Messaging settings and safety

Turn on Messaging

Messaging gives your organization channels and announcements: Everyone, a channel for each active show, and channels managers build. It starts off for every organization.

1. In Stage Management, open Modules under Settings and turn on Messaging.
2. Read Turn on Messaging? and tick I confirm that our organization’s policies, any agreements we’re bound by, and parental consent for members under 18 cover using Messaging.
3. Choose Turn on Messaging.

Many crews include people under 18, so check your rules before you confirm. Your confirmation is saved to the audit log with your name and the time. The app never asks for or stores anyone’s age.

Turning Messaging off hides it from everyone. Nothing is deleted, and turning it back on brings everything back. Settings, reports, and exports live in Stage Management under Messaging.

What each plan includes

• Channels and announcements come with every plan.
• Direct and group messages, photos and files, and owner review of direct messages come with the Program plan and up.
• After a move to a smaller plan, nothing is deleted. Messages already sent stay readable, but nobody can send new direct messages or attach new photos and files.

Channel types

Chat channels are one running conversation. Post channels give each post its own replies, so conversations stay together. The Channel types card at the top of Messaging in Stage Management sets the type for the Everyone channel and the starting type for show channels.

• Everyone channel: choose Chat or Posts. Only owners change it, here or in the channel’s details.
• Show channels: every show’s channel uses this unless a manager set it by hand in the channel’s details. Switching it changes every show channel that follows it right away, and new shows’ channels start with it.
• Channels a manager set by hand keep their type when you switch the setting. Managers can choose Use the organization setting in a channel’s details to follow it again.

Changing a type never deletes or rewrites messages, and you can switch back any time. Chat from before a switch to posts shows together as Earlier messages. Reports, exports, the word filter, and the 30-day removal of deleted messages work the same for posts and replies, and a reported post shows its title.

Turn on direct messages

With direct messages on, anyone in your organization can message anyone else, one to one or in groups of up to 10. With them off, people talk in channels only.

1. Open Messaging in Stage Management and find the Direct messages card.
2. Turn on the switch. Tick I confirm that our organization’s policies, any agreements we’re bound by, and parental consent for members under 18 cover direct messages between members.
3. Choose Turn on direct messages.

Direct messages need Messaging on first. Turning them off hides everyone’s direct and group messages until you turn them back on. Nothing is deleted.

Owners can view all messages

Owners can always read every channel. Owners can view all messages also lets owners read direct and group messages, but only ones sent from the moment it’s turned on.

• Messages sent before it was turned on stay private, always.
• Everyone sees Messages in this org can be reviewed by its owners. in their direct messages while it’s on.
• While it’s on, the original text of edited messages and deleted messages is kept for owners. Owners see deleted messages dimmed and tagged, with See original for edits.
• It’s one-way: only the platform administrator can turn it off. If they do, owners stop being able to read direct messages, including ones that were reviewable, and members stop seeing the notice.

1. On the Owners can view all messages card, choose Turn on….
2. Read the list, then tick I understand that only the platform administrator can turn this off.
3. Choose Turn on owner review. It’s recorded in the audit log, and the card shows when it was turned on and by whom.

You can turn it on while direct messages are off. It covers direct messages sent once they’re on.

Use the word filter

The Word filter card checks every message, in channels and direct messages, against your list.

• Flag: the message posts, and owners get a report. The sender sees nothing different.
• Block: the message isn’t posted, and the sender is asked to change it.
• Matching ignores capitals and only matches whole words. Each word or phrase can be up to 40 characters, and the list holds up to 200.

Choose Save word filter after adding or changing words. With no words, nothing is filtered.

Handle reports

Anyone can report a message privately. Reported messages, and messages your word filter flagged, wait on the Reports card, and the number next to Messaging in the sidebar shows how many are open.

• Open a report to see who reported it, their notes, and the 5 messages before and after it.
• Choose Dismiss report, Remove message, or Mute the sender in a channel. Each one resolves the report.
• The person reported isn’t told who reported them.
• A report about a direct message shows its text only when owner review covers it. Otherwise it reads Direct message (not shown).

Review and export

• Export history on the Channels card, or in a channel’s details, downloads a CSV of every message in the channel, with edits and deletions.
• While owner review is on, Review direct messages lists conversations with messages sent since it was turned on. They open read-only, so you can’t post in them.
• To export a direct conversation, open it and choose Export with a reason…. A reason is required, and it’s saved in the audit log with your name.

Every export, and every direct message you review, is recorded in the audit log. Direct messages can’t be exported while owner review is off.

How long messages are kept

Deleted messages disappear for everyone right away. They’re erased, with their photos and files, 30 days after they were deleted, so reports can still be checked. Messages deleted while owner review is on are kept for owners instead.

Nothing else expires. Messages, announcements, and signatures stay until someone deletes them, and channels for closed shows stay readable.

Photos and files someone chose but never sent are cleared after a day.