Chat Spaces
Give a course cohort a place to talk
Set up a chat space for the students of a course, even though courses don't have built-in chat yet.
Courses don't have a chat built in yet. Courses and chat spaces are separate, so you create a chat space and point your students to it. The steps below are the recommended workaround.
When to use this
- You run a cohort-based or live course and students want to support each other.
- You want a place for questions between lessons.
- You want the group to keep going after the course ends.
Choose your approach
| Your course is… | Use |
|---|---|
| Free, or you don't mind the link travelling | An Unlisted, Free chat space. Share the link inside the course. |
| Paid, and the chat must stay students-only | An Unlisted, Free chat space, with you checking the member list against your enrolments |
| Run as live sessions with registrations | An event with its own chat. Registrants are added and removed automatically. |
Steps
Create the chat space
Go to Offerings → Chat Spaces and click Create Chat Space. Name it after the cohort, for example "Breathwork Foundations: Spring Cohort".
Make it Unlisted and Free
Under Visibility, choose Unlisted ("Hidden from directory, accessible only via direct link"). Under Pricing, keep Free. Students already paid for the course.
Create it and copy the link
Click Create Chat Space. In the room, click Share → Copy Link.
Put the link inside the course
Paste the link in the course description and in the first lesson, with a line like "Join your cohort's chat here." Students who aren't enrolled won't see the lessons, so they won't see the link.
Welcome the cohort
Post a welcome and Pin it. A good first prompt: "Introduce yourself and share one thing you hope to change by the end of the course."
Check who joined
Every so often, open Members (N) and compare it with the course's enrolments. Remove anyone who shouldn't be there. See Moderate a chat space.
Tips
- One chat space per cohort keeps conversations relevant. When a cohort finishes, archive its space so the history stays readable but quiet.
- Don't choose Paid for the chat. That would charge students twice.
An unlisted link can be forwarded. Anyone who has it can join. If that matters for a paid course, check the members list regularly.
What your members see
Students see your link in the course. Opening it shows the room with Join for Free. After joining, the space appears under Chat spaces in their Messages like any other chat space.