Forum
What is a Forum?
A forum, or message board, is an online discussion area where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages.
Forums have a specific set of jargon associated with them; e.g. a single conversation is called a "thread" or discussion.
A discussion forum is hierarchical or tree-like in structure: a forum can contain a number of sections, each of which may have several categories. Within a forum's category, each new discussion started is called a thread, and can be replied to by as many people as so wish.
What is a section?
Sections are a way to organize or group related categories (topics). By default, sections are sequenced alphabetically by title.
What is a category?
Forum categories are a simple way to group related threads or discussions together. When a category is locked, no new threads may be created within that category. Typically, a locked category will be indicated as such by a padloack icon.
What is a thread?
A thread (sometimes called a discussion) is a collection of posts displayed from oldest to latest. A thread is defined by a title, an additional description that may summarize the intended discussion, and an opening or original post (common abbreviation OP, which can also mean original poster), which opens whatever dialogue or makes whatever announcement the poster wished. A thread can contain any number of posts, including multiple posts from the same members, even if they are one after the other.
Note: Users must be logged in to the hub in order to participate in the forum.
Creating a Thread
- Navigate to https://yourhubname.org/forum.
- Select a category under which to create a new discussion thread.
- Once the category has been opened up, click “New Discussion.”
- Next, enter content into the fields. Only required fields must be filled in.
- Select the “Make discussion sticky” option ensures that the thread will appear at the top of the threads listing, regardless of age.
- Select the “Closed thread (no new posts)” option to disallow any new posts from the new discussion.
- The category that was chosen previously will appear in the drop-down. To change this, choose another option.
- Next, add a title, such as the question or main topic of the new discussion thread.
- Insert the main content in the “Comments” field. Use CKEditor to add to the text. Then, enter tags or key words that can connect the discussion to other parts of the Hub in the Your Tags field.
- To attach a file to add outside sources to the new discussion thread, click “Browse” and select the file. A description of the file is optional.
- Select the "Post Anonymously" option to keep your name from appearing in the thread. Then, click “Save.”
Editing a Thread
- Navigate to https://yourhubname.org/forum.
- Select a category.
- Once the category has been opened up, click the "Edit" icon next to the discussion thread.
- After editing, click "Save" to save changes.
Note: Only the discussion thread creator can edit it.
Adding a Comment
- Navigate to https://yourhubname.org/forum.
- Select a category.
- Once the category has been opened up, choose a discussion thread to comment on.
- Enter the comment content into the "Comments" field.
- Enter tags (keywords) into the Tags field, if applicable.
- Select the "Post Anonymously" option to keep your name from appearing in the thread. Then, click “Save.”