Private Messenger enables you to send private notes to other community members. Private Messenger has two big advantages over email:
- You don't have to know the other member's email address to send the note. Also, you don't have to reveal yours.
- You can read and send private messages without leaving the community, making it easy for a quick conversation with another community member.
To use the Private Messenger, you must be registered and signed in. You'll see a Private Message icon at the top of your page. If you have any new messages, you'll see the number of unread messages next to the envelope icon.
Click the message count or envelope icon to go to your Private Messages Inbox.
To send a private message:
- Sign in to the community.
- Click the message count or envelope icon to go to your Private Messages Inbox.
- Click Compose New Message.
- Enter the recipient's name in the Send to field.
Note: Depending on your role in the community, you might be able to send a message to a group of members based on their role or rank in the community. If so, you can choose a role or rank. - Enter the subject for the message in the Message Subject area.
- Type the reply in the Message Body editor.
- Click Send Message.
You can look for the messages you've sent in the Sent tab.
To read a private message:
- Sign in to the community.
If you have any new messages, you'll see the number of unread messages next to the envelope icon. - Click the message count or envelope icon to go to your Private Messages Inbox.
- To read a message, click the message subject.
- To reply to a message, click Reply. Type the reply and click Send Message.
To reply to a private message:
- Sign in to the community.
- Click the message count or envelope icon to go to your Private Messages Inbox.
- To read a message, click the message subject.
- To reply to a message, click Reply.
The recipient and subject are automatically entered for you, but you can edit them. - Type the reply in the Message Body editor.
- Click Send Message.
You can delete messages one at a time as you read them, or in bulk from your Inbox.
To delete a private message:
- Sign in to the community.
- Click the message count or envelope icon to go to your Private Messages Inbox.
- To delete a single message, click the message to view it and then click Delete.
- To delete all messages, click the Options menu and click Delete All.
To see the private messages you've sent:
- Sign in to the community.
- Click the message count or envelope icon to go to your Private Messages Inbox
- Hover over the Inbox for the drop-down menu
- Click Sent.
To block a member from sending you messages:
If you are receiving messages that you'd prefer not to receive, you can add the sender to your Blocked Users list. The system blocks all messages from community members on your Blocked Users list.
To add someone to your Blocked Users list:
- Sign in to the community.
- Click the message count or envelope icon to go to your Private Messages Inbox.
- Click a message from the user you want to block and click Ignore username.
To remove someone from your Blocked Users list:
- Sign in to the community.
- Click the message count or envelope icon to go to your Private Messages Inbox.
- Click Options menu > Manage Connections & Blocked Users > Blocked tab
- Click Unblock for the member to begin receiving messages from this user again.
You can also search for community members and add them to your Blocked Users list.
To search for a user:
- On any page, enter a username in the Search box.
- Choose Users and click Search.
- In the Search Results, click the member's name.
- Click Block User on the member's profile page.
To turn off Private Messenger
- Go to My Settings > Preferences tab > Preferences > Private Messenger.
- Uncheck the box next to Turn on private message
To turn Private Message notification emails on or off
- Go to My Settings > Preferences tab > Preferences > Private Messenger.
- Uncheck the box next to Receive email notifications for new private messages.
