Before You Begin:
- Access to the Info Hub Forum is permission-driven. Members must be given Create access to participate. See Create a New Access Level - Users for details on configuring permissions.
- The Forum must be enabled in the Info Hub.
- At least one set of categories and forums should be added so members have somewhere to post.
What the Info Hub Forum Does
The Info Hub Forum enables you to add value for your members by allowing them to network with like-minded individuals who may be valuable resources. The Info Hub Forum provides a way for your members to ask each other questions, exchange information and ideas, share resources, and more.
The Forum provides members the ability to:
- Participate in discussion categories and threads that the association staff create, as well as the ability to create their own forums
- Have discussions that can be limited to specific groups with limited access
- Easily access the forum from either their computer or mobile device
- Easily view content and contribute; be able to see new information
- Have the ability to hone in on topics and discussion threads of interest to them and receive updates
- View/contribute both text and rich content like images and videos
- Easily search content and find relevant information
- Have discussions tied to key things in the database,permission-driven like events or lists/committees
| NOTE: Access to the Info Hub Forum is permission driven. Your members must be given Create access to participate in the forum. See Create a New Access Level - Users for details on configuring permissions. |
Once the Forum is enabled in the Info Hub and categories and forums have been added, members can easily view and follow discussions, see popular discussions, and receive notifications about key information, so they can home in on areas of interest.
A link to the Forum is displayed in the Info Hub's left-hand navigation. NOTE: Members with NONE access to the Forum will not see this link.
Step-by-Step Instructions: Navigating the Forum Page
The Forum page is divided into three distinct sections.
Main Section
When a member first accesses the Forum, the main section will be populated with all topics, ordered by newest first. Within the main section, members will be able to:
- See topics listed in order of activity (most active is on top)
- Click on a Topic title to see topic details/comments, like topics, and respond to topics.
- Click the eyeball icon on any topic to watch that topic. If a member is watching a topic, the eyeball icon will change from gray to the primary color of the Info Hub. The member will receive email notifications of updates made to a topic. NOTE: If watching a topic, you will receive notifications per your contact preferences.
- Add new posts
The following information is displayed for topics:
- The Forum
- The Forum Category
- Who posted and when it was posted
- The image of the person who posted. The image is the image that the member has uploaded to their profile in the Info Hub. A gray circle will be displayed if an image is not found.
- The Last activity, who and when posted
Filtering options in the main section allow for filtering to a specific date range, author, category, etc.
Top Right Section
In the top right section of the Forum, members will find ways to refresh the information shown in the main section:
- Watching: Clicking this option will refresh the main section to display only those topics the member is watching.
- My Posts: Clicking this option will refresh the main section to only display the member's own posts.
- My Drafts: Clicking this option refreshes the main section to display only the member's drafts.
Bottom Right Section
In the bottom-right section of the Forum, a list of all categories and their associated forums is displayed. For each Forum, the number of topics associated with that forum is also displayed. By clicking a category or forum, the main section will be updated to show only those items.
Common Pitfalls
- Members can't see the Forum link: it only appears for members with at least View access; members with NONE access will not see it, and members need Create access to post. Confirm the member's Info Hub access level before troubleshooting.
- No content to engage with: If the Forum is enabled but no categories or forums have been created, members will have nowhere to post. Set up your categories and forums first.