Send Forum messages
The Forum is the live communications channel of a Virtual Emergency Operations Centre (VEOC) session. Pick one of four message types, type, send. The type controls who sees the message and how loudly it lands, so choosing well keeps the Forum readable during a busy response.
The dashboard shows the Forum for quick posting; the Forum tab in the left-hand menu opens the full conversation.
Before you start
You need to be in an active session as a user. Observers cannot post. Everything you send, including Private messages, is captured in the database for end-of-incident reporting.
The four message types
Type | Colour | Use it for |
General | White | Information for all response staff that is not urgent or private. Most of your traffic. |
Urgent | Red | Critical information everyone must see now. It grabs attention, so save it for what deserves it. |
Direct | Green | A message to one person that others still benefit from seeing: a question, an instruction, a progress report on an assigned task. |
Private | Yellow | Sensitive discussion with one or more people that the group does not need. Not visible in the session Forum, still on the record. |
Steps
Open the Forum from the dashboard or the Forum tab.
Select the message type: General, Urgent, Direct, or Private.
Type your message and send. It posts in the type's colour so the feed scans at a glance.
On mobile: typing and tapping send posts a General message. For Urgent, tap the red exclamation mark beside the chat bar; the Forum area turns red while you compose. For Direct or Private, open Menu, select Users, pick the person, and choose the message type. The microphone icon under the keyboard gives you voice-to-text, and the pause button stops the Forum auto-scrolling so you can read earlier posts.
Keep side conversations out of the main Forum
When a topic needs its own space, move it to a breakout room instead of flooding the main feed. To share files and photos, see Share files and photos in the Forum.
Tune what you see
Hide system messages, COP+ updates, or urgent popups from your own feed in your dashboard settings.