If you moderate a private (listed or hidden) forum, here's your full toolkit.
Invitations (/forums/{slug}/invite):
- Enter a list of usernames (comma or space separated).
- Optional message (up to 500 chars) that appears in the invitation notification.
- Click Send Invitations — each user gets an in-app notification with a link to the forum where they can Accept or Decline.
Join Requests (/forums/{slug}/members/pending):
- Visible when
visibility='listed_private'and someone has clicked Request to Join. - Approve or Deny each request; the user is notified either way.
Direct-Add: invite someone and toggle Skip invitation (direct-add) — they're instantly a member, no Accept step.
Member Removal: on the Members page, click Remove next to any member. Optional "ban from forum" checkbox inserts a per-forum ban simultaneously.
Revoke an Invitation: if you sent an invite in error, click Revoke on the pending invite row.
Authority scope: category super-mods can manage private communities inside their category. Admins and super-admins manage any private community site-wide.