Communicating and sharing online


​1. The DCA Forum

​The Forum is for paid up DCA members to discuss everything and anything dinghy-cruising.   You can register to use the Forum via the link on the  Forum home page  . Just click on the words "register to use the forum here"    and follow the instructions.

So that the administrators know who you are, you   must   create your user id in this format:   Firstname Lastname Membernumber    e.g.   Joan Doe 7123.  It is also imperative that you use the same email address to register in the Forum as the one you  used on your DCA membership application . If you change your email address at any time, please ensure that you notify the DCA using the form on the Renew/Update page, as well as updating it in the Forum. To update your email address, username or password in the Forum,  login  and then click the down arrow beside your name in the top right corner and go to Account Settings. Follow the link to Edit  Personal Information.

Once you are Registered (i.e. have received the automated email and have   clicked on the link  contained in it), a Forum admin will check your name and membership number against the membership records and if everything is in order will approve you as a member of the DCA Forum. THIS PROCESS TAKES TIME - PLEASE BE PATIENT AND DO NOT TRY TO LOG IN TOO SOON.  The Forum admins are volunteers - like all DCA officers - and are not at their computers all the time. 
Once approved as a member of the Forum, DCA members will be able to: 
  • Post and reply to messages in almost all areas of the Forum. 
  • Edit messages you have created. 
  • See a list of other  members using the Forum 
  • Send Private Messages to other Forum users. Note that the Forum software cloaks a user's real email address so that remains private to all except the Forum administrators. 
  • Create a poll, perhaps to help choose a date or venue for a rally.

​Members should remember that all opinions expressed in the Forum are those of the writers alone and carry no endorsement from the DCA. ​ The cardinal rules are: Be kind and be helpful!
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2. Facebook

The ​Dinghy Cruising Association also has an open, public Facebook Group​. It has over 3,300 members from all over the world and is used to share stories and photos of cruises and boats, to ask technical questions and find out about places to sail, and to advertise boat related stuff for sale.

It is important to understand that joining this Facebook Group is not the same as joining the Dinghy Cruising Association itself. Anyone with a Facebook account can ask to join the Facebook Group but to belong to the Association itself, you have to complete the application form and pay the annual subscription. The benefits of doing this are explained on the Join the DCA    page and the ​About page.

​Here is the link to the DCA Facebook Group:   https://www.facebook.com/groups/121855197842056
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