Messaging another member in Ning

Just like most forums, by default, a member's email address isn't displayed. (If you are a member, you can really only display your email address by manually typing it in one of your text boxes on your profile page. Otherwise that information is never displayed.)

If you want to message someone these are the steps to do it.

If you are just a regular 'member';

1. Click on 'Members' in the main navigation
2. Find the member you are interested in messaging, click on their profile
3. Once in their profile, you will see underneath their avatar on the left a link that says 'Add as friend'. Click that link

Once you are that member's 'friend', you can freely message back and forth.At this point you could obviously ask them for their email address and email them through or off the groups.

The most immediate method might be to leave them a comment on their profile and get them to message you offline, or just let them know you are trying to get a hold of them.

If you are an admin; (This is really for moderators only, you'll know if you're an admin)

1. Click on 'Members' in the main navigation
2. Find the member you are interested in messaging, click on their profile
3. Once in their profile, you will see underneath their avatar on the left a link that says 'Send a message'. Click that link
4. Type in your message

Now, I will say, I am not crazy about how this is setup, you have to be a friend first before messaging. This is not how it works in most forums. The upside is that you don't get spammed...which is a big deal on a large forum, but at the same time it makes it difficult to just drop that member a line. I am checking into this more for other options.

Hope this helps.