Communities

What Are Communities?

Communities are part of the Connect pillar in Helm. They are public or semi-public spaces where kink-minded people can connect beyond their private hierarchies. While Discovery helps you find compatible partners one-on-one, and hierarchies are private relationship spaces, communities are social spaces for:

• Discussion and advice
• Finding like-minded people
• Learning and education
• Event announcements
• Support and friendship

Types of Communities

Interest-Based Communities

Communities focused on specific interests or practices:

• D/s discussion groups
• Training and protocol communities
• Specific kink interest groups
• Educational communities

Local Communities

Communities organized by location for in-person connections:

• City or region-based groups
• Munch organization
• Local event communities

Support Communities

Safe spaces for support and advice:

• Newcomer support
• Specific dynamic support (e.g., long-distance)
• General advice communities

Browsing & Joining Communities

The Communities homepage shows all available communities, with search and filter controls at the top of the page. Use the My Communities section to quickly access communities you've already joined.

1. Browse Communities
   Navigate to the Communities section from the main menu. Use the search bar and category filters to find communities that interest you.
2. Review Community Info
   Read the community description, rules, and member count before joining.
3. Request to Join
   Click "Join" for open communities or "Request to Join" for approval-required communities.
4. Wait for Approval (if required)
   Some communities require moderator approval before you can participate.

Community Channels

Each community is organized into channels — dedicated spaces for different topics or purposes. Channels replace the single-feed model with focused discussion areas.

How Channels Work

• Every community has a default #general channel
• Admins can create additional channels for specific topics (e.g., #advice, #events, #introductions)
• Channels keep conversations organized and easy to follow
• Each channel has its own post feed, notification settings, and member access

Share to Channel

Share content from elsewhere in Helm directly into a community channel. When viewing a task completion, journal entry, training milestone, or other shareable content, use the Share button to post it to a channel you belong to. This lets you celebrate wins, ask for advice, or share progress with your community.

Channel Feed

Each channel has a feed where members can create and interact with posts. The feed supports several features to make discussions rich and engaging.

Creating Posts

Click the post creation area at the top of the community feed. You can write text posts with full formatting support.

Markdown Formatting

Posts support Markdown for rich text formatting. Use the toolbar buttons above the text area, or type Markdown directly:

Format	Markdown	Result
Bold	**bold text**	bold text
Italic	*italic text*	italic text
Link	[text](url)	text
Bulleted list	- item	A bulleted list item

The toolbar provides one-click buttons for B (Bold), I (Italic), Link, and List. Select text first to wrap it with formatting, or click a button to insert a placeholder you can type over.

Content Warnings

When creating a post, you can mark it as containing sensitive content. This adds a content warning overlay so other members can choose whether to view it.

• Toggle the content warning option when creating a post
• Sensitive posts display a blurred overlay with a "Show Content" button
• Readers can click to reveal the content on a per-post basis
• You can set a global preference to always show sensitive content in your settings (this saves to your browser)

Liking Posts

Click the heart icon on any post to like it. The like count is displayed next to the icon. You can unlike a post by clicking the heart again.

Comments & Threading

Communities support deep comment threading, allowing conversations to branch naturally.

Replying to Posts

Click the comment icon or "Reply" button on any post to add a comment. Your comment appears in the post's comment thread.

Nested Replies

You can reply to any comment, not just the original post. This creates nested threads that visually indent to show the conversation structure. Threads can go three or more levels deep, so complex discussions stay organized.

Comment Likes

Comments can also be liked, just like posts. This helps surface helpful or popular replies within a discussion.

User Flair

User flair is a colored badge that appears next to your name within a specific community. It helps identify your role, interests, or expertise at a glance.

Setting Your Flair

1. Navigate to a Community
   Go to the community where you want to set your flair.
2. Open Your Flair Settings
   Look for the flair option in the community sidebar or your membership settings.
3. Choose Text and Color
   Enter up to 30 characters of flair text and pick a color. Your flair is unique to each community — you can have different flair in different communities.

Community Notifications

Stay informed about activity in your communities with the notification system.

Notification Bell

The notification bell icon appears in the community navigation. A badge shows the count of unread notifications. Click the bell to see your recent community notifications, including:

• Replies: When someone replies to your post or comment
• Likes: When someone likes your post or comment
• Mentions: When someone mentions you in a post or comment

Notification Preferences

You can control what notifications you receive per community through your membership settings:

Setting	What You'll Receive
All Messages	Every reply, like, and mention in the community
Mentions Only	Only notifications where you are directly mentioned
Announcements	Only moderator announcements and pinned posts

Marking as Read

Click on a notification to mark it as read and navigate to the relevant post. You can also use "Mark All Read" to clear all unread notifications at once.

Community Roles

Role	Permissions
Member	Read and post content, comment, like, set flair, DM other members
Moderator	Above + manage posts, approve members, enforce rules
Admin	Above + manage moderators, edit community settings, manage flair guidelines
Owner	Full control including delete community

Community Guidelines

All communities must follow platform-wide guidelines:

• Consent is paramount — no unsolicited advances
• Respect all members regardless of role or experience
• No outing or sharing private information
• Use content warnings for sensitive material
• Follow each community's specific rules
• Report violations to moderators

Privacy in Communities

What's Visible

• Your community display name and flair
• Your profile (to the extent you've made it public)
• Your posts, comments, and reactions within the community

What's Private

• Your hierarchies — never visible in communities
• Your Discovery profile and matches — completely separate
• Your private profile information
• Your activity in other communities (unless you share it)
• Your notification preferences

Profile Separation

Your community profile is separate from your hierarchy presence. You can choose:

• Different display names in different contexts
• Different flair in each community
• What information is visible to community members
• Who can send you direct messages

Moderation & Safety

Reporting Content

Report inappropriate content to community moderators:

1. Click the three-dot menu on the content
2. Select "Report"
3. Choose the reason
4. Add details if needed
5. Submit

Blocking Members

Block community members who make you uncomfortable:

• Their content becomes hidden to you
• They cannot send you DMs
• They won't see you in member directories