There are three types of accounts on Hedgehog: Viewers, Members, and Contributors.
“Why?” you might ask. Simple – we really want to take seriously the bad actors who might try to ruin the platform for everyone else. To do that we have created a more exclusive community – but this also means we can place more trust in the people that are here.
Viewer
Anyone can sign up to be a Hedgehog Viewer to react to content, follow accounts, and subscribe to contributors. Think of it as Hedgehog’s read-only mode. Viewers cannot create content and do not have a customizable profile picture or account handle. (We sometimes turn this off and allow new accounts to go straight to Member status as the community expands.)
Member
To become a Member, you’ll need an invitation from an existing Member, or to join during exclusive periods when we open Member status to all sign-ups. Once you’re in, you’ll be able to join chatrooms, react to content, comment, and even help manage conversations via community moderation so they stay respectful and civil. The Members are the ones who truly run the day-to-day community flow on Hedgehog. Members can earn Respect points and rank in Leaderboards, but won’t see their rank badges next to their profile picture wherever it appears.
Contributor
Contributors are the content creators of Hedgehog. They write posts, create headlines, and upload pictures and videos. The Editorial team can promote specific headlines, created by Contributors, to be featured on the Top Stories page. Contributors get to show off their badges as well. Hedgehog’s Contributors set the tone for the conversation.