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Spaces

A space is a private environment where a group collaborates. Content created in a space is visible to that space's members and no one else.

Inside, a space is laid out a bit like a desktop. Chat, posts, calendar, shop, and files are the five apps every space has from the start, and an admin can turn any of them off in Studio without deleting what's in it — see The desktop. Around those, admins arrange groups, folders, and shortcuts into a shared layout that every member sees the same way, so no two spaces look quite the same.

Visibility​

Spaces are private by default. If you aren't a member, you can't see the space's contents, its members, or its activity — a private space you don't belong to simply reads as not found.

A space can optionally turn on a public site, and choose what visitors see at its address: a join page — name, description, how to join — or a front page of the posts it has made public. Either way non-members get a rough sense of scale: about how many members it has and how much goes on inside. Those are always approximations, like "a few hundred members" or "dozens of events," never exact counts. Anything the space hasn't made public stays inside — the rest of the posts, the member list, the activity. See Who can see what for the full picture.

Membership and roles​

Spaces have three roles:

  • Members can view and create content.
  • Admins can additionally manage settings, membership, content moderation, and how people join.
  • Owners can additionally change member roles and delete the space.

See Roles & permissions for what each role can do in detail, and how custom roles and badges work.

What admins can see​

Admins manage the space, including its membership and settings. They can see the space's content and member activity, review requests to join, and remove or ban members. Removing a member takes effect immediately, and the space is no longer visible to that person.

Two boundaries hold even for admins: they can't read your direct messages, and they can't see into your wallet or purchases.

Groups​

Spaces can organize into groups — areas within the space with their own members, chat rooms, and access rules, including paid and private ones.

Joining​

How people get into a space is set by admins, and there are several modes — invite-only, application, open, and more. See Joining & access.

Domains​

A space has an address on DFOS — yourspace.dfos.com — set under Public site. It can separately prove that it controls a domain it already owns elsewhere on the web, from Space Studio → Verified domain; that one hosts nothing and moves nothing. Two different things; see Verified domains.