Forums are a great way to increase the engagement of your members. While you can allow a forum to be publicly viewable, only logged in members are able to start or reply to a discussion.
You will need to create different forums topics that members can start discussions within.
General set up of your forum
- In the blue sidebar, click My Members.
- From the drop down menu, select Forums.
- Click the Forum Settings button.
- Set the maximum number of discussions per page.
- Set maximum number of posts per page.
- Set number of minutes a user has to edit a post.
- Save.
How to add your forum topics
- In the blue sidebar, click My Members.
- Select Forums from the drop down menu.
- Click the Create new forum button.
- Give the forum a title and a description.
- Set who will have access: admin, all members, by member group, public.
- If member group is chosen, tick the group to allow access.
- Save.
NOTE: setting the forum to Public access will ONLY allow the forum to be viewable. Only members can start and reply to discussions.
How to reorder your forum list
- On your Forum page, click and hold the grab handles = to drag and reorder your list.
Admin search function
- The admin search delivers results based on the forum name.
How to start a discussion as an admin
- Select the forum topic you would like to add a discussion to.
- Click the Start a Discussion button.
- Add subject title and body description.
- Select the forum.
- Post.
How to add your forum avatar
- Click My Members in the blue sidebar.
- Select Member Profiles then Edit My Profile button.
- Click Profile Photo.
- Upload a 400 x 400 pixel photo.
- and Save.
How to opt-in to receive forum notifications
- Click My Members in the blue sidebar.
- Select Member Profiles then Edit My Profile button.
- Tick Yes under Receive notifications of forum replies.
- and Save.
Admin will receive an email notification every time:
- a member starts a discussion.
- a member replies to an admin’s comment.
- a member replies to a discussion started by an admin.
How to add a forum menu link
- In the blue sidebar.
- Click the Homepage Editor.
- In the sidebar, select Menus.
- Then Top and +add menu.
- In the Text field, enter the link title.
- In the URL field, enter: /forum
- Submit.
How the forum search function works
- The forum search function delivers results based on the forum title and author display name.
What content can be included in a forum discussion
- Users can only post text-based discussions that include links. They cannot upload image or video files.
How members can view and edit their posted discussions
- Click the My Account link in the top menu.
- Select My Forum Discussions.
- Listed will be all the discussions they started.
- The Edit/Delete option will display as long as is it allowed.