Lemmy Support @lemmy.ml Michael Reeder LCPC @lem.clinicians-exchange.org 1y ago

Lemmy Support for Private Communities?

HI -- I'm wondering:

If support for private communities with a restricted member list within a Lemmy instance that is otherwise public is on the drawing boards for future implementation? Timeframe? Or just a someday since we are mostly volunteers?
If not, where would be the best place for me to submit this feature request?

Trying to weigh several factors as to whether or not to keep my Lemmy instance operational. My use case is I'm trying to attract an audience of users (mental health professionals) who seem to be just not interested in discussions on Lemmy if they are open to the public. If they want an anonymous account to discuss other topics (I allow these too), they can just open one anywhere. (Yes, I've done more marketing than most, but that's another topic.)

Thanks, Michael

11 comments

I don't need a private community, although that option would be good.

What I really want is the ability to hide a community's posts from the All and Local pages. (only visible if you go direct or you're subscribed)

And if you search for the community you're able to find it.
- This actually already exists, it's just not in the UI yet. Hiding communities can be done via the API. I was planning on putting in a PR to expose the functionality on the front-end at some stage.
  
  That'd be awesome. I would greatly appreciate that
  
  Geronimo -- This would be lovely! Bonus points if its not just hidden, but can't be accessed by non-subscribers to that particular community. But... I'll take what I can!
Hi Michael,

This enhancement proposal seems to (partially) cover your use cases :
https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy/issues/187
Federation and private communities aren't really compatible. If any instance needs to pull your posts for federation, any user can too.
- Shadow -- I suppose that means private communities won't be possible.
  
  Pretty much. If you want a community with limited posting access I can see that happening, but limited read access seems opposite to the ideals behind lemmy.
  
  I'm curious though - if you're looking for private communities, then what's the point of a federated platform like lemmy? What are you looking to gain from federation?

11 comments