Network Settings

Network settings live on the network itself, under Settings in the sidebar. Everything here applies to that one network - a second network on the same account is configured independently.

General

Identity

The network name is what forecasters see across the site and in every email it sends. It also supplies the default sender name for network email.

Navigation Logo

Under General > Identity, upload the network's navigation logo. It appears in the network navigation and on the welcome screen. Each network has its own logo; the account logo is not used on these screens. If no network logo is uploaded, no custom logo appears there. This setting is separate from the email logo under Email > Branding.

Profile Visibility

Forecasters have a profile on the network showing their handle, bio, forecast activity, and topic expertise. You choose who can see them:

  • Everyone - any forecaster can view another's profile.
  • Own only - forecasters can see their own profile and nobody else's.
  • Off - profiles are hidden entirely.

Whatever you choose, forecasters never see each other's email addresses. Participants are identified by the handle they pick during onboarding.

Contributor Handles

Every forecaster has a handle. This setting decides the handle a new forecaster is given when they join:

  • From their name - the handle comes from the name they register with, for example jordan-mercer. This is the default.
  • Pseudonym - the handle is an unrelated word pair, for example swift-otter.

The style applies as each account is created, on every route into the network - password registration, SAML, and OIDC. A forecaster can change their own handle during onboarding and later in their profile settings, so the setting supplies a starting handle.

Two limits apply to the pseudonym style. A handle belongs to the person rather than to one network, so someone who already holds a name-derived handle from another network keeps it when they join this one. The pseudonym also covers the handle alone: the forecaster's name still appears on their profile page, and Profile Visibility above controls who can open that page.

Features

  • Leaderboard - when on, forecasters can see the network's accuracy leaderboard and where they rank on it. When off, the leaderboard is hidden from forecasters entirely.
  • Question numbers - off by default. When on, question lists and pages show a short number such as #42. Numbers belong to the network and are assigned when a question is first published there. Retracting and republishing it preserves its number. Switching the display off hides the numbers without changing them.
  • Question research chat - when on, forecasters can use the AI research assistant on question pages to interrogate the sources and background behind a question.

Analyst Access

Switch on automatically grant Hinsley analyst team members access and everyone on your account's analyst team becomes a forecaster on this network as they arrive, with no invitation needed. With it off, analyst team members need an invitation or a roster addition to hold a seat, and otherwise see the network only as observers.

Languages

A network can run in a subset of the languages Hinsley supports. The languages you enable are the ones offered on translated content (topic names, challenge copy, profile questions) and the ones forecasters can view and be emailed in.

English is always available. Disabling a language removes it from the network's viewing and email choices while keeping its stored text. Re-enabling the language makes that text available again. Question translations follow the enabled languages across all networks where the question is published.

Enabled languages determine the target languages offered for question translations. Automatic translation of contributor comments and forecast rationales is a separate option, off by default and enabled by the Cultivate Labs team. Enabling a language alone does not start automatic translation.

Translations

Terms of Service

Networks can publish their own terms of service, which forecasters accept in addition to Hinsley's platform terms. This is where you put your organization's participation agreement, confidentiality expectations, or data handling commitments.

Terms are versioned. Publishing saves a new immutable version rather than editing the current one, and forecasters who accepted an earlier version are asked to accept the new one next time they visit. Every version stays visible in the version history, so you always have a record of what each participant agreed to. If you never publish any terms, no site terms gate appears.

Email

Open Settings > Email on the network. The Settings tab controls which email types the network sends. The Branding tab controls sender identity and the email logo.

Settings Tab: Email Switches

The site-wide switch controls network email delivery. With it on, you can enable or disable individual types. Member email types include new requests, comments, mentions, question clarifications, scoring and voiding notices, closing-soon and stale-forecast reminders, announcements, blog publications, and forum replies. Separate staff and administrative switches cover flagged content, invitations, and Network availability. Network availability emails tell contributors when the network will become unavailable and contributions close, and again if it becomes available.

These switches sit on top of each member's own preferences. Turning a type on allows delivery only for members who have chosen to receive it. Turning it off leaves those choices intact, so switching it back on restores each member's choice. Events suppressed while email is off are not sent later. In-app notifications remain available.

Sign-in and account recovery emails, including password resets and email confirmations, cannot be switched off here.

Forecast Reminder Emails

Reminders are checked daily for active members who have already forecast on an open question and can still respond to it. They use the member's latest forecast and come from the network where that forecast was submitted. Each email groups the questions due for that reminder type.

Closing Soon

A closing-soon reminder is due in the final seven days, or the final 30% of the question's forecasting window if that is shorter. That window starts at the later of the question's opening and its first published request on this network. No reminder is raised if the resulting lead time is less than 24 hours. A forecast updated in the last three days is skipped; a later daily check can remind the member if the question is still open. Each member receives at most one closing reminder per question on the network.

Stale Forecast

A stale reminder is due when the latest forecast is at least 30 days old, provided no new request round has opened since that forecast. The closing-soon window takes precedence over stale reminders. Each forecast gets at most one stale reminder, and stale emails are grouped roughly weekly, with further due reminders held for the next email. Questions are checked again before a delayed email is sent, so forecasts that have been updated or are no longer eligible are omitted.

Branding Tab: Sender Identity

  • Sending domain: the domain emails are sent from. New domains need verification by the Cultivate Labs team after you save. Until then, email continues to use the default Hinsley sender.
  • From name: the name shown in the recipient's inbox. It defaults to the network name.
  • From address prefix: the part before the @. It defaults to notifications.
  • Support reply-to address: where replies to network email go. It defaults to the from address when left blank.

Branding Tab: Email Logo

Upload a logo to replace the Hinsley logo at the top of network emails. This logo affects email only. The logo in the network navigation and welcome screen is configured separately under General.

Other Settings

Two further settings pages have their own guides: