This article explains how to share or block your site's agency, initiative, opportunity, event, and advanced-event content with another site using the Galaxy Link. This article also addresses the capabilities of another Connect platform's site manager to edit or hide content that has been shared by your site.
Notes: (1) To learn how your shared content appears to another site's users, see The Galaxy Link for Site Managers, The Galaxy Link for Agency Managers, or The Galaxy Link for Volunteers. (2) If your site receives content from another site, see The Galaxy Link: For Sites Receiving Content from Another Site. (3) This article assumes that users are remaining on their own site when responding to content that has been shared from another site.
About "Content" and "Response Content"
In this article (and in other articles on the Galaxy Link), content refers to agencies, needs, events, initiatives, and advanced-events that are shared from one site to another. Response content refers to the responses to that content: the agency fans, need responses, and event RSVPs that flow from one site back to the site that originally shared the content.
Your Content is Shared Automatically
Once the Galaxy Link has been established, all content is shared from one site to another automatically, according to the sites' agreement. As the site manager of the site that is sharing content, you do not have to do anything further to share the content. You can, however, block content as needed. To learn more, see Blocking Content from Being Shared on Another Site.
Another Site's Manager Cannot Edit Your Site's Content
The manager of the other site will not be able to edit your content, with the following exceptions:
- They can add tags to needs, events, and agencies. These tags will not appear on your site and will be used on their site only.
- They can edit responses, add and edit hours, and approve or deny hours for their volunteers who have responded to one of your site's needs.
Provided below is information on the other ways that another site's users can interact with your site's agencies, needs, events, initiatives, and advanced events.
Sharing Your Site's Agencies
When your site's agency content is shared with another site, that site's users can:
- View your agencies' profiles pages
- Fan your site's agencies
- View and respond to your site's standard and advanced-event needs (provided the needs are public and have not otherwise been blocked)
- View and RSVP to your agencies' posted events
In addition, the other site's manager can
- Block the shared agency from appearing on the front end of their site
- Know which of their site's users have fanned agencies from your site
To learn how to block an agency so that the other site never sees the agency or its needs, see Blocking Content from Being Shared on Another Site.
Sharing Your Site's Needs
When you share a need or opportunity with another site, that site's users can view and respond to the need (provided that the need is public and has not otherwise been blocked).
In addition, the site manager can
- Opt to block the shared need from appearing on the front end of their site
- Add tags to the need (active on their site only)
- Assign the need to their user groups
To learn how to block a need so that the other site's users cannot see or respond to it, see Blocking Content from Being Shared on Another Site.
Sharing Your Site's Events
When an event is shared with another site, the other site's users can view and RSVP to the event (provided it has not been blocked by the other site's manager).
In addition, the site manager can opt to block the shared event from appearing on the front end of their site.
To learn how to block an event so that the other site's users can't view or RSVP to it, see Blocking Content from Being Shared on Another Site.
Sharing Your Site's Initiatives
When your share an initiative with another site, volunteers on the other site can:
- Search needs by your initiative
- View your initiative's banner and description where applicable
- View and respond to any shared, public needs within your initiative
- Receive initiative-specific custom messages, as added to the need confirmation, reminder, and follow-up notifications on your site
In addition, the other site's manager can:
- opt to block the shared initiative from appearing on the front end of their site
- access and share your initiative link with volunteers
- View your site's custom initiative questions and excluded-agencies list for your initiative
To learn how to block an initiative so that the other site's users can't view the initiatives or respond to its needs, see Blocking Content from Being Shared on Another Site.
Initiatives: The Exception to One-Way Sharing
Unlike agencies, needs, events, and advanced events, Initiatives can be shared from one site to another, regardless of the direction of the Galaxy Link setup. For example, one site will typically receive content from another site but won't be able to share content back (outside of response content). With initiatives, sharing goes both ways, and any site can share its initiatives with any other site with which it has a Galaxy Link.
Note: If a site's agencies and needs are not being shared with your site (for example, in a one-way setup where your site is the one sharing agencies, needs, and events), that agency will not be able to add its needs to your initiative. If that site shares its initiative with your site, you will be able to add needs to that initiative, but you and your site's users will not be able to see any of the initiative needs that originate on the other site.
Sharing Your Site's Advanced Events
When an advanced event is shared with another site, volunteers on the other site can:
- See the advanced-event banner and description
- View and respond to needs within the advanced event (as long as the needs are public)
In addition, the site manager can:
- Opt to block the entire advanced event from the front end of their site.
- Opt to block any individual needs from the advanced event from the front end of their site
Blocking Content from Being Shared on Another Site
Because content is shared automatically, you will need to manually block any content that you do not want to share with another site. Below are the steps for blocking an agency from another site. The instructions for needs, events, initiatives, and advanced events are similar. See What Gets Blocked, below, for more information on what content will be withheld from the other site.
To block content from another site:
- From your site manager panel, open the Edit page for that piece of content. In this example the site manager would go to Volunteerism > Agencies and select the agency to block.
- Find the Share with option, located near the top of the page. In this example, the "Amazing Test Agency" is being shared with a site named "Community University." All connected sites will be checked by default.
- Clear the checkbox to block the content from being shared.
- Remember to click the applicable Submit button to save your changes.
Note: By default, you are set up to share information with yourself. Most site managers will want to leave that as the default. Some sites may wish to block sharing from themselves, for instance if you want to share content with the Community University (in this example) but not make that content available to other users on your own site.
What Gets Blocked
When you block content, the following information is not shared with the other site:
- Blocking agencies: The other site's users (including site managers) will not be able to see or respond to the blocked agency or any of its posted needs, events, or advanced-event needs.
- Blocking initiatives: The other site's users (including site managers) will not be able to see the blocked initiative or any of the needs within it.
- Blocking needs (including advanced-event needs): The other site's users (including site managers) will not be able to see the need or respond to the need.
- Blocking events: The other site's users (including site managers) will not be able to see or RSVP to the event.
- Blocking advanced events: The other site's users (including site managers) will not be able to see the advanced event or any of the needs within it.