At its essence, the NCDD Members Network is an interactive directory of all NCDD members. Since it is run on social network software, the NCDD Members Network allows our members to connect with each other, learn about each other's work, and even collaborate on projects. Our members have told us that they want more opportunities to meet and get to know each other, form affinity groups on issues/methods/challenges they care about, and share their work with one another, and we think this tool provides these kinds of opportunities as a supplement to our face-to-face events.

You or your organization joined NCDD. All members of NCDD were entered into the NCDD Members Network in late 2007. If you don't recall ever joining NCDD, someone else may have submitted your name as a second or third contact person for your organization (if that's the case, your organization's name should have been entered in the Contact For field in your profile).

Many people who attend our conferences assume they are a member of NCDD even though they never officially joined. Join NCDD now and you'll be listed on the NCDD Members Network (or email joy@thataway.org to ask her to check your membership status). Membership is only $50/year for individuals, or $100/year for organizations, although we welcome you to join if you aren't able to pay the membership fee.

This is our members directory, so all organizational and individual members of NCDD will have a listing. If you are an organizational member, it is okay for someone else to be listed rather than you (in fact, our organizational members have up to three listings, depending on how many contact people they have on file with us). Just let us know who should be listed for your organization instead of you.

If you don't mind being listed here but would prefer not to receive emails related to the network (such as Colleague requests and messages), see How do I turn off email notifications? below.

For more information about NCDD and our projects and programs, including this network, contact NCDD's Director, Sandy Heierbacher. For technical support or advice on how to best make use of the network, please contact NCDD's creative director, Andy Fluke. To inquire about your NCDD membership, please contact NCDD's office manager, Joy Garman.

We understand that some member's will not have the interest or time to get involved with this network, but will still want to remain members. If this is the case with you, please send an email to NCDD's creative director, Andy Fluke, explaining that you will not be involved and he will set your account so that you won't be bothered by unsolicited messages or unnecessary requests, but will still remain part of the members list aspect of the network.

Join NCDD! Visit our members section to learn more about becoming a member. There is, and has always been, a free membership option which will let you become part of the online NCDD Members Network. There are also paid and donation-based options that offer more opportunities for members.

Almost everything about your account can be changed by editing your Profile from the personal menu bar that appears under the main menu bar when you log in. Click on the word "[edit]" and explore the tabs that appear at the top. You can even change your login name and password by editing your Settings found in the same menu. If you need help with making changes, please feel free to contact the network manager, NCDD's creative director, Andy Fluke.

Creating new groups is easy, and we encourage you to initiate new groups! Simply click on Groups at the top of any page on the NCDD Members Network, then click on the Create New Group link at the top right of the page (beside the green plus sign). Type in a name for your group, a short description of the group, and then click on the Add Group button at the bottom of the page. If you want to create a more private group, feel free to change the default settings under Group Settings before adding the group. After you add the group, you have the option to add a photo for the group.

Each account allows the use of an image, or avatar in web-speak, to visually identify yourself to visitors throughout the NCDD Members Network. It is placed on your profile page and alongside comments, posts and on the front page of the network if you have recently logged in or added content.

You can make this change by clicking "[edit]" beside the word "Profile" in your personal menu bar which appears below the main menu bar after you have logged in. Several tabs will appear, one of which reads "Photo". Click on this and follow instructions.

As this is a professional community and we have launched this network to encourage interaction among our members, we recommend using a photo of yourself. Uploaded photos should be in .jpg format (the digital camera standard) and cropping the image square to focus on your face seems to work the best. Please resize the image to keep it small, any images larger than 175px x 175px will be resized automatically.

If you need help adding a photo of yourself, please feel free to contact the network manager, NCDD's creative director, Andy Fluke, and he will make sure the photo is added properly.

The process is very straightforward. Please follow the instructions provided on the upload page. If you are interested in sharing a document, whether it be an Excel table, Word doc, PowerPoint presentation or another type of file, we ask that you first save that document as a PDF file and upload the PDF version. If the program you created the file in cannot do this automatically, there are many online tools that can do it for you. Just Google the term 'online pdf maker' to find the right one for you.

If someone is bothering or harassing you, blocking them is usually the best solution. Visit the Account Settings page to learn how to block people. If someone continues to harass you despite your efforts, you can report them here.

You can report spam, pornography, or any other inappropriate content here.

Anyone can view the information in your profile (unless you change your profile's privacy settings, which we discourage). Plus, NCDD sometimes shares its members contact information with people who want to identify facilitators, network with colleagues in their area, or collaborate on projects. If you are concerned about any particular items, such as phone number or email, we suggest you change that information in your profile to suit your needs.

If the administrator has enabled it, you can make your profile private by visiting the Profile Privacy page.

You can block people by adding their username to your blocked users list. Visit the Account Settings page to learn more about how to block people.

If you can't login, check to make sure that your "caps lock" key is off. Your username and password are CaSe SeNsItIvE. If you still cannot login, you can request to reset your password or contact us.

If you are an individual member of NCDD and want to remain so, you cannot delete your account in the NCDD Members Network. If you are an organizational member of NCDD (we would have entered an organization name in the Contact For field in your profile), it is okay for someone else to be listed for your organization rather than you. In fact, our organizational members have up to three listings, depending on how many contact people they have on file with us. Just let us know who should be listed for your organization instead of you. If you don't mind being listed here but would prefer not to receive emails related to the network (such as Colleague requests and messages, see How do I turn off email notifications? below. That said, if you no longer want to be a member of NCDD, just let us know and we will delete your account.

To update your profile, you must visit the Edit Profile page. You can move through the different parts of your profile by clicking the tabs at the top of the page.

You can update your email address on the My Account page.

To report an error or problem with the site, you can contact us here.

Once you are logged in, click on Settings at the top right of the page. Then simply uncheck any or all of the 9 boxes on that page. This is also where you can block an individual from sending you messages or adding comments in your space.