How to use Hubs

Hubs are collaborative spaces where people come together to discuss a topic, subject or theme. Depending on how your site is set up, you may be able to create your own Hubs, or you may take part in Hubs your administrators have created.

This guide will walk you through finding and joining Hubs, and posting in them.

This guide covers:

• Finding Hubs
• Joining and leaving Hubs
• Posting in Hubs
• Considerations, tips & guidance

Before you start:

• The Hubs application must be switched on for your site. See How to enable the Hubs application.
• What you can see and do in each Hub depends on the permissions set by your administrators and the Hub owner.

Finding Hubs

1. Go to the Hubs Overview by adding /hubs to the end of your site address, or use a link from your navigation menu or Tools if your site has one.
2. The Overview opens on My Hubs, the Hubs you're a member of. Select All Hubs to see every Community Hub and any Area Hubs you have permission to view.

3. To find a specific Hub, use the search at the top right and enter words from the Hub's name. Hubs also appear in site searches in the Oak sidebar.

Joining and leaving Hubs

You may already be a member of some Hubs. To join others:

1. Find the Hub in All Hubs.
2. Select Join to join straight away, or Request to join to send a request to the Hub owner for approval.
3. To mark a Hub as a favourite, select the star next to its name. Favourites appear as quick links on the left, followed by Hubs you've visited recently. Posts from your favourite Hubs also appear in the Timeline on your user profile.

4. To leave a Hub, select the three dots next to its name and select Leave hub. This option may not be available if an administrator added you to an Area Hub.

Posting in Hubs

Permissions can differ between Hubs. You may be able to post in some Hubs, only reply or react in others, or only read posts. These are set by the Hub owner, so contact them or your local admin if you have questions.

1. Type your post. You can format text and add links, emojis and attachments.
2. To tag someone, type @ followed by their name and select them from the list.
3. Select Post. Anyone you tagged is notified.
4. You can also reply to and react to other people's posts.

Considerations, tips & guidance

• Find your Hubs quickly: open your user profile in the Oak sidebar and scroll to the Hubs drop-down to see every Hub you're a member of.
• Think before you post: Hub posts can be shown elsewhere on your site, such as in homepage Timelines, so don't post anything you wouldn't be happy for everyone in your organisation to see.