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Circles

Circles

Circles are invite-only groups for authors — accountability and community that live alongside your site rather than on it. Inside a circle you discuss on a message board with threaded replies, answer scheduled pulse check-ins, cheer each other on with boosts, and @mention members. A live notification bell keeps you posted, with calm email digests when you’re away.

Find them in the app under Circles.

Circles are invite-only by design — there’s no public switch. The only way in is an invitation, and any member can extend one. Circles are also cross-account: you can be in several regardless of which press you publish under.

Key ideas

  • Message board & threads. Post a message with a title and body; anyone can reply in a comment thread.
  • Pulse check-ins. A recurring question the owner schedules; members answer on each occurrence, and answers collect as editable cards.
  • Boosts. Small emoji appreciations on any message, comment, or answer.
  • @mentions. Tag a member by name; they get a notification.
  • Notifications. A bell for invitations, mentions, boosts, replies, and pulse asks — with batched email digests you can pre-empt by reading in the app.

Create a circle

  1. Go to Circles and click New circle.
  2. Give it a name and an optional description.
  3. Click Create circle. You’re the owner — now invite people.
Your circles, with any pending invitations shown as golden cards on top.
Your circles, with any pending invitations shown as golden cards on top.

Invite and join

  • Invite someone: In a circle, open Membership (from the ⋯ menu), enter an email, and click Invite. They’ll appear under Invited until they respond, and you can Revoke a pending invite.
  • Accept an invitation: Invitations appear as golden cards at the top of your Circles page. Click Accept to join or Decline to skip.
The Membership page: the roster (owner first), an invite form, and pending invitations.
The Membership page: the roster (owner first), an invite form, and pending invitations.

Post and reply

  1. On the circle’s home, click New message in the discussions section.
  2. Add a title and body. Type @ to mention a member.
  3. Click Share to post.

Open any message to read and add replies in its thread. Your own messages and comments can be edited in place from the ⋯ menu.

A message thread: the original post, replies, boosts, and a reply box.
A message thread: the original post, replies, boosts, and a reply box.

Pulse check-ins

A pulse is a recurring question — a gentle nudge to share progress.

  • Owners set one up from the circle home (Set up a Pulse check): the question, a cadence (daily, weekly, or every other week), the days, and the time.
  • Members answer on the current occurrence — type into Share my answer on the pulse page (or follow the emailed link). Your answer becomes an editable card; you can join or leave a pulse independently of the circle.
A pulse check-in: the question, its schedule, and members' answers as cards.
A pulse check-in: the question, its schedule, and members’ answers as cards.

Boosts and mentions

Add a boost (an emoji like 🔥 or 🎉) to any message, comment, or pulse answer to show appreciation — the author gets a quiet bell notification. @mention a member while writing to tag them; mentioned members are notified too.

Notifications

The bell in the top-right shows invitations, mentions, boosts, replies, and pulse asks. Opening it marks everything read. Email digests batch these up when you’re away — and reading in the app first cancels the matching email. Notifications retire after 30 days.

The notification bell and its flyout of recent activity.
The notification bell and its flyout of recent activity.
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