Space privacy

• Private: invite-only. You join because a member brought you in.
• Open: anyone can find it and ask to join, but the feed is members-only. Outsiders see just the basics and a join prompt, and an organizer approves each request. A new Space starts Open unless the type you pick suggests another setting.
• Public: the Space's feed is readable by anyone, so it can act as a public face for a club or scene.

Asked to join and changed your mind? While it's waiting, the Space shows Your request is pending review, with Withdraw request to take it back. The Space's organizers hear about a request from you at most once a day, so asking again doesn't ping them each time.

Someone without an account who opens a shared link to an Open or Public Space sees Sign up to join. Once they've made their account they land back on the Space, and the join goes through without another tap. A Private or full Space offers just Sign in.

An Open Space can ask up to three screening questions when someone requests to join (which neighborhood, how they heard about you). Each question is required or optional, your call, and a request can't be sent until the required ones are answered, whether it comes from the Space's page, the directory, or an invite link. The answers show up beside the request in Members, and a request that answered nothing says so.

Not sure yet? The message button on a request opens a direct message with that person, even though they aren't in your Orbit, so you can say hello or ask a question before deciding. Organizers (the owner, admins and moderators) can do this. You write first, and they can reply once you have. Once you already have a chat with someone, the request says "You have a chat with them". The chat stays open for writing only while the request is waiting: approve or decline it and the thread becomes read-only, like any chat with someone outside your Orbit. A block either way stops it.

Whatever the privacy, member-only tools (posting, member events, the roster) stay with members.

An Open or Public Space can also be found on the web. Edit the Space and turn on List this space on the web: search engines can find its page. Listed or not, people who aren't signed in see only its name, about, member count, public plans and announcements, and members' posts and names stay inside. It's off unless you turn it on, and a Private Space can't be listed.

Any Space can also switch on Followers: a public page people can follow to hear about its events and posts without joining, while the roster, the chat, and the member-only feed stay inside. It's how a club keeps a public face and a private room at the same time.