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?

Note: Users must be logged in to the hub in order to participate in the forum.

1. Navigate to the Component tab and click on Forum.
2. On the Forum component, select the Category tab and then click on the New button on the top of the page.
3. Fill in the title of the new category.
4. Fill in the alias or title that will be displayed in the URL.
5. Fill in the scope or site and the scope ID or site identification number for the new category.
6. Select the state of publish from the drop-down.
   1. Unpublished: The category will be removed from the frontend Hub but available on the backend of the Hub.
   2. Published: The category will be available of the frontend and backend of the Hub.
   3. Trashed: The category will be removed from the Hub.
7. Select the access level from the drop-down.
   1. Public: All visitors or users of the Hub can access the category.
   2. Registered: Only registered users of the Hub can access the category.
   3. Special: Only registered users with special permissions can access the category.
   4. Protected: Only users with protected rights can access the category.
   5. Private: No users besides the creator of the category can access the category.
8. The Category can be locked so that no new posts will be allowed by checking the box in Details.
9. Click Save & Close to save the new section and to return to the Forum dashboard.

1. Navigate to the Component tab and click on Forum.
2. On the Forum component, select the Section tab and then click on the New button on the top of the page.
3. Fill in the title, alias (URL ending), scope (site), and scope ID for the new section.
4. Select the state of publish (unpublished, published, or trashed) from the drop down and the access level (public, registered, special, protected, or private).
5. Click Save to remain on the Forum: New Section edit page or click the Save & Close to save the new section and to return to the Forum dashboard.

1. Navigate to the Component tab and click on Forum.
2. In the Forum component, select Threads.
3. Click the New icon.
4. Fill in the title, alias (URL ending), scope (site), and scope ID for the new section.
5. Select the state of publish (unpublished, published, or trashed) from the drop down and the access level (public, registered, special, protected, or private).
6. Click Save to create the thread.

1. Navigate to the Component tab and click on Forum.
2. In the Forum component, find and select the Forum thread post to be edited by clicking the Delete icon.
3. The forum post will be automatically deleted and saved. Once a post is deleted, the material cannot be retrieved.

(Note: You have to be logged into your hub in order to complete the following tasks)

1. Click the Components tab and then select the Forum button located in the drop-down.
2. On the Forum page, click the Threads tab.
3. Select the title of the thread and then click the discussion post’s title.
4. Under the Publishing Options, selecting from the drop-down can change the Access of the discussion thread. 
   1. Public: All users or visitors to the Hub can view the discussion thread
   2. Registered: Only logged in users can view the discussion thread
   3. Private: Only certain members have access to the discussion thread
5. Save these changes by clicking the Save & Close button.