Group Membership

Status: Available How the group membership lifecycle, access statuses, invitations, and moderation work.

Overview

Group membership in TribeCrafter controls who can access and participate in each group. The membership system uses the same access model as courses -- members gain access through products or plans, and their membership status determines what they can do.

How Members Join Groups

Public Groups

Any registered member can join a public group by clicking "Join Group" on the group page. No purchase is required.

Paid Groups (Public or Private)

For groups that require a purchase:

1. The member must purchase a product or subscribe to a plan that includes the group.
2. If auto-enrollment is enabled for the group in the product or plan configuration, the membership is created automatically upon purchase.
3. If auto-enrollment is not enabled, the member sees a "Join Group" button and must join manually.

Free Groups Through Products

Even free groups can be set up through the product system with a $0 product. This provides consistent access control and tracking across all groups.

Membership Access Statuses

Each group membership has an access status:

Key Rules

• Only one membership record exists per member per group.
• A suspended member cannot regain access automatically -- even if they repurchase. An admin must manually lift the suspension.
• When an admin suspends a member, a reason must be provided and the suspending admin is recorded.
• Expired members are still counted in the group's member count.

Membership Lifecycle

Here is the complete lifecycle of a group membership:

Access Expiry

Access expiry for group memberships is checked automatically every 6 hours. When a member's permission expires:

• Their membership status changes from "active" to "expired."
• They can no longer create posts or comments in the group.
• They see a prompt to renew their access.
• Their membership is preserved -- if they renew, they regain full access.

Lifetime Access

Members who purchased a product with lifetime access, or who joined a free public group, keep their access indefinitely. The system skips expiry checks for lifetime memberships.

Admin Suspension

As an admin, you can suspend a member's group access through the admin panel. This is a strong action:

• The member immediately loses access to group content.
• A reason must be provided when suspending.
• The suspension is recorded with the admin's identity.
• The member receives a notification about the suspension.
• The suspension remains in effect even if the member purchases a new product or renews their subscription.
• Only an admin can manually restore access by changing the status back to "active."

Key Settings

Tips

• Enable auto-enrollment for your most popular groups so new purchasers get immediate access.
• Use suspension only for serious violations -- it is designed to be a strong administrative override.
• Remember that expired members are still counted in the group's member count. This is by design, as they are still community members who may renew.
• Public groups are a great way to build community engagement without requiring purchases. Consider having at least one public group where all members can interact.
• Monitor membership statuses through the admin panel to identify members who may need attention (expired, suspended).

Related

• Creating and Managing Groups
• Member Access and Permissions
• Setting Up Products
• Setting Up Plans