Join Policies

wavesjoinpolicyapprovaldiscoverybubbles

How Joining Works

Your wave's join policy is derived from the configuration of your bubbles:

  • Open — if any bubble is open, or if any ripple is not assigned to a bubble, the wave is open. Visitors see a "Join Community" button and join instantly.
  • Protected — if every bubble is protected and every ripple is assigned to a bubble, the wave is protected. Visitors see "Request to Join" and you approve or reject each request.

There is no separate setting for the join policy. It follows directly from how you configure your bubbles.

Reviewing Join Requests

When someone requests to join a protected wave, you'll see their request in Wave Settings → Members. A red badge on the Members tab shows how many requests are waiting. For each request, you can:

  • Approve — they become a member immediately
  • Reject — their request is declined

Both account holders and administrators can review join requests.

What Visitors See

Your bubble configuration shapes the wave page that visitors land on:

  • Unassigned ripples (not in any bubble) are visible and open to everyone
  • Open bubble ripples are visible and accessible to everyone
  • Protected bubble ripples show as locked cards with a lock icon — unless the bubble has visibility turned off, in which case they are completely hidden

If a visitor lands on your wave and sees no ripples at all, it means every ripple is inside a protected hidden bubble. They can still request to join, but they won't know what's inside.

What Visitors Can Do

Before joining, visitors can:

  • Browse your wave's storefront and see open and visible ripples
  • Enter and participate in open ripples (without becoming a member)
  • See locked ripple cards for visible protected bubbles

Entering an open ripple does not make someone a member. Joining is always a conscious choice.

Discovery Listing

If you want your wave to appear in Rippily's Discovery feed, toggle Listed in Wave Settings → Visibility. Listed waves are searchable and can be found by anyone browsing the platform.

You can have a listed wave with all bubbles protected -- people can find you, but you still control who gets in.

Unlisted waves are only accessible via direct link or invitation. Discovery listing requires a paid plan (Starter or above).

Related

  • Bubbles — organize ripples into access groups
  • Guest Access — give temporary access without requiring membership
  • Invitations — invite specific people by email