How to set up Groups and Channels

Use Groups for parts of your Unit that meet or work together repeatedly, such as a den, patrol, committee, or leader team. Add a Channel when that audience also needs an ongoing conversation.

Choose the right Woggle structure

Use	For
Unit	The complete pack, troop, crew, ship, or post
Group	A durable subset such as a den, patrol, committee, or leader team
Channel	An ongoing conversation for the Unit, selected Groups, or members
No new space	One Event, one Announcement, or a targeted update to an existing Group

Before you start

Unit Admins and Leaders can create Groups and Channels when their role and Unit settings allow it. If Add group or Add channel is unavailable, ask a Unit Admin to review the role and Unit settings.

1. Check the current Groups

Open Groups and review My and Discover. Search before adding anything. An existing Parents, Committee, den, or patrol Group may already match the people you need.

Create a Group only when the audience has an ongoing purpose:

• A pack might use dens, Committee, and Leaders.
• A troop might use patrols, Committee, and Leaders.
• A recurring service or planning team can use a Custom Group.

These are examples. Keep the structure small enough that a new family can understand it without a private explanation.

Wolf Patrol and Parents are joined Groups. Committee and Service Project are available without adding another duplicate space.

2. Create the durable Group

Select Add group. Enter the name families will recognize, then choose the Group type:

• Den
• Patrol
• Committee
• Leaders
• Custom

The Group type labels the Group. It does not add members by itself. Choose a Group Patch, then decide whether to leave Create chat channel on.

Leave Create chat channel on when this Group needs ongoing conversation. The new Channel uses the Group as its audience, and its audience follows the Group roster. Turn it off when the Group is only needed for Event or Announcement targeting. You can add a Channel later.

Select Create.

3. Confirm the Group result

Open the new Group. Check the name, type, member count, and the destinations shown under Shortcuts. If you created a chat Channel, Chat should point to that Group conversation.

Scroll to Group Roster. Use Edit roster when your permissions allow it, and confirm adults, youth, and Leaders belong in the Group before you target updates or conversation to it.

Wolf Patrol has eight members and a linked Chat destination for recurring patrol conversation.

4. Choose the Channel audience

To add a separate Channel, open Channels, select Add channel, and complete the name and description. On Audience, choose the narrowest audience that should participate.

Use How to choose a Channel audience for the whole-Unit, Group, and Custom member choices, privacy result, and youth-visibility check. Group Channels follow Group membership, so update the Group roster instead of maintaining a second Channel member list.

5. Assign Groups during an Invite

When you invite an adult, enter the name and email address, then choose the intended role. Under Add to groups (optional), select Groups and choose the recurring spaces the person should join.

Review the Group selection after the person accepts the Invite or completes any required Unit approval. Committee and Leaders Groups always require approval.

The fictitious Parent/Guardian Invite includes the Parents Group before it is sent.

6. Review youth-facing participation

Before youth participate in a Channel, confirm the audience, Group roster, Channel Leaders, and whether youth can post. Youth access follows the Channel audience. Guardians receive read-only visibility into private Channels that include their Youth, but that visibility does not allow the Guardian to post.

Use Woggle’s Youth Suitability and Child Safety pages alongside your organization’s communication and youth-protection requirements.

Correct or simplify the setup

A Group exists only for one activity. Move the activity to an Event and archive the Group when its recurring work is finished.

The update needs no conversation. Send a targeted Announcement to the existing Group.

The wrong people can access a Group Channel. Correct the Group roster. Group Channel access follows Group membership.

The wrong people can access a Custom Channel. Open the Channel settings and correct its Leaders or members.

For advice on choosing communication surfaces across a Unit, read the Scout communication channel guide.