Discussion groups: structured, moderated spaces to talk
Give your community dedicated, themed discussion spaces that adapt to your organisation — by class or track for alumni networks, by country or city for diasporas, by interest for communities. Three privacy levels, moderation handled by the group leaders, pinned resources and search across the history. All hosted in the European Union, isolated per organisation and GDPR-compliant.
Why dedicated groups rather than WhatsApp or Facebook
Mainstream tools get you by at first. They quickly hit their limits as the community grows.
Conversations are scattered and short-lived
One chat here on WhatsApp, a thread there on Facebook: there's no way to organise topics, and important messages vanish in the scroll. No collective memory is ever built.
No control over who joins what
A group is either fully open or fully closed. No nuance between "visible to all", "on request" and "by invitation", and no one to approve, remove or ban a member who causes trouble.
Useful resources get lost in the feed
The charter, the sign-up form, the reference document: everything is buried in the conversation. Each new member asks the same questions again because they can't find the essentials.
How Terrilink structures discussion groups
Six building blocks that turn scattered conversations into lasting community spaces.
1. Themed spaces that fit your organisation
Create groups that match your reality: by class or track for an alumni network, by country or city for a diaspora, by interest for a community or association. Each member joins the spaces that concern them.
2. Three privacy levels
Public: open to all members. Restricted: membership on request, reading reserved for the group's members. Private: accessible by invitation only. The level is set at creation and stays under the group leaders' control.
3. Open creation, built-in moderation
Any member can create a group. The group leaders — its creator and the admins — approve or decline membership requests, remove a member or ban them if needed. Governance stays clear at all times.
4. Real-time and push notifications
Membership request, approval, new message: leaders and members are alerted instantly, in-app and via push notification. No one misses a request or a decision anymore.
5. Pinned resources
Each group has a panel of named, findable links — charter, reference documents, forms — curated by the group leaders. The essentials stay visible at all times, out of the message feed.
6. Search across the history
A single keyword is enough to instantly find a message anywhere in the group's history. Decisions, contacts and shared information no longer get lost.
3 typical use cases
Alumni network — by class and track
The class of 2018 runs its private group to organise its reunion, while a public "Tech careers" group brings together graduates in the field, across all classes. Charters and calendars stay pinned at the top.
Diaspora — by country and city
A restricted "Members in Montreal" group welcomes newcomers after approval, with the settling-in guide and the right local contacts among its pinned resources. Conversations stay between the members concerned.
Community & association — by interest
A "Mutual aid & solidarity" committee opens an invitation-only group to handle sensitive cases, with strict moderation and the internal rules pinned. Confidentiality is guaranteed.
Frequently asked questions — Discussion groups
Can you create private discussion groups?
Yes. Every group can be public (open to all), restricted (membership on request, reading reserved for members) or private (by invitation only). The privacy level is chosen at creation and stays under the control of the group's leaders.
Who can create a group and who moderates it?
Any member can create a group. The group leaders — its creator and the organisation's admins — approve or decline membership requests, remove a member or ban them if needed. Every action triggers real-time and push notifications.
What are pinned resources for?
Each group has a panel of named, findable links — charter, reference documents, forms — curated by the group leaders. Essential resources stay visible at all times instead of getting lost in the message feed. A search across the history also lets you find any message with a single keyword.
Are discussion groups included in every plan?
Discussion groups are included in Terrilink's Pro and Premium plans. All data is hosted in the European Union, isolated per organisation and GDPR-compliant, and anonymised authors are respected as everywhere else on the platform. See pricing.
Ready to give your community real spaces?
Themed groups, three privacy levels, built-in moderation and pinned resources. 14-day free trial, no commitment.