We make heavy use of the Organic Groups module at Bluespark, and we do it in a way that is entirely incorrect, semantically speaking. The organic groups module was conceived of and written as a solution for organically created groups, such as forum topics. It can be used to allow certain users of a site to create, maintain, and even delete sections that may have been only vaguely conceived of when the site was built, if they were anticipated at all. Essentially, this is as far from a site architecting tool as one might imagine. However, the compartmentalization that was required to create independent user groups has given OG an alternate use as a powerful framework for complicated site builds.

In this session, I will cover some of things that you get out of the box.
- Simplifying the implementation of the permission structures that are necessary for complex organizations
- Compartmentalization of content for content editors in order to only present them with relevant content
- Flexibility and extensibility: allows for customizable site-lets that retain a consistent look and feel, but do not require a multisite architecture

It can be easy to fall into the trap of using one solution for everything. I could probably structure most of the sites that we build with Organic Groups, but it is not always the best choice. There are some major alternatives to using Organic Groups for site architecture:
- Group
- Node Access User Reference and Node Access Node Reference
- Domain Access
I will look briefly at each option, and describe a recent site build that I architected with Domain Access. I will go through the requirements, and explain why, despite the site seeming a perfect fit for Organic Groups, Domain Access was actually a better way to go.

I will conclude with a look at two sites that we have recently built using OG as the primary structural component, and go over the advantages it gave us, and what was a PITA.
- A large university libraries site, with 700+ departments, units, and libraries, and almost 300 content editors
- A retrofit of a site for a small community college, with a complex workflow for content editors