Creating Rafts

Anyone can create a Raft on Raftr. By default, all new Rafts are Basic Rafts. Basic Rafts have a maximum number of members, whereas with a Premium Raft, you gain more access to advanced content types and can create Channels for designated subgroup conversations. (NOTE: For details of how you and your community members can upgrade a Raft, reach out to your Success Manager.)

Creating Rafts on the Web Platform

To create a Raft, start by selecting the +Create button on the Raftr website in the top right corner of the header, then choose the Raft button. 

From there, give your Raft a name (25 character limit), add a tagline (50 character limit), select or upload a Raft icon and cover, and select at least one relevant topic. Though not required, you can also add a location for your Raft to make it searchable and discoverable.

Next, choose between the three privacy settings, including:

• Public 一 Anyone in your community is welcome to join
• Private 一 Invite-only or request to join membership
• Secret 一 Invite-only and not visible in search

After that, fill in the Member Settings, which include a description of your Raft, a welcome message to greet prospective new members, and rules (if applicable). Once you’re ready to go live, click the Create Raft button.

Creating Rafts on the Mobile App

You’ll fill out all the same information as you would on the Raftr website, but to get started, you’ll begin by locating the create button above the lower menu on the Home Page. Select the "add new" (+) button and choose Raft to start. Fill out the fields and hit Share when you are ready to publish.  

Raft Leaders

As creator of the Raft, you are designated as the Raft Leader, and this comes with various rights and responsibilities. For one, you get to select Co-leader(s) and Curators. Together, a Raft’s Leader, Co-leader(s), and Curator(s) are its "Raft Admin." The info below delineates the responsibilities and rights you and your selected administrators have. Learn more about Raft Admin Settings here. 

Appearance and rules management (look and feel of your Raft):

• Change name: Leader
• Change icon: Leader and Co-leader
• Add/change cover image: Leader and Co-leader
• Change tagline: Leader and Co-leader
• Add/change description: Leader and Co-leader
• Add/change rules: Leader and Co-leader
• Add/change welcome message: Leader and Co-leader

Member Management

A Raft always has only one member with the rank of Leader. The person who created the Raft has this rank immediately upon creating it. In addition to the Leader of the Raft, each Raft can have one Co-Leader. Premium Rafts may have unlimited Co-Leaders and Curators. 

In the Raft settings (accessed from the gear icon), you will find the Member Management option – here you can promote or demote members into and out of these ranks. You can also remove any members from your Raft in Member Management, which is helpful for keeping communities up-to-date. 

Admin Rights Hierarchy

Learn more about managing Raft membership here.

Content Management

Once your Raft has been created, there are several ways to manage content on your Raft: 

• Pin Posts or Events 一 Available to all Raft Admin (including Co-leaders and Curators). This can be very useful to promote an Event or highlight something funny, interesting, or informative so your members don’t miss it. Pinned Posts appear at the top of the Raft page.
• Change privacy settings 一 Available to Raft Leaders and Co-leaders. Allows them to determine both whether the members must request to join or be invited to a Raft and also how visible its content is to non-members.
• Enable and disable content types 一 Raft Leaders and Co-leaders can choose to disable creation of Posts and/or Events, or they can make it so only Raft Admins can create content. They can also hide the Raft Chat tab for all members to disable messaging. Not available on Basic Rafts.
• Enable and disable Event Check-in 一 Allow members to turn on Event Check-in for their Events. Raft Leaders and Co-leaders can enable the feature for all Events, but once it is enabled, any Event creator can turn it on for their Events. Not available on Basic Rafts.