User documentation
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Thank you for making your community stronger by using Buoy!
ℹ️ This page provides an overview and links to detailed information about using Buoy's features and capabilities for end-users. For information about creating and hosting a Buoy instance for other people, please refer to the Administrator documentation instead.
Overview:
- What is Buoy?
- Who should read this guide?
- Finding a Buoy
- Creating a Buoy account
- Logging in to your Buoy
- Completing your account profile
- Assembling a crisis response Team
- Joining a crisis response Team
- Sending an alert with Buoy
- Responding to Buoy alerts
- Using Buoy during an incident
- Using advanced Team features
- Using Buoy on a smartphone or tablet
Buoy is a software-based communication and coordination tool used for improving community responses to distressing situations affecting one or more community members. It is built from the ground up to provide members of community groups with an alternative to State- and corporate-run emergency response infrastructures, such as making a 112 or 911 phone call in Europe or the States. It offers a flexible and customizable intake, dispatch, and field support toolkit for coordinating collective action in the event of crises, whether large or small.
Using a smartphone or laptop computer, a community member can assemble one or more crisis support Teams, alert their support Team(s) of where they are and what they need by pressing a single button, and then communicate in real-time with their support Team using text, audio, or video. Importantly, Team members can also coordinate with one another, independent of any communication from the person in crisis.
Rather than requiring organizations to create brand-new infrastructure, such groups can add Buoy as a layer atop their existing websites. So Buoy is not a traditional "app" that users download in the app store, but rather a means of adding crisis response, emergency dispatch, and coordination tools to the repertoire of any organization already providing care-giving support to their membership.
This Buoy User Guide is written for community members belonging to a group or organization that uses Buoy. Since Buoy is a tool to aid with group coordination, it is of little use to an isolated individual. Many different kinds of organizations can make use of Buoy for a number of purposes, from legal aid organizations, independent or citizen journalist groups, activist collectives, and beyond.
You should read this guide if you are a member of one or more such groups who use Buoy.
If you are not already a member of an organization that uses Buoy, you will need to find a Buoy to use. Buoys are just websites with special features provided by the Buoy plug-in. It is not always possible to tell which websites offer Buoy features just by looking at them. In many cases, you will need to be a member of a local community group already before you can use Buoy yourself.
Some groups publicly announce that they use Buoy software, often by posting an update on their website to that effect. Other groups do not, and the only way you will know if they provide Buoy features is by signing up as a member of that organization. The sign up process often differs from one organization to the next, but usually includes providing an email address and registering for an account.
Ask your friends and colleagues to see if any of them belong to community groups using Buoy in their work or social lives and whether you can join it. As a last resort, check the List of Buoy enabled websites page to see if any organizations have listed themselves there and will allow you to sign up for an account with them.
Once you have found a Buoy-enabled website, you will need to register an account with that website before you can make use of Buoy features.
See Step 1 in the Buoy Walkthrough for detailed instructions on creating an account.
After creating an account on a Buoy-enabled website, you will need to login with your account to use Buoy features.
See Step 1 in the Buoy Walkthrough for detailed instructions on logging in with a Buoy account.
Once you have logged into your account, you will be able to personalize Buoy features by setting Buoy preferences to your liking on your profile page. Setting these preferences ensures you have the best experience using Buoy features. Completing your account profile also enables additional Buoy features such as SMS/txt messages.
See User profile for detailed information on completing your account profile.
After creating an account and completing your profile, you are ready to assemble your crisis response Team(s). You can create as many Crisis Response Teams as you want, and you can place a given individual on more than one Team. This lets you organize your Teams in whatever way you like. It is a good idea to create different Teams for different purposes. Read Tips for creating useful Teams for more information about how to organize your Teams.
In addition to creating your own Teams, you can also become a member of Teams that others created and invited you to join. Joining a crisis response Team enables you to respond to an alert sent by that Team's owner, but does not let you send your own alerts. To send alerts, you must first assemble your own Team.
Read Joining a crisis response Team for detailed instructions to responding to Team invitations.
Once you have created your Teams and at least one invitee has joined one of your Teams, you can send Alerts to those Team members. There are several different kinds of alerts you can send. These include:
- Immediate alerts, for when you have only enough time to press a single button,
- Contextual alerts, for when you can type a short description of the situation, and,
- Timed alerts, for when you want to schedule an alert to be sent sometime in the future as a "safety call" in case something you're planning to do goes badly.
Follow the links above for more information about each kind of alert.
If you joined someone else's crisis response Team(s), you may receive an alert from that person when they need your help. Depending on your Buoy preferences, their call for help will be delivered to you in one of several ways, such as an email, via txt message, or some other channel. When you receive an alert, you can choose to ignore it or you can respond to it.
Read Responding to Buoy alerts for more information about what to do when you receive an alert from a friend.
If you choose to respond to an alert, you will be able to communicate with the person in need as well as with other Teammates who responded to their alert by using Buoy's incident response and coordination tools. These include a group chat room, a map of the incident area, media sharing and video livestream capabilities, and more. Providing a helpful response depends greatly on your ability to quickly assess the situation and communicate effectively with the person in crisis, fellow responders, or both.
Read Using Buoy during an incident for an overview of Buoy's field support toolkit and Coordinating an incident response for more information about how to respond effectively to alerts you receive.
Buoy Teams offer additional features beyond merely providing a list of friends and trusted community members for sending alerts to. As a Team owner, you can enable advanced optional features for your Team(s) that you and your teammates can make use of. These features include:
🚧 TK-TODO
Buoy can be installed as an app on your smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device.
💡 This step is optional. Some people may prefer to use Buoy as a website instead of an app. We also recommend that you do not install Buoy as an app on your device if you are in a situation where having Buoy on your phone could be dangerous for you, such as when you are not the only person who has access to your device. In these cases, it is safer to memorize your Buoy's web address and use your device's normal web browser to access Buoy in an on-demand fashion that leaves less evidence of its use.
If you have an Apple iPhone or other iOS (like an iPad), you can install Buoy as an app so it behaves more like other apps on your phone.
Click the image below to watch a video showing how to install Buoy on your iOS device:
🚧 TK-TODO: This video should have a voiceover or something.