Community FAQs

Community FAQs

General
Contacts / Connections Communities / Discussions Library / Resources

 

General | Top

Q: What is my username/password?

A: Your login credentials are the same username and password that you used to log in to the portal at csinet.org or whatever you set up when you established your account with CSI.  If you have forgotten your password, use the Forgot Your Password? button on the login screen to reset it.  If you have forgotten your user name or need other assistance logging in, contact Member Services at 800-689-2900 or email csi@csinet.org.

Q: How do I get a website account if I'm not a CSI member?

A: Click the "Sign In" button in the upper right corner of any page of the site. Select Create Account and complete the information requested. Once your account is created, you'll be able to see all site content except for what is exclusive to CSI members.   View Tutorial

Q: How do I update my contact information?

A: On your profile page, please click the box labeled "Update My Information."   View Tutorial

Q: How do I control what information is visible in My Profile?

A: Navigate to your profile page, then select the "My Account" tab and choose "Privacy Settings" from the drop-down menu. This will let you control what information is visible to whom.  After you’ve made changes, click the “Save Changes” button at the bottom of the page.   View Tutorial

Q: Why does the site look different on my tablet than on my computer?

A: Our site is optimized to look great and be easy to use on any device. On larger screens, navigation is on the left and site content is presented in a horizontal format. On smaller screens (including many laptops), the site adjusts to a vertical format so that you can see everything by simply scrolling or swiping down. In this vertical format, the navigation is at the top but works the same. Click or tap to open the navigation and then click or tap again to view your desired content.

Q: How do I submit a suggestion or trouble ticket to the digital help desk?

A: You may submit a trouble ticket to the Digital Support Team by clicking here. 

 

Contacts / Connections | Top

Q: How do I find other members?

A: Click the “Member Directory” navigation under Community. The Directory lets you search for other users based on:
  • First and/or last name
  • Company/Institution name
  • Email address

Switch to the "Advanced Search" tab to refine your search results by:

  • City
  • State
  • Community
  • Certification Type
  • Region
  • Chapter Affiliation

View Tutorial

Q: How do I add contacts to my contact list?

A: There are several ways to add contacts. When you perform a search in the Directory, you will see an “Add as contact” button to the right of each person in your search results. Just click this button to send a contact request. If you click through and view an individual’s profile, you can click the contact request link to the right of his or her profile picture.

Q: Why should I add contacts to my contact list?

A: Creating this virtual address book makes it easy to send your contacts messages through the community site to stay in touch, ask questions or even build a referral network. Additionally, when you view another member’s profile, you’ll be able to see any contacts you have in common. You can also choose to let your contacts view certain demographics in your profile that others can't.

Communities / Discussions | Top

Q: What are communities?

A: Communities allow you to participate in discussions and share resources with other members.

Q: What communities do I already belong to?

A: From the main navigation bar, select “My Communities” to view the communities you currently belong to. You can also view your communities from your Profile page under "My Connections."   View Tutorial

Q: How do I join/subscribe to a community and the affiliated discussion group?

A:  From the main navigation bar, select “All Communities” in order to see a list of available communities. Communities you can join will have a "Join" button.  Click "Join," then choose a delivery option for posts (Real Time, Daily Digest or No Email).  View Tutorial

Q: How can I control the frequency and format of emails I receive?

A: Navigate to your profile and click on the "My Account" tab. Choose "Community Notifications" from the drop-down menu.  On that page, there are subscription options: Real Time, Daily Digest, No Email.       View Tutorial

For each discussion, you have the following delivery options:
  • Real time: sends an email every time a new message is posted.
  • Daily digest: sends one email to you each day, consolidating all of the posts from the previous day.
  • No Email: allows you to be part of the group without having emails sent to you. You can still post and read others’ messages by logging into the community site.

There are also options for Daily or Weekly Consolidated Digests.  Consolidated digests display activity in all the communities of which you are a member.    View Tutorial

Q: How do I leave a community or unsubscribe from a discussion?

A:  To unsubscribe, go to your Profile and click on the "My Account" tab. Choose "Community Notifications" from the drop-down menu. Change your desired community subscription to "No Email".   To leave a community, go to the community landing page and click on the gear/settings button to the right of the community name. Click on the button to leave the community.   View Tutorial
Note: You are added to some communities automatically by CSI.  For example, all members in good standing are automatically added to the CSI-Connect community.  There is no option to leave this community, but you can control your subscription option.

Q: How do I respond to others’ posts?

A: To respond to a discussion post while on the CSIResources.org website, navigate to the discussion post and click “Reply to Discussion” to send your message to the entire community.  To send a message only to the author of the post, please select “Reply to Sender” (located in the "Reply to Discussion" drop-down).  We recommend replying to the sender for simple comments like “me, too” that add little value to the overall discussion; and replying to the entire community when you are sharing knowledge, experience or resources that others could benefit from.  You can also reply to a post from Real Time or Daily Digest emails you receive.

Q: How do I start a new discussion thread?

A: Go to the home page of the Community in which you want to start the thread.  Click the "Add" button in the upper right corner of the "Latest Discussions" content field.  You need to be a member of the community in order to post to its Discussion Forum.

Q: I’m having trouble viewing the HTML email messages. How do I fix this?

A: If images are not appearing, it is likely that your email client is set to suppress images. This should be something you can change in your security or viewing options. If you would rather receive text-based email, go to your profile page and click on the "My Account" tab. Choose "Community Notifications" from the drop-down menu. Select the “Plain Text” format option for each of the discussions you are subscribed to.

Q: Can I search for posts across all the communities?

A: Yes, please enter a keyword in the search bar located at the bottom of the main navigation. To narrow your search to only Discussion posts, click on "User Content" in the upper left, then click the "Discussion" checkbox.

Q: How do I see a listing of all of the posts to a specific Community?

A: Locate the community you are interested in viewing from the appropriate communities page. Click through to the community's landing page, then click on the “Discussions” tab. If you see a post you’re interested in, click the subject line which will take you to the entire thread. “Show Original Message” at the bottom of all of the posts in a thread will display the original message that started that discussion.
Libraries | Top

Q: How do I find resources that may have been uploaded by other members?

A: If you know which library the resource might be located in, find the affiliated community via the All Communities page. Click through to the community's landing page, then click on the “Library” tab . If you do not know where the resource might be, enter search terms in the main search box the same way you might enter search terms into Google or another search engine.

Q: Can I search for specific file types?

A: Yes. Enter your desired keyword in the main search box. From the search results page, click "User Content" to refine your search.  Scroll down to find the checkboxes for various file types. 

Q: How do the libraries get populated?

A: The libraries are populated in two ways:
1.  When you include an attachment in a discussion post, the system automatically places it in the affiliated library.
2.  You can also upload documents directly to a library by clicking the "Add" button next to the "Latest Shared Files" content field on the community home page.  Library resources are not required to be associates with a discussion thread

Q: How do I upload a file?

A:  Click the "Add" button next to the "Latest Shared Files" content field on the community home page. Please note that uploading a document is accomplished by completing a few steps, and each step must be completed before you can move on to the next:
  • Choose a title for your document, and include a description (optional). Select the library to which you’d like to upload it, and select a folder to which you’d like to upload it (optional).  Then, choose an Entry Type (most will be Standard Files, but be cognizant of any copyright licensed material). Once you have completed these steps, please click “Next.”
  • Upload your file.
  • Select “Next” if you want to further describe your files and/or add tags to your file.  Otherwise, please click “Finish” to post your library entry

Q: What kind of files can I upload?

A: The system supports dozens of file types including hyperlinks, standard files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), webinars, images and YouTube videos.