Topics & posts: working in the forum

In the Forums area you see the complete forum structure, create new topics or polls, write posts and watch the discussions you want to stay on top of. This article covers the day-to-day work with ordinary topics; the special case of a poll is described in Creating and running polls.

Opening the forum structure

In the Forums area you see all the forums you have access to. Clicking a forum opens its detail manager. Along the top are the tabs Edit, Topics, Permissions and Watchers; on the left in the sidebar is the forum card with its name, and beneath it the Actions box.

The Topics tab shows the list of all the forum’s topics and polls – with the title and author, the Archived status and the last post (date, author and a short preview). A type indicator in front of each entry distinguishes an ordinary topic from a poll.

Creating a new topic

1. In the forum detail manager, open the Actions box and, above it, the actions modal.
2. In the General section, choose New topic.
3. Give the topic a title and write the opening post – the first text that sets the discussion in motion.
4. Assign the topic to a forum (usually the one you are currently in).
5. Use the permissions to define who reads along and replies (see Structure & permissions in the forum).
6. Save – you land straight in the detail manager of the new topic.

Tip: Word the opening post so that the title alone already conveys the question or the request. That makes it easier for others to place it in the topic list and in the “Recent topics” feed.

Working in a topic

Clicking a list entry opens the topic’s detail manager. Along the top are the tabs Edit, Posts, Files, Permissions and Watchers. On the left in the sidebar is the record card with <forum name>/<topic title>, beneath it the person responsible and the moderators, plus the Assignments and Actions boxes.

The Posts tab shows the posts in chronological order. Each post carries the author’s name and date/time at the top; if it was edited later, a note about the last change follows. The avatar sits on the left, with the post text to its right.

Writing a post

1. In the topic, open the Actions box and the actions modal.
2. In the General section, choose New post.
3. Enter your reply in the editor and save.

Editing, deleting and quoting posts

Directly on each individual post there are action icons you can use to edit the post, reply to/quote it or delete it. Only a moderator of the topic or forum may edit or delete other people’s posts.

Watching topics

When you watch a topic, you get a notification in the messaging system as soon as someone writes a new post in it.

• Turning it on and off in the topic: In the Actions box, one click switches between Watch topic and Stop watching topic.
• Quickly from the list: In a forum’s topic list, an eye icon shows whether you are watching a topic, and you switch watching on or off right there.

That way you stay up to date on exactly the discussions that concern you, without having to click through every forum one by one.

Keeping an overview: “Recent topics”

Alongside the view sorted by forum structure, there is the Recent topics area – a second view sorted by activity. The posts are grouped under Today, Yesterday and Past, so you can see at a glance which discussions saw activity today. Use the filter settings to narrow the view down to individual forums.

This is how you use both views together: Forums for working purposefully in a particular discussion, Recent topics as a daily activity feed across all forums.

Common questions & needs

Related topics

• Forum – introduction Forum Introduction
• Creating and running polls Forum How-to
• Structure & permissions in the forum Forum Concept