Facebook groups allow members to connect and share information on common interests. Group admins can enable the Community Chat feature to provide another way for members to interact in real-time. Community Chat creates a chat room that is accessible to all group members.
What is Community Chat?
Community Chat is a real-time chat feature for Facebook groups. It allows members to have conversations through a chat interface instead of posting on the group wall or in discussions. When enabled by a group admin, a Community Chat room is available to all members of the group.
The chat room persists and members can access it at any time to see the conversation history or continue chatting. It provides an informal way for people to get quick answers, share links, have open discussions, or just hang out in the group.
Benefits of Community Chat
Here are some of the benefits of using Community Chat in Facebook groups:
- Provides a real-time way for members to communicate
- Creates opportunities for deeper connections and engagement
- Allows quick questions and answers between members
- Enables topic-specific conversations easily
- Gives members a space to socialize casually
- Allows conversations to happen seamlessly without scheduling
How to Enable Community Chat
The Community Chat feature must be enabled by a group admin or moderator. Here are the steps to activate it:
- Go to your group page and click “Edit Group Settings” from the menu
- Scroll down and click on “Messaging”
- Under Community Chat, toggle the option to “On”
- Choose who can create Community Chat conversations: Admins, Mods, or Members
- Click “Save Changes” at the bottom
Once enabled, members will see the “Start a Chat” button at the top of the group page. Admins can customize whether all members or only admins/mods can start new chats.
How Members Can Use Community Chat
After a group admin enables Community Chat, members can start using it in the following ways:
- Tap “Start a Chat” and give the conversation a title
- Continue an existing conversation by tapping on it
- Invite specific members into an active chat
- react to messages with emojis and stickers
- Upload images and videos in the chat
- Enable notifications to get alerted when receiving new messages
The chat history remains accessible, so members can read past messages at any time. There is also a search function to find specific messages or media.
Chat Guidelines
To ensure Community Chat is used productively, admins may want to set some guidelines. Here are some suggestions:
- Stay on topic – Keep conversations relevant to the group.
- Be respectful – No bullying, hate speech, or harassment.
- No promotions – Don’t use the chat solely to promote business/products.
- No spamming – Don’t post repetitive or unsolicited messages.
- Use appropriately – Don’t share confidential/sensitive information.
- Moderate when necessary – Admins/mods may delete inappropriate content.
Having guidelines will help keep the chats useful for members. Admins can post them prominently in the group description or pin them to the top of the chat room.
Chat Moderation
Group admins and moderators can manage and moderate Community Chat in the following ways:
- Ban members from chatting – Temporarily or permanently block members from participating.
- Delete conversations – Remove chat threads that violate rules.
- Ban words – Block use of certain words or phases.
- Filter offensive content – Hold messages for admin review if they contain blacklisted words.
- Turn off chatting – Disable the feature if it’s being abused.
- Report abuse – Notify Facebook of any harassment, bullying, or hate speech.
Using combinations of these moderation tools can help maintain a positive environment in Community Chat.
Choosing Chat Settings
When enabling Community Chat, group admins can choose options to customize the functionality:
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Who can create chats | Admins / Mods / Members |
| Delete chat history | After 1 day / 1 week / 1 month / Never |
| Require member approval | On / Off |
| Chat naming | Members can edit names / Only admins can edit / Pre-set names |
Testing different options allows admins to determine what works best for their groups. Settings can be adjusted at any time.
Using Bots in Chats
Bots may be used in Community Chat to provide automated features. Group admins can add bots that:
- Welcome new members
- Share relevant links/resources
- Post polls or trivia
- Provide administrative alerts
- Moderate conversations
- Entertain with jokes or games
Bots can make chats more dynamic. Choose bots that suit the purpose of your group and provide utility without being annoying.
Chat vs Group Feed
While Community Chat offers a new way to converse in real-time, the traditional group feed still has distinct benefits:
- Allows threaded replies on specific topics
- Reaches all members instantly
- Content is easily discoverable later
- Works well for announcements and updates
- Accommodates long-form discussions or debates
Using both the feed and chat gives members choice in how to interact. Different types of conversations may be better suited to each forum.
Conclusion
Facebook’s Community Chat feature brings messaging functionality directly into groups. To enable it, admins must opt into the feature in group settings. Members can then start real-time chat conversations that persist over time.
Community Chat is a more casual way to interact with fellow group members. Setting guidelines and moderating when necessary helps keep chats productive. Finding the right chat settings gives admins control over the user experience. Overall, Community Chat can increase engagement, connection, and membership interaction for Facebook groups.