Direct messaging
Start private conversations, manage message requests, and keep unwanted messages out of your inbox.
Reviewed regularly to match the current app.
Overview
Direct messaging lets you have private, one-to-one conversations with other poets. Your inbox is split into two places: Inbox, for people you follow and conversations you've accepted, and Requests, where messages from poets you don't follow wait for your review. You control who can reach you, how you're notified, and what happens to anything unwanted — all from Settings → Messaging.
Starting a conversation
To message someone, open their profile and start a conversation from there. Your first message opens a private thread with just the two of you. If they already follow you (or you follow each other), it lands straight in their Inbox. If not, it arrives in their Requests tab until they accept.
The Requests tab
Messages from people you don't follow are held in a separate Requests inbox so they never crowd your main conversations. Messages from poets you follow always skip Requests and go straight to your Inbox. On each request you have four choices from the menu:
- Accept — moves the conversation into both inboxes so you can reply normally.
- Decline — hides it from your view. The sender is not told.
- Block — cuts the sender off from your profile, poems, and inbox, and stops future messages. The sender is not notified.
- Mark as Spam — moves the thread to your Archived tab with a red "Spam" tag and quietly reports it to our moderation team.
Controlling who can message you
Under Settings → Messaging → Message Permissions, choose who's allowed to start a conversation: Everyone, Followers Only, or Nobody. You can also turn Filter Message Requests on or off, decide your notification mode, set quiet hours, and manage read receipts from the same page.
Spam and safety
The Requests tab is your first line of defense — anyone you don't follow has to earn their way into your Inbox. Marking a message as spam files a report our team can review, and blocking is the hard stop when you want someone gone for good. You can also report any single message directly from the conversation using its report option.
Related help
For the full walkthrough on cutting someone off or flagging content, see Block, mute, or report a user. Still need a hand? Contact our support team and we'll help.