Members' guide · About BeanPool
Questions
Short answers to the questions members ask most.
Who runs my community?
Your community runs itself. Its server is looked after by people your community chose: its owners and admins. Your trades, posts and votes are kept on that server. The BeanPool project writes the app, and anyone can use it to start a community.
Is there interest on debt?
No. Being below zero costs nothing. Only beans you hold above 200 pay the small circulation fee.
Can I buy or sell beans for money?
The app has no way to buy or sell beans for money. Beans are earned by helping people.
Why can't I send a gift?
A gift needs two things. You must have completed a trade in the market (1 or 2 beans is too small to count), and you can only give beans you have. A gift can never take you below zero.
Why can't I spend below zero?
Two things set how far below zero you can go. Your trust from trading sets the most you could ever go. Your live Offers set how much of that you may use right now. With no live Offers, you cannot go below zero at all. Most people start by selling: post an Offer, and when someone takes it up, you earn beans and your first trust.
My badge says Steward. Why can I spend so little?
Your badge shows your trust. What you can spend right now also depends on how many live Offers you have. Badges never unlock anything on their own.
Can I change my vote?
On a Decision or a Poll, yes, until the vote closes. On a keeper or convenor vote, no.
Can anyone see how I voted?
On a Decision, the app shows only the totals, and your own vote to you. Your vote is stored on your community's server. The owners and admins who run the server can take a copy of its files, and could look it up there. On a Poll: yes, everyone can see. Polls are an open show of hands.
I lost my phone. Is my account gone?
No, if you kept your 12-word recovery phrase. Install the app and restore your account with those 12 words. If you linked a sign-in account in Account Protection, you can also use that. Keep your 12 words somewhere safe and private. Anyone who has them can use your account.
Can I belong to more than one community?
Yes. You can save several communities in the app and switch between them. You use the same identity in each. Each community has its own beans, rules and members.
I am going away. What should I do?
Turn on Holiday Mode in Settings. Your Offers are hidden and nobody can send you new requests. Finish or cancel any open trades first, because Holiday Mode cannot start while a trade is open.
How do I leave?
You can delete your account in Settings. First finish or cancel any open trades. When you delete your account, any beans you hold go to your community's Commons, and if you are below zero, the Commons covers it. This cannot be undone, even with your 12 words.
Something is wrong or could be better. Who do I tell?
For problems with a person or a trade, talk to the admins of your community. For ideas about the app itself, visit beanpool.org.
Related
- Your 12 wordsThe 12 words are the key to your account. Why they matter, where to find them, and how to keep them safe.
- Getting your account backRestore your account on a new phone, and protect it with a sign-in account.
- More than one communityBelong to several communities with one account, and switch between them.
- Going awayHoliday Mode hides your Offers and pauses new requests while you are away.
- Leaving or deleting your accountSign out of this phone, or delete your account for good, and what happens to your beans.
- Getting helpWhere to look when you are stuck, and who to ask.
The same guide is in the BeanPool app, and works there without a connection: open Settings, then "Help & how it works" under BeanPool. Guide version 6.