# Channels and feed topics

> Split your community into channels with their own feed, members, About page and topics — and decide who can join each one and who can post.

Source: https://support.estage.com/community-channels
Part of the ESTAGE Support help center (https://support.estage.com). Full knowledge base: https://support.estage.com/llms-full.txt

---

A **channel** is a space inside your community with its own feed, member list and About page —
one for each program, cohort or topic. Every community has a **Main** channel that everyone is in;
you can add up to 20 more.

Channels are managed in **Settings → Community Settings → Channels**. The list shows each channel's
members and how many requests are pending. Drag channels to reorder them.

## Before you start

- You need the **Channels & categories** permission (the community owner has it) — see
  [Community roles & permissions](https://support.estage.com/community-roles).
- To gate a channel by tags or level, the tags or [levels](https://support.estage.com/community-gamification) must exist
  first — you set them in a rule, not on the channel.

## Creating a channel

1. Click **New Channel**.
2. On the **General** tab, fill in:
   - **Channel Name**, and optionally a **Channel Badge** and **Channel Description**.
   - **Channel External Links**, shown with the channel.
   - Visibility switches: **Active Channel** (off hides the channel without deleting it), **Hide
     Feed Composer** (members can read but not start posts) and **Hide Stories**.
3. On the **Membership** tab, decide how people get in (below).
4. On the **About page** tab, write **About Channel** — with separate **Member View** and
   **Non-Member View** versions.
5. Click **Create**.

## Who can join a channel

On the **Membership** tab:

- **Auto-approve member requests** — anyone who asks is let in.
- With auto-approve off:
  - **Auto-approve members if they have these tags** — CRM tags that skip the queue.
  - **Enable questions** — ask up to 3 questions before a request is sent.
- **Enable Legal Agreement** — people must accept an agreement before the channel opens. Give it an
  **Agreement Title** and upload the **Agreement PDF File**.

Requests that need approval show up in **Settings → People → Join Requests** — see
[Members & join requests](https://support.estage.com/community-members#channel-join-requests).

**Who may see a channel at all** is set with a rule: in **Settings → Community Settings → Rules**,
choose **Access to … | channel** as the action and the level or tags required. See
[Badges, rules & paid access](https://support.estage.com/community-access-rules).

> **Note**
>
> A tag-based access rule also switches the channel to approval, letting in members who hold those
> tags automatically — unless you've already picked auto-approve tags for that channel, which are
> left as they are.

## Feed topics

Inside a channel, topics sort the feed. Open the channel and go to **Feed Topics**:

1. Click **New Topic** and enter a **Topic Name**.
2. Set **Permissions**:
   - **Anyone can post, anyone can view**
   - **Only admins/mods can post, anyone can view** — good for announcements.

## Who can post where

Three settings decide it together:

- the topic's **Permissions**,
- the channel's **Hide Feed Composer**,
- an **Able to post in group** rule, which limits posting by level or tags.

## Editing the Main channel

The **Main** channel is always there and open to everyone. You can change its **Channel Name**,
**Channel Badge**, **Hide Feed Composer** and **Hide Stories**, and manage its **Feed Topics** —
nothing else.

## Deleting a channel

Open the channel and click **Delete channel**, then confirm. If you're currently in that channel,
switch to another one first.

> **Caution**
>
> Deleting removes the channel and its feed from your community, along with its topics, its member
> list, accepted agreements and its access rule. It cannot be undone.

## Things worth knowing

- **20 channels at most**, not counting Main.
- Each channel has its own sidebar widgets and menu — set them with **Manage Widgets** on its feed
  and in **Navigation**. See [Look, navigation & about page](https://support.estage.com/community-appearance).
- Courses, resources and videos can be shown in specific channels with their **Available in
  channels** field.