Frequently Asked Questions
Cost and Membership
Joining our community of multipotentialites costs less than $21 USD per month if you invest in an annual membership. The month-to-month membership is still a great deal at only $29, so you can commit for as much or as little time as you want.
Either option gives you access to our lively forums (containing years of collective multipod wisdom), accountability support for all types, a whole bunch of groups, and a range of private events: workshops, challenges, mixers, show and tells, and all of the huddles your heart desires!
We gift scholarships for each new member period, but don’t offer discounts for new members. We have some significant fixed costs to support our current members and those increase with each new one. In other words, our sustainability depends on having resources available for our long-time members.
The decision to grant a scholarship is based on a combination of merit, financial need, exemplifying the spirit of the Puttyverse (e.g., generous and collaborative), and at the discretion of the person reviewing the application – typically Joel Zaslofsky, the Puttyverse Connections and Operations Guy. There are also continuous requirements to keep a scholarship.
Click here to apply for a scholarship and we’ll see if you’re the right fit to get help to become a puttypeep.
The Puttyverse exists to create more freedom in your life, not less. We won’t weigh you down with a contract or keep you against your will if you need to leave for a while (or for good). Our formula for happy, liberated members is no contracts + self-service suspension/cancellation. And you can switch from monthly to annual billing (and back) whenever you want.
Put us to the test with no downside and no risk. You just ask within seven days of joining and we’ll refund 100% of your money if our community isn’t the right fit for any reason.
There will be zero hassles and no guilt trip. We keep your best interests in mind and our seven-day money back guarantee proves it!
We’ve been exclusively using Stripe for years due to their superior customer service, relatively fewer global restrictions or quirks, better integration with our systems, and enhanced security (which keeps you and us safer). They’re just plain better and easier than any alternative right now.
With Stripe, we can accept credit, debit, or pre-paid cards from VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, JCB, or Maestro.
How to Join
We intentionally limit the frequency and window where new members can join to allow our Puttyverse team to best support new members. Our community also appreciates a predictable time period to rally around new members and welcome you. 🙂
The history of online communities is littered with great (but unsustainable) groups that got too big, too fast and collapsed under their own weight. We want to keep the atmosphere intimate and relaxed, which is why we deliberately pace the flow of new members.
We generally open our doors every four weeks. Be among the first to know when we’ll next welcome new members when you subscribe to our email interest list.
Members / Fitting In
We have members in 22 time zones, 60+ countries, 200+ cities and towns, and on every continent except Antarctica. We also have plenty of active members from every generation between Generation Z and the Baby Boomers.
Definitely not. We’ve seen and encourage people to chat away in Spanish, French, and other languages. You can express yourself and your values however you like as long as you do it in the spirit of kindness, generosity, and weirdness (we’re a quirky bunch).
Our members are into anything and everything, come from all walks of life, and represent cultures around the world. You’re almost certain to find somebody who’s interested in whatever weird (or not so weird) thing you’re excited about.
We’ve got artists, entrepreneurs, engineers, teachers, writers, makers, parents, students, coaches, retirees, photographers, philosophers, carpenters, coders and so much more! And of course, everyone in the community is more than just one thing.
So yeah, you’ll be able to find someone (or multiple people) to nerd out about your interests with.
Absolutely not. There are many ways in which multipotentialites make a living, and that career diversity is reflected in our community. If you do happen to be starting a business and would like some feedback, there are plenty of members who can give you advice.
But if you’re pursuing a traditional job, you’ll find great advice, too. And if you’re 100% satisfied with your work situation and want to talk about productivity, fear, creativity, dealing with relatives who “don’t understand,” or any other issue that multipotentialites struggle with, that’s okay, as well!
The Puttyverse isn’t specifically about helping you build a career. It’s about helping you build a life around your many passions. Career is just one piece of the puzzle.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re just beginning your multipotentialite journey, or whether you’ve been at it for a while and want regular advice and accountability to keep you on track.
The Puttyverse is for everyone. We have students, working professionals, and retired folks. We have multipotentialites of all ages and backgrounds and we believe that diversity is an asset to all of us. There’s a home for you here.
What makes the Puttyverse great is us – who we are and how we connect with one another. We’re multi-passionate people who have a lot to say about pretty much anything.
Yet sometimes that passion can be misapplied, and not everyone will see things the way we see them.
So how do we deal with the inevitable disagreements and misunderstandings that happen in any community?
We follow the ABCs of Discourse, which are taken from our Community Guidelines. Here are three values we ask everyone to keep in mind when conversations get heated:
- Always be civil.
- Be kind and respectful.
- Create a supportive and inclusive environment.
As much or as little as you want. Some puttypeep are active every day while most prefer a more casual experience.
Nothing is required in our community. So invest whatever time you see fit.
We’re flexible, just like you! Here are some general approaches that puttypeep take:
- Complete immersion: Interacting every day in the forum, a group, live event, or direct messages to fully immerse themselves in what we can give and get together.
- Casual participation: Popping in occasionally when they have a question to ask, curiosity bubbles up, a special event happens, and taking things at their own pace.
- Random or infrequent participation: Checking the forum or event calendar when the mood suits them.
- Insurance policy: Wanting a supportive community when they need it and having our ‘verse be a safety net or on-demand guidance when times get tough.
- Going solo: Preferring a private experience, but still getting inspired and learning through the stories and resources of others.
Many people fluctuate between these core patterns during the course of months and years. Yes – we have some people who have been around for over a decade!
We get a ton of praise and thank yous from our puttypeep (which makes us very happy). Watch and read for yourself right here.
What Does the Site Actually Look Like?
Here’s what our forum looks like:
An example of a forum thread:
A Check-in Huddle from our community’s favorite event — The Puttython:
Poetry Workshop and Community Challenge:
Data and Privacy
Your username, display name, and profile picture (which is optional) can be anything you want it to be and you can change them when needed. You can tell us your life story, complete with blood type and mother’s maiden name, or you can keep whatever details of your past, present, or future life as private as you like.
If you join and decide to leave the Puttyverse at any point, we can anonymize/delete your information and/or forum activity with the push of a button.
We charge a subscription so we can all avoid the worst that social media has to offer. There are no advertisements, no seeking to mine your data and sell it to third parties, and no attempts to hijack your attention at all costs.
One of our members, Dave Sullivan, explained it pretty well in his own words: “I came to the Puttyverse mainly to get off of social media, where I’m a product being sold to marketers vying for my attention. I gladly pay for my Puttyverse membership specifically to avoid commercialized interests.” Yeah Dave – what you said!
We don’t share your stuff outside the Puttyverse without your permission. We don’t sell your stuff to anyone. And we’ll be dragged kicking and screaming if someone outside our community comes for anything you’ve done as a member.
You can email [email protected] for context of a specific section. For example, the Interactive Features section says “COMPANY or its designated agents may remove or alter any user-created content at any time for any reason.”
What we mean is, if we did remove something, it would probably be a forum post that’s obsolete and might be a waste of someone’s time (e.g., a post that talks about how to use technology that no longer exists). If we did alter something, it would probably be something like adding a hyperlink to a resource you mention (and forgot to link to) so that others would have an easier time accessing what you’re trying to share.
We will also not draw a mustache on your profile picture or turn you into a tasteless animation.
The Other Stuff
We decided to remove “tribe” from our name out of respect for Indigenous people and traditions. Our online community is not a tribe, although Puttytribe is how we referred to ourselves for the first eight years.
Use of the word tribe, throughout history and into the present day, has (both purposefully and accidentally) hurt Indigenous people. And now that we know better, we’re trying to do better. We hope that you’ll join us.
This community is a kind, thoughtful and inclusive space and we want our name to reflect that. More importantly, we want to make sure that we’re living our values by making all people feel welcome. Puttyverse is also just more representative of our puttypeep. It’s more expansive, nerdier, and fun! You’ll totally get it once you’re part of this constellation of multipotentialites.
If you’d like to know more about the history and contemporary thoughts about the word tribe, here’s a helpful article, and here’s another.
We could get nerdy with you and explain how our forums are optimized for this tech configuration or why we prefer using Zoom for our video based huddles. But if you’re human and are willing to learn, you’ll do fine with whatever hardware and software you have available.
Emilie does hang out in the Puttyverse, replies to forum posts when they can, and leads various events for us.
That said, one of the reasons that Emilie created the Puttyverse was that they were finding it impossible to answer all of the questions they were getting via email. We’re such a smart, resourceful, and experienced community that they wanted to create a platform for multipotentialites to connect with one another, get help, and receive a range of opinions (not just theirs).
Not if you use it correctly. The Puttyverse is meant to support your many projects, not be a distraction from them. When you’d like feedback or you’re dealing with a challenge, share it with the community.
Ask for help, encouragement, or whatever else you need. The Verse only becomes a distraction when you don’t use it to further the things that really matter to you.
Much of the Puttyverse’s revenue goes to fairly compensate our team. They do a variety of critical things like organize and run events, make sure our website functions well, moderate content to uphold our community guidelines, write newsletters or announcements, welcome and support our members, and much more.
We also have substantial technical and administrative costs. For example, running multiple reliable servers and email services or mailing welcome cards to every single new puttypeep, anywhere in the world.
There’s no advertising on our site and, unlike other “free” online communities, we don’t collect, share, or sell your data. As one member put it:
“I came to Puttyverse mainly to get off of social media, where I’m a product being sold to marketers vying for my attention. I pay for my Puttyverse membership specifically to avoid commercialized interests.”
The Puttyverse is the longest running online community for multipotentialites. We’ve been going strong since 2012 and the vast majority of our puttypeep feel that their membership dues are well worth the benefits (our Praise page proves that).
Contact [email protected] and our Billing and Membership Support Wizard will help you out.
The Puttyverse doors open again on July 22 for 48 hours or 75 new members – whichever comes first. Just click on the button below to get notified the instant we invite new members to join.