Community Websites - Discussion Forum

Purpose: A space for community discussion, questions, and shared information.

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The Discussion Forum is a shared space where community members can start and participate in conversations. 

At the top of the page residents will see a New Topic button, which allows them to create a new discussion. 
Once posted, topics appear in a list format, showing key details such as the number of replies, views, and the date of the most recent activity.

Each discussion is displayed as a single entry within the forum, making it easy to scan and follow ongoing conversations. As residents reply, the discussion updates automatically, keeping the most recent activity visible. 

This layout helps community members stay informed and engaged while keeping conversations organized and easy to access.

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Creating a Discussion Topic

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When creating a new discussion, members are presented with a form that allows them to enter the details of their post. 

A Display Name field is available, which controls how the user’s name appears on the discussion forum posts and will apply to all of their forum posts (future, and past). 

The Title field is used to label the discussion and helps others quickly understand what the post is about.

The Content area provides a rich text editor where users can write their message, format text, and include links or images if needed. 

Once the information has been entered, selecting Submit will post the discussion to the forum, where it becomes visible to other community members. 

Selecting Cancel will discard the post and return the user to the discussion forum.

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Viewing and Replying to a Discussion

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When a discussion topic is opened, the full conversation is displayed in a threaded view. 

Each post shows the author, message content, and the date and time it was posted. Messages appear in the order they were added, allowing members to easily follow the progression of the discussion. 

Any images or formatted text included in a post are displayed directly within the message.

To participate in the discussion, members can select Add Reply, which opens a response editor similar to the new topic form. 

Replies are added to the existing conversation and become visible to other community members once submitted. As new replies are posted, the discussion updates automatically, keeping the most recent activity accessible and easy to follow.

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Administration and Moderation

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All discussion forum posts and replies are visible to administrators. 

Regular monitoring of the forum is recommended to help ensure conversations remain appropriate, respectful, and aligned with community expectations. 

Administrators may review, manage, or address content if it is found to be inappropriate or does not follow community guidelines.