Where to start
Before creating a chat, decide three things: topic, audience and format. A narrow topic grows slower but builds a more loyal, active core. A broad one attracts more pipo but demands stricter moderation.
Channel, group or both
- Channel — one-to-many broadcasting: news, articles, announcements. Comments are added via a separate group.
- Group — many-to-many conversation: discussions, support, networking.
- Channel + chat combo — ideal for most projects: content in di channel, live conversation in di linked chat.
Basic settings
Set a clear name, description and avatar from di start. Enable new-member verification and basic rules — even in a small chat dis shapes di culture. Assign a moderator bot and one or two human moderators in advance, before pipo arrive.
Getting ready to grow
A community wit no preparation drowns in spam at di first surge. Set up anti-spam, a welcome message and link filters ahead of time. Mod Assistant Bot covers these out of di box: entry verification, spam removal and welcoming newcomers.
What's next
Once di foundation is ready, move on to attracting your first members and building a content plan — covered in di next Academy guides.