How do I make my community members-only?

A community administrator can make their community members-only by setting a default security level for future posts, or by restricting membership to their community.

Setting the Default Security Level for New Entries

To change the default security level for new entries to a specific community, go to the Privacy tab on the My Account Settings page. In the "Work As" box, select the name of the community you wish to make members-only, then hit the "Switch" button. You can then modify the "Default Entry Security" option to "members." Scroll down and hit "Save" to apply this option.

Previously posted entries will not be affected by this option. Community members will have to change the security level to members-only on posts they have made themselves, or a community administrator can delete the entry.

While community members cannot post public entries directly to a members-only community, they can edit the security level of their already-posted entry to be public. It is not possible to prevent this.

Restricting Membership

It's possible to control who can become a member of your community by setting your community's membership settings to "moderated" or "closed" on the Manage Communities page. If your community has open membership, anyone can join the community and thus gain access to members-only posts at any time.