Today you will

• see where people with shared interests meet online
• learn to read the rules before you post
• write up one community for your Something Real project

Warm-up

Think of a hobby, sport or trade you care about. Where have you seen people talk about it online?

An online community is a group of people who share an interest and talk about it online.

A platform is where the group lives, like Discord, Reddit, LinkedIn or a Facebook group.

To lurk first means you read the rules and the posts before you post anything.

A teacher-approved community is one your teacher has checked is safe.

Example

A local GAA club Facebook group shares match news and asks for volunteers. One of its rules is no personal attacks.

Your teacher will show a safe sample community on the board. You will make a community profile page and fill it in for that sample. Follow the steps in the box below.

Copy these eight lines into your new document:

Common issues

• I can't find a community for my project. Ask your teacher which example on the board matches your project.
• I can't see any rules. Look for pinned posts or an About panel. If there are still none, pick a different community.
• I only wrote "it's good". Add real details, like the platform, the size and one rule.

How do I pick a safe community?

Watch your teacher do this first.

1. Pick an example on the board that matches your project, such as a club, an enterprise, a career or a creator project.
2. Find the rules first. Look for a pinned post or an About panel.
3. Copy the public link only.
4. If it is private, has no rules, feels unfriendly or is for adults only, pick another one.