Moderator Overview

When you host a live session in Rippily, you have a suite of moderation tools at your fingertips. Whether you're running a workshop, a webinar, or a casual hangout, these tools help you keep things running smoothly.

Who Can Moderate?

Three capability levels have access to moderation tools, each with different powers:

Capability Level What they can do
Editor Everything a moderator can do, plus edit the Ripple design (scenes, elements, layout), create and delete Ripples, and manage roles
Moderator Full session control — mute, kick, admit visitors, toggle chat and attachments, control timers, switch scenes, apply snapshots, lock the room, shuffle, manage breakouts, and create polls
Facilitator Inherited from the above — anyone with editor or moderator access is considered a facilitator

For a full breakdown of capability levels, see Understanding Roles.

Your Moderation Toolkit

As a facilitator, you have three main tools for managing your session:

The Creator Toolbar

The creator toolbar appears in the top-right corner when you join a Ripple you can moderate. It gives you quick access to:

  • Edit — open the Ripple editor (editors only)
  • Scenes — switch between scenes during a live session
  • Arrangement — apply snapshots or shuffle seated participants (combines both in one dropdown)
  • Timer — start and control countdown, pomodoro, and sequence timers
  • Lock — lock or unlock the room. A badge shows how many visitors are waiting to be admitted.
  • Community Guidelines — view the Wave's community policies
  • Share — share the Ripple link or QR code
  • Dashboard — return to your dashboard

All items except Edit are available to both editors and moderators.

The Command Palette

For keyboard-driven control, press the : key to activate the command palette. This is the fastest way to manage your session — type a short command and press Enter. Commands are grouped by category:

  • :s — Scenes
  • :ss — Snapshots
  • :p — People
  • :r — Ripple control
  • :v — Variables
  • :t — Timers
  • :g — UI panels

See Command Palette for the full reference.

The Chat Sidebar

The chat sidebar includes moderator controls at the top for toggling chat and attachments:

  • Hide sidebar — disable chat for non-facilitators (facilitators still see the sidebar)
  • Disable file uploads — prevent participants from uploading files and images in chat

On mobile, these controls appear in the moderator sheet. See Chat Moderation for details.

The People List

Open the People list (:gp or click the people icon) to see everyone in the session. From here you can:

  • See who is in each zone or seat
  • Right-click (or long-press on mobile) a participant for quick actions
  • Mute, kick, or grant permissions to individual participants
  • See raised hands and respond to them

Getting Started

If you're new to hosting, here's a suggested reading order:

  1. Command Palette — learn the keyboard shortcuts that make hosting efficient
  2. Managing Participants — muting, kicking, and participant control
  3. Chat Moderation — toggle chat and attachments for your session
  4. Locking Rooms — control who can join your session
  5. Speakers-Only Mode — restrict who can speak for webinar-style events
  6. Session Grants — temporarily elevate participant permissions

Everything else — scenes, snapshots, breakouts, variables, timers, and polls — builds on these foundations.