Acts as Group allows you to create user-groups for any purpose. For example, you can create a “Baseball Fan Group” for users who like baseball. In addition, the plugin provides a Twitter-like messaging interface for groups on the WordPress Administration Panel. Only group members can see the messages. The plugin provides your own “private twitter” for every group you join.

AAG Messaging Interface

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Installation

Using automatic plugin install is the easiest installation option.

If you would like to install it manually, download the package from the WordPress plugin directory, unzip it, and upload the entire acts-as-group folder to the wp-content/plugins directory. Then activate the Acts as Group plugin through the “Plugins” menu. Three tables (groups, group_members, and group_messages) will be created on your database automatically and you will find a “Groups” menu in your WordPress Administration Panel.

Usage

Log in to the Administration Panel and open the “Groups” menu. You will see three submenus (“Join,” “Messages,” and “Manage”) under the menu.

The “Join” submenu allows you to join groups. The “Messages” submenu allows you to post messages within your groups and lets you see other members’ messages. The “Manage” submenu allows you to manage groups and members of the groups. You can also create a new group.

Getting Started

Your first group will be automatically generated when you activate the plugin. The name of the group is the same as your blog’s name. All users of your blog have already joined the group.

Posting a Message

To post a message to the group, open the “Messages” submenu. You’ll see a link with the group name at the top of the page. Click the link then look for the text input field on the page. Write your message and press the “Send Message” button. You’ll see the message you just wrote.

Creating a New Group

To create a group, open the “Manage” submenu. You will find the “Add new group” link at the top of the page. Click the link, fill out the “Group Name” and “Description” fields, and press the “Create Group” button.

Joining Groups

To join groups, open the “Join” submenu. Search for the group you wish to join and press the “Join” button on the right side. If the status of the group is “Open,” you’ll become a member at this time. If the status of the group is “Closed,” you will become a member after the administrator of the group accepts you.

Managing Members

If you are the founder or administrator of the group, you can manage members of the group via the “Manage” submenu. If you are the founder of the group, you can promote a member to administrator and demote an administrator to member.

Do you like this plugin?

I hope you will try Acts as Group on your site. I have entered the WordPress Plugin Competition 2009 with this plugin. If you like it, please vote for it on the Competition Blog. I really appreciate your help!