more. Users can set up email notifications so they never miss a post. Here are a few pointers on how to get started with the new committee forums.

Committees–Committees View/Join and then choose a committee from the drop down list. You will be taken to the com- mittee page. On the committee page go to the Forum tab and then click on “Go to Forum” and you will be taken directly to the forum for that committee. Create an Account If this is your first time joining the forum you will be prompted to Request to Join. Fill in the requested information, and click the orange “Request to Join” button. You will be sent an email to verify your email. Check your email and click the link to verify you are you! Setting Up Your Profile After you click the link to verify your account you will be asked to provide a little information about yourself so others will know who you are. Notification Settings In the Notifications section in the area mentioned above, you can turn email noti- fications off altogether or more specifically tailor your notification preferences, as well as prevent anyone from being able to send you a private message. To turn them off altogether, just toggle email notifications to OFF. You can get email notifications and respond to the post on any device. Joining a Committee Forum Once you have created your login and set up your profile and notification preferences you can go to the committee page and click “Join” to post and communicate with your fellow committee members about topics related to your group

Getting to the CBA Committee Forum Discussions the First Time

Login to the Chicago Bar Association’s website at www.chicagobar.org. Go to

Catherine Sanders Reach is the Director of Law Practice Management & Technology at the CBA. Visit lpmt.chicagobar. org for articles, how-to videos, upcoming training, CLE, ser- vices, and more.

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