Step by step, with pictures
For anyone who would rather take it slowly. Every lesson is a few short steps, with a picture of exactly what you will see and the button to tap outlined in red.
You can't break anything
- There is no account and no password to forget. Your email address is all it asks for.
- Anything that matters asks “are you sure?” first. Anything else can be put right by the coordinator.
- It is fine to ask someone to sit with you the first time, and fine to print this and write on it.
A few words you will see
- Tap
- Touch the screen lightly with one finger and let go. On a computer, click with the mouse.
- Scroll
- Slide your finger up the screen to see what is further down the page.
- Link
- Words or a button in an email or on a page that open another page when you tap them.
- Inbox
- Where your new emails arrive. Junk or Spam is a separate folder where some emails end up by mistake.
- Host link
- The private page a host uses to run the party. It comes by email when you agree to host.
- Bookmark
- Saving a page so you can open it again without the email. Lesson 5 shows how.
Coming to a party
Lesson 1
Signing up for a party
About three minutes. You need your email address, and nothing else.
- Open the Events page. It lists every party coming up. Tap the one you would like to go to.
- Scroll down to “Join us”. Type your name in the first box and your email address in the second. The rest is optional. Then tap the green Count me in button.
- You will see “See you out there”. That means you are on the list. There is nothing else to do.
Lesson 2
If you can't come after all
One minute. It frees your place for someone else, and nobody minds.
- Find the confirmation email from step 4 above. Near the bottom, tap Can't make it? Cancel your signup.
- A page opens. Tap Yes, cancel my signup. If you tapped it by mistake, tap Keep my spot instead.
Lesson 3
On the day, and telling us what you did
The morning itself, then two minutes on your phone afterwards.
- Early that morning, at about 6–7am, an email reminds you where to meet and who the host is. It is worth opening in case the host has written a note, such as “wear boots”.
From: Friends of The Jones Falls
Reminder: Practice Party is today!
Where to meet, who to look for, what to bring.
An example, not a real email. - At the party, find the host and say your name so they can tick you off. They will show you what to do.
- A couple of hours after the party a thank-you email arrives. Tap the green Submit Impact Report button in it.
Lesson 4
Being asked to host
About 14 days before a party. Two minutes.
- An email arrives asking if you can host. Tap the green Can you host? Answer here button in it.
From: Friends of The Jones Falls
Can you host Practice Party?
Friends of The Jones Falls needs a host for this one.
Can you host? Answer hereAn example, not a real email. - A page opens with the date, the time and the plan. Check the date against your calendar. Then tap Yes, I'll host, or Not this time if you can't. Saying no is completely fine.
Lesson 5
Keeping your host link handy
Five minutes, once. Worth doing so you are not hunting for an email in a car park.
- Open the “Your host link for …” email and tap Open your host page. You will see the party name, the date and “You're hosting” at the top. This is your host link.
Now save it so you can find it again. Pick whichever matches what you are holding:
iPhone: tap the square with an arrow pointing up (at the bottom of the screen), scroll down, and tap Add to Home Screen, then Add. An icon appears among your apps.
Android phone: tap the three dots in the top right corner, then Add to Home screen, then .
Lesson 6
Before the day
Ten minutes, any time in the fortnight before.
- Open your host link and read Before you start: where to meet, where to park, where the tools are kept, and anything to watch out for at that site.
- Scroll down to The plan. It shows which plants the group is going after. If you know that will not work (the patch is flooded, or someone already cleared it), tap Change the plan, tick what you will do instead, and tap Save the plan.
Changing the plan is optional. Most hosts leave it alone.
Lesson 7
On the morning
Your phone in your pocket, and a few taps.
- The day before, or over breakfast, open your host link and tap the big green I'll be there button. That is all. If you forget, ticking in the first person who arrives counts too, and if you have not done either about 2 hours before, a short email reminds you.
- As each person arrives, scroll down to Who's here and tap their name. A green tick appears and it saves by itself. Tapped the wrong one? Tap it again and the tick goes away.
- Someone came who is not on the list? Type their name in the box underneath and tap Add.
Lesson 8
If you have to call it off
Thunderstorms, a closed road, you are unwell. One minute.
- On your host link, tap Call it off. A box opens. Write one line saying why. Everyone signed up gets those exact words by email, so write it to them. Then tap Call it off and tell everyone, and OK when your phone asks if you are sure.
Can't host but the party can still go ahead? Tap I can't host anymore instead. Your backup takes over, or the coordinator finds someone.
Lesson 9
When you finish
One tap before you leave.
- Tap We're done for today, then OK when your phone asks if you are sure. That sends everyone the thank-you email asking for their report. If you forget, it happens by itself at midnight.
Lesson 10
Telling the city, from home
Ten minutes, sitting down, any time in the 7 days after.
- Open your host link again and scroll to Report to the city. Every answer is already filled in. Tap Open the city form. It opens in a new tab, so your host link stays open behind it.
- Go one answer at a time. Tap the little copy button beside it, go to the city form, then press and hold in the matching box until Paste appears, and tap it. (On a computer, click in the box and press Ctrl and V.) Go back to your host link for the next one.
- When you have sent the city's form, come back and tap I've submitted it. That tells the coordinator it is done.
Practising before your first time hosting
- Co-host first. When the hosting email comes and someone has already said yes, tap Co-host. You get the same host link and can watch how they use it.
- Ask the coordinator to sit with you for ten minutes with your host link open. They can see the same party from their side.
- Print this guide and the host's handbook, and take them along.
If you tapped the wrong thing
- Ticked the wrong name
- Tap it again. The tick goes away.
- Posted a note with a mistake in it
- Type the note again and post it again. The new one replaces the old one.
- Tapped "We're done" too early
- Tell the coordinator. They can open it again.
- Called the party off by mistake
- Tell the coordinator straight away. They can put it back on and let people know.
- Lost the host link email
- Search your email for "host link" first. If it has gone, the coordinator can give you the link again.
