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My Members Can't See Discussions ​

If your board or committee members can't see a discussion group in the portal, it is most likely set to Closed (private) and they haven't been invited to it.

Why This Happens ​

Our Cat Herder has two types of discussion groups:

  • Open groups (open lock icon) are visible to all portal members automatically
  • Closed groups (locked lock icon) are only visible to members who have been invited

Only Admins can see all discussion groups, including closed ones, without needing an invite, although they may still need to join a closed group to view its topics and conversations. Every other role, including senior roles like Chair, President, Secretary, and Executive Officer, must be invited to closed groups before they can see or join them.

Why Does It Work This Way? ​

Closed discussion groups exist so you can have private conversations within specific groups of people. For example, you might have a closed group for a subcommittee, a HR discussion that only certain office holders should see, or a finance group restricted to the Treasurer and Auditor.

If all groups were visible to everyone, there would be no way to keep sensitive discussions private within the portal.

Common Scenarios ​

A member can't find a discussion group ​

The group is most likely set to Closed and the member hasn't been invited. Closed groups don't appear in the Discussions list for uninvited members — there's no indication the group exists at all.

Fix: Invite the member to the closed group. See How to Fix It below.

A member can see some discussion groups but not others ​

This is normal. The member can see all Open groups and any Closed groups they've been invited to. Groups they can't see are Closed groups they haven't been invited to.

Fix: Invite the member to the additional closed groups they need access to.

A senior role (Chair, President, etc.) can't see a discussion group ​

Unlike meetings — where senior roles have automatic access — discussion group visibility for closed groups requires an explicit invite for every role except Admin. This catches people off guard because it works differently to meetings.

Fix: Invite the member to the closed group, or if they need to see all discussions, consider whether the Admin role is more appropriate for them.

A member was invited but still can't see the group ​

Ask the member to refresh their browser or log out and back in. If the issue persists, check that the invite was saved correctly by opening the group settings and confirming the member appears in the invited members list.

How to Fix It ​

Invite a Member to a Closed Discussion Group ​

  1. Navigate to Discussions from the left-hand menu
  2. Open the closed discussion group you want to add members to
  3. Click the Settings or Edit Group option
  4. Add the members who should have access
  5. Save the changes — invited members will now see the group in their Discussions list

Change a Closed Group to Open ​

If the group doesn't need to be private, you can change it from Closed to Open so all portal members can see it:

  1. Navigate to Discussions and open the group
  2. Click the Settings or Edit Group option
  3. Change the group type from Closed to Open
  4. Save — the group will now be visible to all portal members

Note: Only the group owner and Admins can change group settings.

Quick Checklist ​

  • Check if the group is Closed — Look for the lock icon next to the group name. A locked icon means the group is Closed (private). An open lock means it's Open (visible to everyone).
  • Check the invite list — Open the group settings to see who has been invited.
  • Remember: only Admins see all groups — Every other role, including senior roles, must be invited to Closed groups. This is different to how meetings work.
  • Check if the group should be Open — If the discussion isn't sensitive, consider changing it to Open so everyone can participate.

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