Community Forum

Introduction

The Community Forum plugin for eDirectory websites provides an invaluable platform for your site's users to connect, communicate, and engage in meaningful discussions across a wide range of topics. Whether they're looking to share expertise, seek advice from peers, or participate in lively debates, the forum creates a dedicated space for interaction and community building. This guide will walk you through the steps to configure and utilize this powerful plugin effectively on your eDirectory site.

Configuring the Forum:

Follow the instructions below to ensure the Community Forum functionality is properly set up and working seamlessly on your website:

  1. Customizing Forum Pages: Within the Content → Page Editor section of your admin panel, you have the flexibility to customize the appearance of your Community Forum pages to align with your site's branding and user experience preferences. Similar to other system pages within eDirectory, you can tailor the layout and design of the forum pages to meet your specific needs.

  1. Widget Configuration: It's essential to ensure that the Forum Home page and the Forum Detail page are correctly configured with the necessary widgets to provide the intended functionality.
  • Forum Home Page: Verify that the Horizontal Topic Bar widget is added to the Forum Home page. This crucial widget provides a prominent interface for logged-in users to suggest new discussion topics, directly encouraging user engagement and active participation within the forum.

Note: The Horizontal Topic Bar widget is versatile and can be added to any page on your site via Design → Page Editor. This allows administrators the flexibility to suggest new discussions from various locations across the website.

When editing any page, simply click "Add a Widget" and locate the "Horizontal Topic Bar" widget.

  • Forum Detail Page: Ensure that the Forum Detail widget is added to the dedicated Forum Detail page. This widget is responsible for displaying the specific page for individual topic discussions, where users can interact with each other by posting replies, sharing insights, and engaging in conversations related to the chosen topic.

  1. Creating Forum Categories: The Forum Module relies on the creation of categories to help users navigate and select topics that are of particular interest to them. To establish these categories, navigate to Content → Forum → Categories within your admin panel, and then click on the "Add category" button. By setting up relevant categories in advance, you ensure that your forum is well-organized, easily searchable, and user-friendly from the very beginning.

Note: While site managers cannot directly add individual discussion topics through the admin interface, the creation of these foundational forum categories is a crucial administrative task. Users themselves do not have the ability to create new categories; they can only utilize the categories that the site manager has established. Administrators retain the authority to manage the forum content by editing or removing discussions and individual replies as needed, ensuring a productive and respectful environment. However, initiating a brand new discussion topic must be done by logged-in users through the front-end interface, as outlined in the subsequent steps.

  1. Accessing the Forum: To access the Community Forum, users simply need to visit the designated URL for your forum, which is typically structured as: yourdomain.com/forum . From this central forum page, any logged-in user can actively participate in existing discussions by posting their responses and sharing their unique perspectives on the various topics being discussed. To initiate a new discussion topic, users will need to click on the "Sign in to start" button.

  1. Signing In: Upon clicking the "Sign in to start" button, users will be presented with options to either log in directly if they already have an existing account on your site or create a new account by selecting the "Register" option. Having a registered account is necessary to actively participate in the forum.

  1. Adding a New Topic: Once a user has successfully signed in, they will see a field prompting them to type the title of their new discussion topic. As soon as they begin typing in this title field, additional fields will dynamically appear, allowing them to select the appropriate category for their topic and to enter the main body of their discussion with more detailed information. After they have finished typing their topic and selecting a category, they can click on the "Send" button to create the new discussion.

  1. Topic Created: After the user clicks "Send" in the previous step, their new discussion topic is successfully created and becomes immediately visible within the selected category. Other logged-in users can now access this topic to read the initial post and contribute their own ideas, opinions, and replies to the discussion.

  1. User Interaction: Logged-in users have the ability to actively engage with open discussions by posting their responses, sharing their insights, asking clarifying questions, and contributing their unique perspectives on the various topics being discussed within the forum. This fosters a dynamic and interactive community environment.

  1. Sponsor Dashboard: To provide users with greater control over their contributions, logged-in users can access their profile or sponsor dashboard within the system. From there, they typically have the ability to edit their own comments and the initial posts of discussions they have started, allowing for corrections, updates, or further clarification as needed.

Conclusion

The Community Forum plugin provides a powerful means to empower your site's users to engage in vibrant discussions, share valuable knowledge, and foster a strong sense of community around shared interests. By carefully following these instructions, you can effectively leverage this powerful tool to facilitate meaningful interactions, enhance user engagement, and build a thriving community on your eDirectory website.

Note: The Community Forum plugin is a separate, premium add-on for eDirectory websites and is sold independently. If you do not see the "Community Forum" section within your admin panel as described in this article, it indicates that the plugin is not currently installed on your site. For more information about this valuable feature, including its benefits and purchase options, please visit this link: Community Forum/Q&A Plugin or contact your dedicated sales representative.

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