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Follows and activity feed

URBALT has a light social layer so you can keep up with people you find interesting — bike mechanics sharing guides, local riders posting routes, shops you buy from. Follows are public and one-way: no friend requests, no approvals. You follow, you see their activity. If they follow you back, great — if not, no drama.

How to follow someone

  1. Open their profile — click any username, or go to /user/<id>.
  2. Click the Follow button next to their name. It switches to Following.
  3. Click again to unfollow any time. No notification is sent.

You must be signed in to follow. Anonymous visitors see a Sign in to follow link instead. You can't follow yourself (the button is hidden on your own profile).

Followers and following counts

Every profile shows X followers · Y following under the name. Both numbers are clickable:

  • Followers list — /user/<id>/followers — everyone who follows this person. You can follow them back from this page.
  • Following list — /user/<id>/following — everyone this person follows. Good way to discover like-minded riders through people you already trust.

The activity feed

The activity feed has two tabs:

  • Following (requires sign-in) — new forum threads, replies, and published guides from people you follow. Sorted by newest, infinite scroll.
  • Discover (open to everyone) — same kinds of activity, but from the whole community. Great when you're new and looking for people to follow.

If you're signed in, you'll also see a Feed link in the left sidebar of the panel under the Personal group. The community landing page shows a short Activity preview at the top — the last 5 events, with an All activity → link to the full feed.

How to find people to follow

  • Start on the Discover tab of the feed — browse recent activity, click any author.
  • Read forum threads — tap usernames that post good content.
  • Check the Following lists of people you already trust — their trusted connections are a good second-degree signal.
  • Visit shops you've bought from and follow their account to catch new stock and guides.

How to see your own followers

  1. Go to your own profile — click your avatar, then View profile.
  2. The counts show under your name. Click followers or following to see the list.

What follow does NOT do

  • It is not a friend request — there's no "accept".
  • It does not unlock private messaging or any private content. Chat about listings still works the same way (via Send message on a listing).
  • It does not notify the person you followed them. They can see your name in their followers list if they check.
  • It is public — anyone can see who you follow and who follows you.