> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.arkhub.co/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Access levels > What Explorers, Members and Contributors can do, how to apply to contribute, and why some site locations are protected ## Overview What you can do on Arkhub depends on your access level. There are three levels. | Level | Who | What you can do | | - | - | - | | **Explorer** | Anyone who is not signed in | Read public records. See the name, kind, period and region of protected sites. | | **Member** | Everyone with an account | Everything an Explorer can do. Also keep repositories and add existing records to them, write posts and comments, follow people, and apply to contribute or for protected-site access. | | **Contributor** | Members we have approved | Everything a Member can do. Also suggest changes to a record, challenge its claims, write your own version of a record, create records and add places on the map. | Every new account is a Member. When an action needs a higher level, the app keeps it visible and shows a lock. Click it to see what is needed and to apply. ## Why levels exist Arkhub is one shared record of the archaeological world. Many people read it, cite it and build on it. > **Reading and collecting are open to everyone** > > Looking at sites, collecting them in repositories and writing about them does not change what other people see. It carries no risk to the shared record, so it needs no approval. > **Contributing is by application in the early days** > > A record, a suggestion, a challenge or a version changes what other people read, and it is credited to you by name. A wrong or duplicate record costs everyone. While Arkhub is young, we review each person who wants to contribute. This keeps the record curated and keeps out spam. You do not need an academic background: independent researchers and citizen archaeologists can apply too. > **The rules are checked on every action** > > The lock in the app is only a convenience. Arkhub checks every read and every change on its servers, so a locked action fails even outside the app. ## Apply to contribute **1. Click a locked action** For example **Create record**, **Suggest a change** or **Create version**, then **Apply to contribute**. **2. Tell us about your work** Say what you research, where you are affiliated (optional) and where we can see your work (optional). **3. We review it by hand** A person at Arkhub reads every application and decides. You can have one open application at a time. Your title and a linked X account do not change your level. Only an approved application does. ## Location protected sites Some sites are open to looting, or a heritage agency has asked that their exact location is not published. Arkhub marks these records **Location protected**. > **What everyone sees** > > The site's title, its kind, its periods, its country and its region, with a lock and the words "Location protected". > **What only approved people see** > > The exact location, the ArkGrid ID, the map, the outline, the claims and the history of the record. Protected sites do not show on the map or in location searches. A repository that holds one shows a locked row with the same few details. We hold back the location for two reasons: * **Looting.** Exact coordinates help people who dig sites up for objects to sell. Once a site is looted, its context is lost for good. * **Respect for heritage agencies.** Many government agencies do not publish the locations of sensitive sites. We follow the same rule, so that agencies can trust Arkhub with their data. ### Request protected-site access Researchers who need exact locations for their work can ask for access. **1. Open a protected site** Click **Request access** on the locked record. You need to be signed in. **2. Tell us why you need it** Say what you research, where you are affiliated and where we can see your work. **3. We review it by hand** We check who you are before we decide. Protected-site access is separate from your level: a Contributor does not get it automatically, and a Member can have it. > [!NOTE] > > If you create a record, you always see it in full, even when its location is protected. ## Protecting a location yourself A Contributor can switch on **Protect the location** for a record they created. Only the Arkhub team can switch it off again. A protected record needs a title, because everyone can see the title. If the place is already on Wikidata with coordinates, the app tells you that its location is already public there. Protection passes down: when a site is protected, the features inside it are protected too. ## Private records A record can also be **Private**. Only the person who keeps it can read it. The keeper can make it public again while the record is not official. ## The Verified badge The blue **Verified** badge means that a person has confirmed who they are by signing in with their X account. It shows a reader who stands behind a profile. It gives no extra access: it does not change your level and does not open protected sites. ## Changing a record is not a level Who may edit a record depends on the record, not only on your level. A record's **keeper** is its creator, until the record is made official. Keepers edit the record directly. Other Contributors suggest a change or challenge a claim instead. See [Records](/essentials/records/records.md#challenge-a-record). ## Questions > **Why is Create version locked?** > > Writing a version needs Contributor access. Click it to apply, or sign in if you are signed out. > **I linked my X account. Why can I not contribute?** > > Linking X confirms who you are and gives you the Verified badge. Contributing is a separate decision: apply from any locked action. > **Can I remove the protection from my own record?** > > No. Once a location is protected, only the Arkhub team can lift it. Write to us if it was a mistake. > **How long does a review take?** > > We review every application by hand, so it takes as long as it takes. The app tells you when your application is in review. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.