# Connecting To Channels #

Connections in $Projectname can take on a great many different meanings. But let's keep it simple, you want to be friends with somebody like you are familiar with from social networking. How do you do it?

First, you need to find some channels to connect to.  There are two primary ways of doing this.  Firstly, setting the "Can send me their channel stream and posts" permission to "Anybody in this network" will bring posts from complete strangers to your matrix.  This will give you a lot of public content and should hopefully help you find interesting, entertaing people, forums, and channels.

The next thing you can do is look at the Directory.  The directory is available on every $Projectname website which means searching from your own site will bring in results from the entire network.  You can search by name, interest, location and keyword.  This is incomplete, so we'll improve this paragraph later.

To connect with other $Projectname channels:

Visit their profile by clicking their photograph in the directory, matrix, or comments, and it will open their channel home page in the channel viewer.  At the left hand side of the screen, you will usually see a link called "connect".  Click it, and you're done.  Depending on the settings of the channel you are connecting to, you may need to wait for them to approve your connection, but no further action is needed on your part. Once you've initiated the connection, you will be taken to the connection editor. This allows you to assign specific permissions for this channel. If you don't allow any permissions, communication will be very limited. There are some quick links which you can use to avoid setting individual permissions. To provide a social network environment, "Full Sharing" is recommended. You may review the settings that are applied with the quick links to ensure they are suitable for the channel you are connecting with and adjust if necessary. Then scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Submit". 

You may also connect with any channel by visiting the "Connections" page of your site or the Directory and typing their "webbie" into the "Add New Connection" field. Use this method if somebody tells you their webbie and you wish to connect with them. A webbie looks like an email address; for example "bob@example.com". The process is the same as connecting via the "Connect" button - you will then be taken to the connection editor to set permissions. 

## Block/Ignore/Archive/Hide channels ##

Channels in your address book can have statuses such as *blocked*, *ignored*, *archived* and *hidden*. From your connections page you can see tabs that display the channels with those statuses. From your edit connection pages you can change the statuses of a channel.

Here's their meaning:

**Blocked:** the channel can't read your items regardless of permissions, nor can it write to your channel.

**Ignored:** the channel can read your items if it has permission, but can't write to your channel.

**Hidden:** the channel does not show up in your profile's connections list, noone can see you're connected, but beware they may still show up to your other connections, for example in post replies.

**Archived:** if a channel can't be reached for 30 days, it is automatically marked as archived. This keeps all the data but stops polling the channel for new information and removes it from autocomplete. If later you learn the channel has come back online, you may manually unarchive it.


## Premium Channels ##

Some channels are designated "Premium Channels" and **may** require some action on your part before a connection can be established. The Connect button will for these channels will take you to a page which lists in detail what terms the channel owner has set. If the terms are accepted, the connection will then proceed normally. In some cases, such as with celebrities and world-reknowned publishers, this **may** involve payment. If you do not agree to the terms, the connection will not proceed, or it may proceed but with reduced permissions allowed on your interactions with that channel. 

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