Skip to main content

Joining & access

How you get into a space is up to the space. An admin picks one of a few modes:

  • Invite only — you need an invite link, or an admin adds you.
  • Application — you ask to join and an admin approves. Some spaces ask a question or two first.
  • Open — anyone can join right away from the space's public page.
  • Allowlist — you can join instantly if the email you sign in with is on the space's list; otherwise you'll be told it isn't.

Open and allowlist modes require the space to have a public profile. Paid membership works a little differently — it lives at the group level, through products that unlock a group, rather than as a door on the space itself.

Admins can change the mode whenever they want.

Subscribing without joining​

A space with a public profile usually offers a subscribe form there too — it's on by default. That gets you the space's email broadcasts — not membership, and not any access inside the space. See Subscribers & broadcasts.

Members can share a personal invite link — copy it, share it, or show it as a QR code. A link can be capped to a number of uses and set to expire, and you can deactivate or regenerate yours at any time; the old link stops working immediately.

A capped link spends one of its uses when someone actually gets in — right away on a link that joins the space directly, and at approval on a link into a space that reviews applications. Once a link is used up it can't be used to apply, either.

Two things admins control:

  • Who can invite. A space can allow all members to share invite links, or reserve them for admins.
  • Skipping the application. In an application space, admins can create an instant-join invite that lets its holders in without applying.

Applications​

Applying to a space means sending a short message and answering whatever questions the space asks (up to five). While it's pending you'll see a "membership pending" state, and you can cancel it if you change your mind. You can only have one application open per space at a time, and if you get in some other way while it's pending, the application is canceled for you.

When an admin decides, you'll hear by email. If you're approved, you're in as a member. If you're declined, the email includes the reason if the admin gave one — and you can apply again later.

Leaving and getting removed​

You can leave a space anytime, and admins can remove or ban members. See Leaving for what happens then.