Groups are up and running!

Since the introduction of Groups last weekend, we’ve tackled some technical and design issues to give Farm Bell Recipes community members the best tool possible for more interest-based interaction. Thank you for bearing with us. We’re so glad you’re here!

More updates with some very cool features are scheduled to come out in the upcoming weeks to make the Groups feature even more fun! We will keep you updated.


We’ve created a FAQ page here as an easy reference for you. As new features of Groups are rolled out, this page will be updated. If you see something new, check back here!

Groups & Friends

• Are there general rules for being a Group member?
• Do I need to be registered on Farm Bell Recipes to join or create a Group?
• What are “Friends”?
• Where can I find the different Groups?
• How can I find a particular Group?
• What’s the difference between a Public and a Private Group?
• How do I get email notifications of My Group updates?
• Can I invite my friends to a Group, even if I’m not the Group Admin?
• Can I leave a Group once I join?
• Can I be banned from a Group for inappropriate behavior?
• How do I start a topic?
• How do I reply to a topic?
• How do I post a photo or a file to a topic?
• What type of topic can I start a Group about?
• How do I start a Group?

Site Activity

• What is Site Activity?
• Where can I find Site Activity?
• How do I update my status?
• How do I browse the different activities?

Groups & Friends

Are there general rules for being a Group member?
Please read the Community Guidelines.

Group Admins are the moderators of their own Group and will handle comments and posts at their discretion. Site Admins and Moderators can also be notified if there is a problem that cannot be resolved.

Do I need to be registered on Farm Bell Recipes to join or create a Group?
Yes. Farm Bell Recipes is a community site and requires registration. Register or Log In to interact with others on the site.
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What are “Friends”?
In order to Send Messages or Invite others to join a Group, you must be friends. It’s a simple process. Access the Members sections through Members on the green menu bar. All Members can be sorted by Last Activity, Newest Member, Alphabetical or by simply typing in a member’s Display Name in the Search Bar. When you find the person you’d like, “Add Friend”.
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A list of Your Friends and anyone who has Friend Requested you can be found in Friends on the very top menu bar.
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Where can I find the different Groups?
The Groups Directory (All Groups) can be accessed through Groups in the green menu bar. Your Groups can be accessed through your menu bar at the very top of this page.
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How can I find a particular Group?
You can organize the Groups by Last Active, Most Members, Newly Created, or Alphabetically. You can also use the search function by typing in a keyword to help you find a Group.
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What’s the difference between a Public and a Private Group?
A Public Group is open for anyone to join. The only requirement–you need to be registered and logged in to Farm Bell Recipes.

A Private Group is only open to approved members by the Group Admin–you are Invited or you can Request Membership. You cannot access the Group until membership has been approved. You will receive an email and there will not be anything to the right of the Group name when you have been approved.
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If you are invited to a Group, you will receive an email saying you were invited to a particular Group by a friend (only your friends can invite you). You can either click on the link in the email or access Invites through Your Groups to Accept or Reject the invitation. The Group Admin will not get a notification if you Reject the invitation.
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How do I get email notifications of My Group updates?
There are few different places to access this. AND you can change them at any time!

In the Group Directory —
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In the Group itself —

If you’d rather just receive email notifications per topic, you can “follow” a topic. “Mute” will end the email notifications.
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Can I invite my friends to a Group, even if I’m not the Group Admin?
Yes. That’s the great thing of a community. Invite your friends to a Group you’ve found you think your friends would enjoy!

Inside the Group on the right hand side–Send Invites then choose the friends you would like to invite to this Group.
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Scroll all the way down to the bottom of your Friend List to Send Invites. Your friends will receive an email saying they were invited to a particular Group by you. They can either click on the link in the email or access Invites through Your Groups to Accept or Reject the invitation. You will not get a notification if your any one of your friends Rejects the invitation.
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Can I leave a Group once I join?
Of course you can!

In the Group Directory —
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In the Group itself —
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Can I be banned from a Group for inappropriate behavior?
As this is a public site, whether you belong to a public or private group, inappropriate behavior and comments to the topic are not welcome. Banning is at the Group Admin’s discretion.

How do I start a topic?
When you click into the Group, Post a New Topic: is right there for you. Start a topic (within the general description of the Group, of course)!
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How do I reply to a topic?
You can read each topic within a group by simply clicking on that topic. This takes you to the last comment made in that particular topic. To read all previous comments, scroll up or page backwards. For those that are part of the CITR forum, this operates the same way. Return to Group Topics with either of the 2 different links–Group Topics or Topics.
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How do I post a photo or a file to a topic?
You can upload allowed files and photos–gif (500 KB), jpeg (500 KB), jpg (500 KB), pdf (500 KB), png (500 KB), txt (500 KB), doc (500 KB), docx (500 KB), xls (500 KB), xlsx (500 KB), ppt (500 KB), pptx (500 KB)–to either a new topic or in a reply. Type in your comment, browse your computer for the file, then click Post Reply.
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What type of topic can I start a Group about?
Almost anything! Please do not start any type of promotional/spammy, obscene, political or religious group. We reserve the right to delete an inappropriate, obscene, or spammy group to protect the environment for our members.

How do I start a Group?
At the Group Directory, Create a Group.
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Complete the details of your Group.
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Complete the settings of your Group by choosing either Public or Private Group. You can also set your Email Notification settings here, also, as you’re creating the Group.
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Choose an avatar. You can leave the default avatar as is and go to Next Step.
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Or choose a photo (file size: 100KB max) from your computer as an avatar for your Group.
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Invite any of your Friends to your Group!
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Your Group is created!! Add Topics, Send Invites, change your Email Options.
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Site Activity



What is Site Activity?
Site Activity is an area of Farm Bell Recipes where ALL activity–blog posts, blog comments, new recipe submissions, recipe reviews, recipe requests, your Group activities, friends’ status updates–can be found.

Where can I find Site Activity?
You can access Site Activity in the very top menu bar.
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How do I update my status?
You can update your status in your Profile or in a Group (that you belong to) in Site Activity.
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How do I browse the different activities?
When you first enter Site Activity, ALL activity that you have ability to see is listed in timed order. You can sort what activity you see–Updated, Recipes and Requests, Reviews and Comments, New Forum Topics, Forum Replies, New Groups, New Group Memberships, Friendship Connections, New Members. You can also subscribe to All Site RSS Feed as a way to be notified of site-wide activity.
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You can also use those filters and sort by All Members, your Friends, your Groups, and anywhere someone has mentioned you. Status Updates made to Groups will be found in My Groups.
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See you in the Groups!