If you wish to have a private chat group here, let me know and I will set it up for you.
I set up the group, make you the “owner” of that group, and then you can invite whomever you want. Groups can have more than one owner.
Then I set up a “Sub-Category” in the Private Groups Category that only your group can access. It’s like a mini-forum. You can have as many topics as you like or just one long one - it’s up to you.
Mods are supposed to be able to see all Categories including Private ones. Currently only Admin can see them and I’m not sure why that is - but I am not making an effort to change that right now.
The Private Sub-Categories are set up to where only group members can see the posts. But being that this forum software is new to me, I’d proceed with caution and know that nothing on the internet is ever truly secure.
I’m learning as we go too. If you are interested in joining private groups that already exist:
Click on the “hamburger” icon next to your avatar. Then click on groups. You will see a listing of all groups that are open to membership requests. Once you are a member of a group, you will be able to see/participate in the private sub-category that has been set up for that group.
Group owners can also invite you to join a group if they wish.
If you are a group owner and you want to add members to your group:
Click on the “hamburger” icon at the top right of your screen left of your avatar.
Then click on “Groups”. There you will see the groups you’re in and if you click on your group, you’ll see a list of members and a button to click to “Add Members”.
This is different than the AO. You cannot set up your own Private Groups or Private Sub-Categories - I have to do that.
But you can be an “owner” of your Group once it’s set up. Groups can have more than one owner.
Once your Private Group exists - I can set up the Private Sub-Category for you - that only your group can participate in. (See above)
I’m currently setting up new groups to be “visible” to logged in users. That means that others can see that your group exists and they can request membership. They cannot see or participate in your Private Sub-Category unless you let them into your group. If you prefer, at setup or later, I can make your group “invisible” to other users.