--- id: 6d6b0007 title: Community and Contacts Chat summary: Post news to everyone, to other landlords, to other tenants or to one building; comment and react; and chat privately with your landlord or tenants. audience: Landlords and tenants order: 7 keywords: community, forum, posts, building notices, chat, messages, contacts updated: 2026-10-23 cover: ../media/community-new-post.gif --- # Community and Contacts Chat > **In one sentence:** Community is a notice board for your building and for everyone on Mkodisha, and Chat is a private conversation between you and one person. ## The simple version - **Community** is like the notice board by the gate, but on your phone. A landlord can post "Water will be off on Saturday" to just one building. A tenant can post "Found a set of keys at the gym". - **Chat** is like a private text message. Only you and the other person can read it. - **Contacts** is the list of people you can reach: your tenants, your landlord, the caretaker, the plumber. ## Who sees a post When you write a post, you choose who sees it: | You are a… | You can post to | Who sees it | |-------------|-----------------|-------------| | Landlord | **Everyone** | Every Mkodisha user | | Landlord | **Landlords** | Other landlords only (good for asking advice) | | Landlord | **One of your buildings** (for example *Riverside Court*) | Only the tenants of that building, and you | | Tenant | **Everyone** | Every Mkodisha user | | Tenant | **Tenants** | Other tenants only | | Tenant | **Your building** | Only your neighbours and your landlord | Tenants never see landlord-only posts, and landlords never see tenant-only posts. ## Why Mkodisha does this better - **No more giant WhatsApp groups.** Building notices reach exactly that building, and nobody's phone number is shared. - **Notices stay findable.** Search old posts by words or by who wrote them. - **A place for landlords to help each other.** Ask other landlords for a good borehole company, without tenants reading along. - **Private chat without phone numbers.** Talk to your landlord or tenant inside the app. ## Where to find it | What | Link | |------|------| | Community | [mkodisha.com/app/pages/timeline](https://mkodisha.com/app/pages/timeline) | | One post (every post has its own link) | `mkodisha.com/app/pages/timeline/` | | Chat | [mkodisha.com/app/pages/chat](https://mkodisha.com/app/pages/chat) | | Contacts directory | [mkodisha.com/app/pages/user-profile#contacts](https://mkodisha.com/app/pages/user-profile#contacts) | ## Step 1: Write a post ![Wanjiru posts a gate maintenance notice to Riverside Court only](https://tarticles.mkodisha.com/guides/media/community-new-post.gif) 1. Open **Community** in the menu. 2. Type in the box that says *What's on your mind?* 3. To add a photo, click the camera. 4. Choose who sees it from the box that says **Everyone**: Everyone, Landlords (or Tenants), or one building. 5. Click the arrow to send. Every post carries a small coloured badge next to its time that says who can see it: **Everyone**, **Tenants**, **Landlords**, or the **building's name** (for example *Riverside Court*) when it went to one building only. So a tenant can tell at a glance that "Gate repairs on Saturday" is about their own building. ## Step 2: React and comment ![Opening a post's details and adding a comment](https://tarticles.mkodisha.com/guides/media/community-comment-like.gif) Under each post: - 👍 **thumbs up** and 👎 **thumbs down**, with how many people chose each; - the number of **comments**; - a **link** button that copies a link to the post, to share it. Click **View Details** to open the post with all its comments, then **Add Comment** to reply. The person who wrote a post can **edit** it from there. Use **Search Posts** to find old posts by words, or by the author's username or email. ## Step 3: Chat privately ![Opening a chat with Achieng from All Contacts and sending a message](https://tarticles.mkodisha.com/guides/media/community-contacts-chat.gif) 1. On the Community page, **All Contacts** on the right lists the people you can message: a landlord sees their tenants, and a tenant sees their landlord. 2. Click the speech bubble next to a name. The **Chat** page opens. 3. Click the person under **Recent Chats** (or **All Contacts**) to open the conversation. 4. Type in *Type a message* and press Enter. You can also open Chat from the avatar menu (top right) → **Chat**. ## The contacts directory Landlords can keep a directory of useful people (caretaker, security desk, plumber, lawyer) on their profile, under **Contacts**: - **Add Contact**: name, role (for example *Plumber*), phone, email, links, and optionally the building it belongs to. - **Visible to tenants** or **Private**: choose whether tenants can see each contact. Tenants see the contacts their landlord marked visible (for their own building, plus any that cover every building) on their profile's **Contacts** tab, so they know whom to call for help. ## What tenants see ![A tenant's Community feed with posts for everyone and for Riverside Court](https://tarticles.mkodisha.com/guides/media/community-tenant-view.gif) Achieng lives at Riverside Court. Her feed shows posts for **everyone**, for **tenants**, and for **Riverside Court**, but not posts for other buildings or landlord-only posts. ## Quick answers **Can tenants in other buildings see my building's notice?** No. A post for one building is only shown to that building's tenants and its landlord. **Can tenants see what landlords post to "Landlords"?** No. Landlord-only posts are only for landlords. **Can I share a post outside Mkodisha?** Click the link button under the post to copy its link. People still need to sign in, and can only open it if they're allowed to see it. **Is chat private?** Yes. Only you and the other person can read a chat. **How do tenants know whom to call for repairs?** Add the caretaker and repair people under **Contacts** and mark them *Visible to tenants*. For repairs, tenants should also use [Maintenance](maintenance.md) so nothing is forgotten. ## Words to know | Word | Meaning | |------|---------| | Post | A message on the Community notice board | | Audience | Who can see a post | | Comment | A reply under a post | | Chat | A private conversation with one person | | Contact | Someone in your list of people to reach | ## Related guides - [Notifications](notifications.md) - [Maintenance Requests from Start to Finish](maintenance.md) - [Documents](documents.md) - [Landlord and Tenant Dashboards](dashboards.md)