---
title: What does connecting with other communities mean? | TimeBank Ireland
description: Your community can partner with other communities, so members can meet and help each other.
canonical: https://hour-timebank.ie/help/members/other_communities/federation_what_is_it
generated: 2026-11-12T16:56:41.740Z
---Connecting with other communities

# What does connecting with other communities mean?

Your community can partner with other communities, so members can meet and help each other.

Your community can form partnerships with other communities on the platform. This is called federation. When it is on, you can meet members of partner communities as well as your own.

Your community's administrators choose which communities to partner with. They also choose what each partnership allows. For example, one partner may allow messages, and another may also allow sending time credits.

## What you can do

Depending on the partnership, you can:

- see which communities your community is partnered with
- find members of those communities and view their profiles
- send them messages and connect with them
- browse their listings, events and groups
- send time credits to their members

## Taking part is your choice

You are not shown to other communities unless you choose to take part. You decide what they can see about you. See the article on joining in.

## If you see "Federation Not Available"

Your community has not switched this on. The page says **Contact your community admin to request federation access.** Ask your community's administrators if you would like it.

[Go to this page](/federation)

## More guides in this topic

[How do I start connecting with other communities?](/help/members/other_communities/federation_join) [Choosing what other communities see, or stopping](/help/members/other_communities/federation_privacy) [Finding and messaging members of other communities](/help/members/other_communities/federation_browse_message) [Sending time credits to someone in another community](/help/members/other_communities/federation_send_credits)

## Still need help?

If you can't find what you need, get in touch and a person will help you.

[Contact us](/contact)