Forum

Features

• Categories and sections — two levels. Addresses read like a path: /forum/razdel/tema.
• Topic kinds. Out of the box there is «Discussion», with no fields or statuses. Your own kinds (question, request, bug, suggestion) are set up in the panel: fields, statuses, a solution marker, voting on the topic.
• Tags and prefixes: as many tags as you like, each with its own page; one prefix, shown before the title.
• Section filters by type, status, prefix, solution and replies; sorting by latest activity, newest, replies or views.
• Unread: «Read from where you stopped», «Mark all read», and a «What is new» page. The bottom of a topic shows who is reading it right now.
• Subscriptions: the author and everyone who replies are subscribed automatically. Notifications for replies, @name mentions and a marked solution.
• Attachments through the media library, reports on posts, preview before posting.
• Moderation from the topic: pin, close, remove a post or a topic. Removed items go to the bin and can be restored from there.
• Site search looks inside posts and shows an excerpt.
• Language is set per section, or «All languages».

Configuration

In the panel: «Forum» → the «Settings» tab:

• «Intro on the forum's front page» — text shown above the list of sections.
• «Show on the home page», «Discussions on the home page» (1–12, default 4), «Discussions in the sidebar block» (1–20, default 5).
• «Topics per page» (default 25), «Posts per page» (default 20).

The forum can be chosen as the site's home page, and the topic address format (with or without an ID) is set in the general address settings.

Other tabs: «Overview», «Forum sections», «Topic kinds», «Topic prefixes», «Moderation»; a «Recount» button refreshes the counters. Each section has a «Who sees this section» block with «See», «Reply», «Start topics» and «Keep order» checkboxes per role. While nothing is ticked, the section is open to everyone; the first tick closes it to all other roles, and it disappears from the list, search and sitemap.

Permissions

• Write on the forum — topics and replies. Granted on install to: Member, Moderator, Editor, Administrator.
• Keep order on the forum — pin, close, remove. Moderator, Editor, Administrator.
• Create forum sections — manage the forum in the panel. Editor, Administrator.

Everyone can read; signed-in users can post. A topic's solution and status are changed by its author or a moderator.

On the site

• /forum, /forum/new («What is new»), /forum/tag/<tag>, /forum/<section>, /forum/<section>/<topic>.
• A «Forum» item in the site menu.
• A «Discussions on the home page» block and a «Recent discussions» block in the sidebar.
• Topics in search and the sitemap, activity in the user account and profile.

Limits: 5 new topics and 20 replies per 10 minutes, 10 reports per hour.

Installation and removal

Installation creates tables for sections, topics, posts, types, prefixes, tags, votes, subscriptions, attachments, read markers and section permissions, adds the «Discussion» type and the «General» section, and assigns permissions. Removing with data rolls back the migrations: all forum tables go, including the tables of custom types, along with the module's permissions and settings.

Left out on purpose

• A third level of sections — only category and section.
• Topic translation: the language belongs to the section, and people write topics in their own.
• Permissions for individual people — roles only.
• Tags shared with other modules: the forum does not depend on news or downloads.
• Deleting a section together with its topics: only an empty section can be deleted.