The system tracks who invited whom through a chain of cookies and database links. This article explains that chain so you know who counts as “yours” and why.
The chain in plain English
- You share your link:
thesmilechannel.com/?invited_by=your-slug - Someone clicks it — they arrive at the homepage
- The system silently sets a 30-day cookie on their browser tagging them as invited by you
- If they sign up within 30 days, the system reads the cookie and pre-fills the “Who nominated you?” field on the onboarding form with your name
- They complete signup. The system writes
_scge_nominated_by = your-idpermanently on their guest record - If/when they upgrade to VIP, the commission is created in your name
Once the link is set, it’s permanent
After step 5, the cookie no longer matters. Even if your invitee clicks someone else’s invite link six months later, the original nomination sticks. They’re permanently your invitee.
The platform uses first-touch attribution. Whoever they clicked first wins. This is simpler and fairer than last-touch (which would punish the person who introduced them in the first place).
What if multiple people invite the same person?
Whoever’s link they clicked first (and signed up within 30 days of) gets the nomination. If your link gets clicked but they don’t sign up for 31+ days, the cookie expires and someone else can claim them.
What if they sign up directly without clicking any link?
They have no nominator. No commission is created when they upgrade. Nobody earns. This is the natural baseline.
Can the nomination be changed after signup?
Only by an admin (Faizan) using the manager backfill tool. Members can’t change their own nominator after signup, and other members can’t claim someone who’s already nominated.
I think someone’s missing — what now?
If you know you invited someone but they’re not showing on your Earnings tab, see the “I think someone invited me but I’m not credited” article in this category for the troubleshooting flow.