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26 Comments

Invite codes? What are the criteria?

Indie Hackers recently introduced Invite codes and made itself an Invite-only community.

Did you get any Invite codes so far?

In the "Invite codes" section, there is a brief explanation that a member will get a code as a reward for being an active part of the community. The question is, what are the criteria of "being active"? I believe I am an active member since I am posting, commenting, and interacting on the regular basis, but haven't got anything so far. What is your experience?

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    I don't like detailing the specific criteria for stuff like this, because people immediately start gaming it. I will say that the algorithm to award invite codes didn't start running until recently, and most of the people in the comments who are perplexed about not having any codes now have some. I'll also say that it's unrelated to time spent reading the forum.

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      Thanks, @csallen, I agree with you, it's better to keep it for yourself. Google keeps its algorithms secret, and yet, here we are trying to do SEO and guess the algorithm. Anyways, as @kylekrzeski already mentioned, it's not that I really "need" them, but it's fun to guess the rules.

    2. 1

      Makes sense. Thanks for the clarification

    3. 1

      What about commenting? Or is it a combination? For instance, I don't have any direct posts but I commented throughout the 5y tenure on IH - however no invite codes.

    4. 1

      Totally makes sense. Thanks for popping in @csallen!

  2. 4

    I am also curious to know about this, hope @csallen put some light on this.

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      I've been curious about the points as well - the criteria for them are clear, however, I wasn't sure what their purpose was except showing who is an active member.

      Perhaps they will use this to determine who gets the invite code...

  3. 3

    It's "the secret algorithm" /s

    1. 2

      yes, “algorithms”

      urkel

  4. 1

    @csallen - I am asking the question here because I can't find the post which you posted on announcing (?) invite codes or wrote about it.

    I would like to know whether I will be banned for inviting a person if they do something spammy or against the terms and conditions of IH? Asking to make sure whether I need to be extremely wary of people asking for an invite through Twitter / Reddit or not. I would love to invite when I have some invite codes but wouldn't want to risk the account too.

    Thanks in advance.

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      Hey unsungNovelty,

      I would advise against giving out links to people whom you're not familiar with or unsure of their intentions.

      I think there may even be a chance of jeopardizing your own account if you invite spammers, but don't quote me on this.

      Probably, at the moment, the rule of thumb should be to be extra careful when giving out these links.

      Hope I helped!

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        Thanks for taking the time to reply.

        Wish there was an easy way for people like me who were completely out from the IH scene to come and join here. I guess Twitter can be comparatively safe to validate based on the account activity. Thanks again @mkrunic! Will play it safe. :)

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    An update: this morning, I got 3 codes. This is more than I would probably use, but it's still nice to have them. It's nice to know that some algorithm considers you "an active community member" :D

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      can I get 1 code?

  6. 1

    I didn't have any invite codes before making this post two days ago:
    https://www.indiehackers.com/post/100-000-users-doubled-in-5-weeks-ffd38f0eba

    Now, I have 3.

  7. 1

    I still have 0 invite codes. I guess the algorithm isn't fully set up or something.

  8. 1

    I just checked this morning, and now have 3 codes. My participation since the invite change has been a couple posts, a few comments, and a bunch of reading.

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      interestingly, I also had a few posts and comments, however, I did not spend much time reading posts in the last couple of days, so this could also be a part of the determination process.

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        There’s probably a time component in there too. The invite generation is probably a cron that runs once per day.

        I suspect that in a few more days you’ll probably have more codes than you will use.

    2. 1

      Do you mind giving me a code? I am a long time member but I did not get any codes. A friend wants to join and I'd like to invite him..

    3. 1

      I've been on quite a bit, posting and commenting but haven't gotten any codes. Not that I "need" them, but I'd be interested to know the criteria as well.

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        I also got 3 codes, with much less overall engagement than you. I guess it takes recency into account?

        1. 1

          Oh interesting! Yea I have 10+ comments from this month alone, I'm sure there was a good reason. As I mentioned it isn't a big deal at all, I'm just genuinely curious (along with others I'm sure) if we wanted a code what it would take to get one. Or if it's somewhat arbitrary that's honestly fine with me too.

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            Yeah, I'm sure they are also still figuring out how it should work over there at Stripe :D

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