Bogleheads® local chapters

As a complement to the national meetings, local Diehards or Bogleheads chapters have existed since January 2005. In addition to the Diehards Local Chapters subforum, Yahoo Groups serves as a venue for meeting plans, recaps, and a way to stay in touch between meetings.

These local chapters are as varied as the Bogleheads. Some chapters meet in small informal groups at random dates. Other chapters have a set meeting schedule and a more formal meeting agenda. But the common bond between these local chapters are the desire to discuss personal investing with like minded peers.

To organize a local chapter, all a Boglehead needs to do is post the call for a new chapter on the local forum, get at least five members in the area to join the group, and then ask to be added to the national chapter map. Details are in this forum thread: New Diehards Local Chapter Forum

Chapter locations on Google Maps
A Google map with the location and contact information of all existing local chapters can be found at: Diehards Local Chapters

Local chapters on Yahoo Groups
Below is a listing of local Bogleheads chapters on Yahoo! Groups.
 * Groups are powered by us.groups.yahoo.com

Caveat: Forum screen names are used to provide anonymity when posting personal financial information. Linking of a Yahoo profile to a forum screen name connects that information publicly. Consider that this information will not only be seen by your friends, but potentially by employers and be data mined for commercial gain as well. Additionally, Yahoo encourages linking of your profile with Facebook. To protect member privacy, do not link with a Facebook profile and hide your Yahoo profile from public view.

California
Those interesting in the Bay Area Diehards should first send the meeting coordinator a private message, or, contact the meeting coordinator as listed for Chapter 5 - Central California in Google Maps (above).

Setting up a Yahoo Group
(Under development) Here are the recommended Yahoo Group configurations:

"We are a group of (area) investors inspired by the investing advice of John Bogle, founder of the Vanguard Group. Our group is affiliated with the Bogleheads Investment forum."
 * Decide on a Yahoo Group name. Suggested: (area name)Bogleheads -or- (area name)Diehards
 * Create a Yahoo Group ID email for the group administrator. The email address should include the group name, nothing personal, as it will be publicly viewable and is the email address that all messages are sent from. Suggest: (area name)Bogleheads@domain.name.
 * Log into Yahoo under this ID. Select "Start a Group" at the top of any group page.
 * Select and place the group in Yahoo! Groups Category: Business Finance: Investments: Mutual Funds
 * Enter the group email address (created previously)
 * Enter a description. Suggested:
 * Enter profile, the group is created.

Group settings
Main help reference: Group Owner/Moderator Help Topics

The Management menu (left side of page) is only available to moderators or group owners.

Group communications are through messages posted to the site and distributed by email. As the Bogleheads forum provides anonymity through screen names, consideration should be given to allowing members to have relative privacy within the group.

Yahoo provides some privacy by allowing members to hide their profiles. However, email addresses can only be partially hidden (the address up to "@" is visible). Email addresses are always visible in messages. Additionally, some members may feel comfortable using their real names within chapters, but not in public.

To alleviate this concern, messages should be restricted to Members Only. Messages will then appear below the Members Only menu (left side of page).
 * How do I restrict access to the message archives?
 * Management --> Group Settings --> Messages --> Posting and Archives (edit) --> Archive Options --> Members

The Links and Calendar can be publicly accessible, the rest of the applications should be restricted to Members Only.
 * Managing Web Only Features
 * How do I restrict access to Links?
 * How do I restrict access to the calendar?
 * Management --> Group Settings --> Web Tools (edit)
 * Files: Limited (members can download files; moderators can upload/modify/download files)
 * Photos: Moderators only (upload/modify/download photos)
 * Links: Public (anyone, including non-members, can view links)
 * Database: Members (members can access Database feature)
 * Polls: Members (create/modify/vote in polls)
 * Members: Members (members view profiles; moderators can view profiles/change settings)
 * Calendar: Public (anyone, including non-members, can view events)
 * Promote: Members (get sign-up boxes)
 * Chat: Enabled

If everything is configured correctly, the menu on the page's left side should show: Home, Links, and Calendar at the top, everything else should be below the Members Only heading.

Other chapter sites

 * Minnesota Diehards, refer to this forum post. Blog (deprecated): MN vanguard bogleheads (diehards)