PodsBeta

#What is a pod?

• Small. A pod has room for up to 10 hatchers, including whoever created it (the planned beta limit).
• Focused. Every pod has one goal and a category such as Design, Building, Studying, Creating, Reading or Wellbeing.
• Time-bound. Every pod has an end date. When it ends, the pod becomes a read-only archive you can look back on.

#Finding a pod

1. Open Pods in the sidebar (or the tab bar on your phone).
2. Stay on Discover pods and search by name or goal, or pick a category chip such as Studying.
3. Each card shows how many seats are taken (for example "6/10 hatchers") and how many days are left.
4. Open a card to read the pod's goal, how people join and its dates.

Private pods and pods that have already ended do not appear in discovery.

#Joining a pod

The button on a pod's page tells you how that pod works:

How many pods can I be in?

In the free beta you’ll be able to have up to 3 active pods at once (planned; limits may change), whether you created them or joined them. Pending requests, waitlists and archived pods do not count. You can see your count under My pods, which also has tabs for Active, Requests & waitlists and Archived.

#Creating a pod

Choose Create a pod on the Pods page. There are four short steps, and your draft is kept if you step away:

1. Goal. Pick the category that fits best.
2. Details. Give it a Pod name (up to 80 characters) and describe what the pod is about.
3. Rules. Set an end date, choose who can discover the pod (Public, or Private with invitation required) and how hatchers join (Open or Approval).
4. Review. Check everything, then select Create my pod.

#Roles: admins and members

Pods have two roles. The person who creates a pod starts as its admin.

Roles only apply inside that pod. Being an admin of one pod gives you no extra rights in another pod or in a session.

#Daily check-ins

A check-in is a short note about the small step you took today. It is the heartbeat of a pod: quick to write, and encouraging to read.

1. In your pod, select Share a check-in. It sits under the message box, beside Ask the pod.
2. Write your small step in Your small step today, for example "Finished the wireframes for case study 2".
3. Select Save check-in.

You can share one check-in per pod per day. Changed your mind? Choose Edit today's check-in. From Home, the Check in with a Pod button lets you pick which pod to check in with when you are in more than one.

#Inside your pod

Each pod opens into a shared room with one conversation. You can:

• Reply to any message. The latest replies appear right under it, and Open thread shows the full thread.
• Ask the pod a question. When it is answered, mark it resolved and save a short takeaway for everyone.
• Run a poll with 2 to 10 answers. Allow multiple answers if you like, and keep it open from 5 minutes up to 7 days.
• Share images, files, saved links and session invitations.
• Sketch on a whiteboard Beta. This is an early preview; live collaboration is not available yet.
• Search this pod to find messages, replies and takeaways.

The Your pod panel lists the people in the pod, open questions and everything saved for the pod. The Pod options menu (⋯) lets you show check-ins only, start a focus session, open pod settings or switch pods. Your pods are also listed in the sidebar, with a preview of the latest activity in each.

#Removal votes

If a member is making the pod a worse place, the pod can decide together. There are no automatic kicks or strikes. Instead:

1. A member opens the person's menu in Members, chooses Propose removal, gives a reason and starts the vote.
2. Everyone in the pod except the person concerned can vote. The group of voters is fixed when the vote starts.
3. The vote stays open for 24 hours. It needs yes votes from a strict majority of those voters.
4. A tie, or not enough votes in time, means the person stays. Voting is always optional.

For anything serious or unsafe, please also report it. Removal votes are not a substitute for reporting.

#Leaving, archiving and when a pod ends

• Leave pod is in Pod settings. If you are the only admin, transfer the role to another member first.
• Archive pod (admins) ends the pod early. Everyone's view becomes read-only, and this cannot be undone.
• When the end date arrives, the pod is archived automatically. Its check-in history, conversation and saved links stay readable under My pods → Archived.

#Customizing your pod's look

Admins can choose Customize appearance in pod settings to give the pod an illustration, a background colour (Lavender, Mint, Peach or Butter) and a title style (Classic, Rounded or Label). You can preview, cancel or reset your choice before saving.