Forming a new group

Last updated on

16 June 2021

Guidelines for new groups

Groups should be Drupal-related. We don't host groups that discuss politics, fundraising, and other topics not directly related to Drupal. We do host geographical Drupal groups and meetups, language groups within the Drupal project, and Drupal topical groups (for example, Accessibility, Search, Drupal for Universities).
Make sure the group doesn't already exist:
- Search using the main search box on drupal.org and filtering by Groups in the sidebar (for example, https://www.drupal.org/search/site/spokane?f%5B0%5D=ss_meta_type%3Agroup)
- Search using the search box in the header of Drupal Groups to search for related posts (for example, https://groups.drupal.org/search/site/spokane)
- Browse through the group list (Note that keyword search doesn't currently work on that page.)
- Check whether the path alias for the group is already used by trying to access http://groups.drupal.org/your_group_name; if the returned page isn't the Page not found one, the group title could need to be changed (You may need to try a few variations.)

If the group you are proposing meets the guidelines and it doesn't already exist, you can create it.

Creating a new group

To create a group, visit Create a new group on groups.drupal.org and follow the steps shown in that page. The following are some details about the form fields to fill and their expected values.

Title
Use one or two words that describe the group. It will be used for the group path alias, so the shorter the better. The default settings for the URL address will be lowercase.
The title should not contain periods or underscores (＿) and it should follow the Drupal.org content naming style guide.
Description
This is the field that shows up below the group name, which describes the group in the listing. Make it clear for potential members.
The content of this field should be in English.
Group Type
The proposed group should fall into one of these categories:
1. Geographical, for users in a specific city, state, or region
2. Working group, for coordinating on a feature, module, theme, or other Drupal project
3. Distribution, for developing a specific Drupal distribution (installation profile)
4. Event planning, for organizing a specific Drupal worldwide event
Mission statement
Use this field to provide a welcome message. This is the top message seen by anyone who comes to the group's page. It's the first home page content message. Use Content style guide / Writing style as a reference in how to write content for a group, as well as all Drupal posts.
List in groups directory
It is recommended that you unselect this option initially and select it after ther group is set up.
Group language
This is the field for the language tags assigned to the group node. They are used from search engines and for the group standard language.
Revision information / Log message
This is a message shown for each revision created for the group. Use it to describe what has been changed in the group.

Moderation process

To help keep groups relevant and active, we moderate all new groups on groups.drupal.org, which are automatically marked as pending moderation. Groups pending moderation are fully-functional; they simply don't show up in search results or other group listings, making them less visible. If you followed the steps above, you have already created an issue requesting that your group be moderated. Here is how the process works.

Be patient

The approval queue of new groups is moderated by volunteers. If your group doesn't fit the guidelines, it can increase the time to get approved. The moderators may follow up with questions or requests for clarification, to ensure that groups with overlap or too-similar missions are not created.

Start using your group

Even before it is moderated, you can and should invite people to join your group, add other organizers, and start posting content to the group. All of this will allow group moderators to quickly understand your group.

What to expect from the review

Generally, two or more Groups moderators will review the group. The first moderator will review the group and any additional information provided in the issue and will give it one of the following:

1. '+1' – they believe the group should be approved
2. '-1' – they believe the group should not be approved
3. A request for more information
4. Immediate denial

The first moderator gives a +1

After the first +1, a second moderator can give it a +1 and approve the group. If the second moderator disagrees with the first moderator, and gives it a -1, you will most likely be asked to provide more information about the group. If there is still disagreement, a third moderator will make the decision.

After 7 days, if there are no objections raised and no other moderator comments, any moderator (including the moderator who first reviewed the group) can approve the group.

The first moderator gives a -1

If the proposed group gets a -1, a second moderator can deny the group. If the second moderator disagrees with the first and gives it a +1, you will most likely be asked to provide more information about the group. If there is still disagreement, a third moderator will make the decision.

After 7 days, if there are no objections raised and no other moderator comments, any moderator (including the moderator who first reviewed the group) can deny the group. If a denied group already has content, group organizers will be given 7 days to move that content before the group is deleted.

You are asked for more Information

The moderator may ask for more information; if so, please provide it. Once the moderators have the information, they'll either +1 or -1 the group.

If you do not provide the requested information within two weeks, the group approval will be denied, with a nice message inviting the proposer to re-open the request when they provide the requested information.