Network Sites with hybrid access - part 2

In the previous part I wrote about our comprehensive network #HybridAccess controls, and the release of Private Channels v2.

#PrivateChannels are meant to enable private group discussions, information sharing with a small(ish) group of trusted individuals, etc which require a high degree of information confidentiality to be maintained.

There is no leakage of information from a private channel - when trying to access a private channel or a post from a private channel, nothing is shown to the user except a way to request access.

So these are great for their purpose, but are also quite restrictive (and an overkill!) for more casual and simpler purposes eg paid memberships, paywalls, subscriber only areas where premium content may be shared.

With private channels, the casual viewer has no idea what the channel contains, or what kind of posts are being posted, etc. Ie there is no way to sample content, or take a sneak peak to decide whether the goodies are worth it.

So what we need is a way to strike a balance between the public channel and the private channel.

Enter the Protected Channels feature

#ProtectedChannels are a great way to have one's cake and eat it too 🍰. They allow the posts to be viewed only upon being allowed permission to the channel - so this works similarly to posts from Private Channels.

But pretty much everything else is different from Private Channels. They allow open discovery, search on the network and via search engines, SEO, sampling of the content while protecting the actual content.

1. Protected Channels are publicly listed on the Network and are searchable & shareable.
2. Protected Channels can be opened by anyone, and the channel details and feed cards can be viewed.
3. Content from Protected Channels can even be found in search, and shared and will show link previews. Yaah.

Edit 10/08/23 - Further contents of this post are now deprecated and left for posterity. These help resources contain the up-to-date information at any time:

MainCross Social+

Hybrid access | MainCross Social+

A comprehensive set of channel access mechanisms are available to all MainCross networks, allowing an unprecedented level of control over the network...

MainCross Social+

Access control | MainCross Social+

Three access mechanisms for channel access control are supported - Paywall, Magic Link and Manual approval.

Access control mechanism

When encountering a resource from a Protected Channel, one can request for access with a personalized note if one likes:

This request is sent to the Network Heroes for accepting (or rejecting).