About the Community Forums Module

The Community Forum module serves as a discussion board where portal users can ask questions, collaborate on subjects of interest, share knowledge, and engage in community discussions. The Community Forum can be used for announcements, customer support, partner collaboration, or general community engagement.

Key Capabilities

Discussion and Collaboration Features

• Question and Answer Format: Users can post questions, reply to questions, and mark replies as answers
• Thread Management: Users with appropriate permissions can lock threads from replies and sticky threads to the top of forums for visibility
• Rich Content Support: Posts and replies support text, images, and other media through rich text editing capabilities
• Email Notifications: Automated notifications for new posts, replies, and solved questions to keep users engaged

Topic-Based Organization

• Forum Topics: The Community Forum module is divided into Topics — sections of the Community Forum that are for specific subjects or posts
• Category Classification: Topics can be organized using categories for improved content discovery and navigation
• Flexible Configuration: Topics can be configured to allow for different user access levels and specific Community Forum functions
• Custom Ordering: Topics can be arranged in custom order on the Community Forum home page

Content Management and Moderation

• Status Control: Topics can be set to Draft or Published status to control user access
• Social Sharing: Optional social sharing buttons can be enabled on Community Forum posts
• Updates and Announcements: Special topic configuration allows employee-only posting for official updates and announcements
• Thread Controls: Sticky and lock functionality for important or closed discussions

User Access and Permissions

User Interaction Capabilities

• Post Questions: Users can create new discussion threads on relevant topics
• Reply and Engage: Community members can respond to questions and participate in discussions
• Mark Solutions: Users can identify helpful replies as answers to questions
• Email Subscriptions: Users can subscribe to topics and receive notifications about new activity

Administrative Controls

• Topic Creation: Administrators can create and configure forum topics for different subjects
• Sharing Management: Topics can be shared with specific users, groups, or made publicly accessible
• Category Management: Administrators can create and organize topic categories
• Banner and Branding: Customizable forum home page with banner, messaging, and branding options

Configuration and Customization

Visual Customization

• Banner Settings: Configurable banner with custom images, headings, messages, and call-to-action buttons
• Layout Options: Multiple home page layout options including "Topic List Grouped by Categories"
• Custom Module Naming: Override default module names with custom titles and multi-language support
• Theme Integration: Seamless integration with portal themes and visual identity

Email Notification System

• Subscription Templates: Configurable email templates for new post notifications, solved question notifications, and new reply notifications
• Administrative Alerts: Internal notifications to administrators about new forum activity
• User Preferences: Individual users can control their notification preferences

Integration Features

Security and Access Control

• Role-Based Access: Integration with Security Role permissions for granular access control
• Topic-Level Sharing: Individual topics can be shared with specific users, User Groups, or Security Roles
• Guest Access: Support for public web access through Guest Security Roles
• Account-Based Filtering: Partner and Customer users see content appropriate to their account associations

Multi-Language Support

• Custom Labels: Support for custom labels and multi-language implementations
• Localized Content: Banner messages, button labels, and module names can be localized
• Regional Customization: Content can be tailored for different geographic regions and languages

Common Use Cases

Customer Support Forum

• Technical Questions: Customers can ask technical questions and receive answers from support staff and community members
• Knowledge Sharing: Build a searchable knowledge base through community Q&A interactions
• Issue Resolution: Track problem resolution through the question/answer marking system

Partner Collaboration

• Best Practices Sharing: Partners can share successful strategies and implementation approaches
• Product Discussions: Forum topics for specific products, features, or market segments
• Training Support: Ongoing discussion and support for training programs and certifications

Internal Communication

• Company Updates: Employee-only topics for internal announcements and company news
• Cross-Department Collaboration: Forums for different departments or project teams
• Policy Discussion: Dedicated spaces for policy updates and procedural discussions

Best Practices

• Topic Structure: Create clear, focused topics that align with user needs and organizational objectives
• Category Planning: Use categories strategically to improve content organization and discoverability
• Moderation Strategy: Establish clear guidelines for thread management and content moderation
• Email Balance: Configure notifications to keep users engaged without overwhelming them
• Regular Maintenance: Monitor forum activity and adjust topic organization based on usage patterns

The Community Forum module provides essential community building and knowledge sharing capabilities that support collaborative relationships, efficient support processes, and engaged user communities across your entire portal ecosystem.

See more:

• Setting Up Modules

Community Forum Checklist >>