Audience Participation -- How Members Join and Interact

Joining a Session

Participants can join a Q&A session in three ways:

1. Scan the QR Code

The fastest method. The QR code is available:

• On the projection display's idle screen
• In the Share modal on the admin dashboard
• In the participant view's Share sheet

Scanning the code opens the session directly in the participant's browser -- no app download required.

2. Enter the Join Code

1. Go to your church's Q&A join page (for example, https://app.timelychurch.com/c/{your-church}/qna/join, replacing {your-church} with your church's address).
2. Enter the 8-character session code (displayed on screen or shared by the host).
3. Tap Join Session.

The code is case-insensitive and avoids easily-confused characters, so you will never see characters like 0/O or 1/I/L that are hard to tell apart. Once joined, the participant is taken straight to the session.

3. Open a Direct Link

The host can share a direct join link (for example, via text message, church app, or social media). Clicking the link opens the session immediately.

Participants can share the session with others using the Share button in the session header, which offers native mobile sharing, link copying, and a QR code.

The Participant View

Once joined, participants see a mobile-optimized interface with:

Header

• Session title
• Status pill that reflects the session's current state (Collecting, Live, Paused, Closed, or Waiting while the session is still in draft)
• Question count and active participant count (shown on the status line beneath the header)
• Connection indicator (green dot when connected, red pulsing dot when reconnecting)

Sort Tabs

Participants can filter and sort questions using four tabs:

• Popular -- Most upvoted questions first
• Recent -- Newest questions first
• Answered -- Questions the host has marked as answered
• Mine -- Only the questions submitted from this device

The total question count is shown on the status line above the tabs.

Submitting a Question

When the session is active and accepting submissions:

1. A submission bar appears at the bottom of the screen.
2. Enter your name in the top field (optional if anonymous mode is enabled, required otherwise).
3. Type your question in the "Ask a question..." field (up to 320 characters).
4. Tap the send button or press Enter.

After submitting:

• If moderation is disabled, your question appears immediately in the list.
• If moderation is enabled, you see a confirmation: "Your question has been submitted and is awaiting moderation."

Participants can submit multiple questions, but per-device rate limits apply to prevent spam. Each device is capped at 10 question submissions per minute and 30 votes per minute. When a device hits the limit, the participant sees an error message and has to wait a moment. Limits reset after a minute. See Rate Limits and Abuse Prevention for details.

Voting on Questions

When voting is enabled, each question card shows an upvote button with the current vote count. To vote:

1. Tap the vote button on any question.
2. The button turns solid and the count increments.
3. Tap again to remove your vote (voting is a toggle).

Votes are tied to the participant's device, so each device gets one vote per question.

Question Indicators

Participants see visual badges on questions:

• "On display" badge -- The question the host is currently highlighting on the projection display. The current question also appears in a "Discussing now" banner near the top of the list.
• "Pinned by host" badge -- Questions the host has pinned to the top of the list.
• "Answered live" badge -- Questions the host has marked as answered.
• Host Reply -- A written reply from the host appears in a highlighted box beneath the question, showing the reply text.
• "Yours" badge -- Marks the questions submitted from this participant's own device.

Voting on Polls

When the host launches a poll, it appears at the top of the participant's question list:

1. Read the poll question.
2. Tap an option to select it (a radio-button style selector).
3. Tap the Vote button to confirm your choice.
4. Your selection is locked in -- poll votes cannot be changed.

After voting:

• Your selected option is highlighted with a checkmark.
• If live results are enabled, you see a bar chart with percentages.
• If live results are disabled, you see "Thanks for voting!" until the host reveals results.

Session States from the Participant's Perspective

Expiry Warning

When the session is about to expire (within 5 minutes), participants see an amber banner at the top: "Session ends in X:XX."

Blocked Participants

If a participant has been blocked by the host, the composer is replaced with the message "You have been blocked from participating in this session." They can still view questions but cannot submit or vote.

Technical Details

No Account Required

Participants do not need a TimelyChurch account to join a session. They simply open the link or scan the QR code in their browser.

Device Identification

Each participant is recognized by their own browser. This means:

• A participant's vote persists even if they close and reopen the browser.
• Multiple people using different devices on the same Wi-Fi network are correctly identified as separate participants.
• Clearing browser data may create a new identity.

Real-Time Updates

The participant view automatically checks for new questions and polls every few seconds. All questions, vote counts, poll results, and session status update without requiring a page refresh.

Mobile Keyboard Handling

On mobile devices, the submission bar automatically adjusts its position when the on-screen keyboard appears, ensuring the input field is always visible.

Next: Moderation