ℹ️ Some of these settings control Engage-only features, such as member posting and Spaces. You need the Engage version of CustomerHub to use those.
⚙️ What Are Community General Settings?
Community General Settings is where you configure user interactions, directory visibility, direct messaging, and notification defaults for your community.
Navigate to Community → Settings in the admin sidebar. The Community Settings page has two tabs:
USERS — Direct messages, user directory, following, and online status
NOTIFICATIONS — Admin email alerts and default notification preferences for new users
💡 Feed settings, moderation settings, and engagement settings live on their own section pages — Community → Feed → SETTINGS, Community → Moderation → SETTINGS, Community → Achievements → SETTINGS, and Community → Leaderboard → SETTINGS.
👥 Users Settings
The USERS tab controls how users discover and interact with each other. It's organized into three areas: Direct Messages, User Directory, and social features.
Direct Messages
Toggle the Direct messages switch to enable or disable private messaging between users. When enabled, you can configure:
Who can each user message? — Let users message anyone, or restrict messaging to people who share a relationship
Users can message anyone — When enabled, any user can start a DM with any other user
Let users add people to a chat — When enabled, users can invite others into an existing conversation
What can someone new see? — Choose whether added users see The whole conversation (can scroll back through everything) or Only messages from when they joined (earlier messages stay private)
User Directory
Toggle the User directory switch to turn the directory on or off. When enabled, configure who can see what:
Who can each user see? — Show everyone, or restrict visibility to people who share a relationship
Show the entire directory — When enabled, every user can see every other user
Show contact details — When enabled, the directory shows each user's email, phone, and social links
Social Features
Allow following other users — When enabled, users can follow other users to get updates about their activity
Show online status in directory and DMs — When enabled, a green dot appears next to users who are currently active
⚠️ Turning off Show contact details is recommended if your users haven't opted in to sharing personal information. This protects their privacy while still allowing community interaction.
🔔 Notifications Settings
The NOTIFICATIONS tab controls both admin email alerts and the default notification preferences for new users.
Admin Email Alerts
These control the emails sent to you (the admin) when users interact with your content:
A user leaves a comment — Receive an email when any user comments on one of your posts
A user replies to my comment — Receive an email when a user replies to one of your comments
User Notification Defaults
The Notify on @mention toggle and the settings below it control the starting on/off state for each notification type that a new user sees in their notification preferences. These are defaults — users can change them individually.
@mention — Notify a user when they are @mentioned in a post or comment
Comment on my post — Notify a user when someone comments on their post
Reply to my comment — Notify a user when someone replies to their comment
💡 Keep @mention, Comment on my post, and Reply to my comment enabled as defaults. These are high-signal notifications that keep users engaged without being overwhelming.
🔀 Where Do the Other Settings Live?
Settings are distributed across their respective section pages for easier access:
Setting | New Location |
Feed settings (sort, attachments, edit/delete permissions) | Community → Feed → SETTINGS tab |
Moderation settings (approvals, rate limits, blocklist) | Community → Moderation → SETTINGS tab |
Achievement settings (badges, panel) | Community → Achievements → SETTINGS tab |
Leaderboard settings (scores, streaks, badges) | Community → Leaderboard → SETTINGS tab |