Chat & Direct Messages
Last updated: 2026-07-17
The two kinds of chat
SpiritDAO has two messaging surfaces, both reached from the Chat card on the home screen (or /chat):
- Pod chat rooms — group conversations tied to a pod. If a pod you belong to has chat enabled, its room appears in your chat list automatically.
- Direct messages — private one-on-one conversations with another member.
(Forums are separate: use the forum for discussions that should be findable and readable later — including the structured deliberation before governance proposals. Use chat for the quick, in-the-moment conversation.)
Pod chat
- Getting in: there's nothing to join. If your pod's leaders have enabled the chat module and you hold the pod's membership role, the room is in your list at
/chat. Access follows your role — leave the pod or lose the role and the room goes with it. - Enabling it (leaders): pod Manage → Modules → toggle Chat. There's no separate member-invite step; the pod's membership is the member list.
- Mentions: tag members with @ — they'll get a notification linking back to the message.
- Moderation: pod moderators can delete messages, pin important ones, and mute members. If you've been muted you can still read but your messages won't send — you'll be told you're muted.
Direct messages
- Starting one: open a member's profile and message them, or tap a message notification — DMs open in a window over the chat page.
- Privacy: DMs are between the two of you. They are not end-to-end encrypted (unlike the password vault), so treat them like messages on any community platform — private from other members, not cryptographically sealed.
- Blocking: you can block a member to stop DMs between you. If someone has blocked you, your messages to them won't go through.
Notifications
Mentions and direct messages appear in your notifications (the bell) and link straight to the conversation. If you've installed the app on your phone and enabled push notifications, you'll get them there too.
Quick etiquette notes
- Pod chat is the pod's shared space — moderators can remove what doesn't belong.
- Decisions worth remembering belong in the forum or a proposal, not scrolled away in chat. A good habit: when chat produces a real decision, post a summary to the forum.