Enterprise Discussions is an optional forum for your community: a discussions directory, categories, and a feed of posts, with roles for members, volunteers, and moderators. It stands apart from the threads on a chapter or event page.
Enterprise Discussions is a forum for the whole community. Members open a discussions directory, choose a category, and keep a thread going after any one chapter gathering or event ends. A category can stand on its own. A category can also be the forum for a chapter or an event, so the people who belong there take part in that category.
It is an add-on. Threads on a chapter page or an event page are a different feature, and those threads can exist without this forum. That brief is Introduction to discussions.
Where it fits
- Community site — the public home. The discussions directory is a page on that site, often at /discussions.
- Category — a topic area in the forum. A category can contain sub-categories.
- Discussion — one thread: a title, a post, and replies. People find threads in a category, or in the feed on the discussions home.
- Chapter or event forum — a category tied to a chapter or an event. People who belong to that chapter, or who are attending that event, can take part. Other categories have no chapter and no event.
For the rest of the platform, see Bevy introduction.
What people see
The discussions home is the public face of the forum. It typically includes:
- A directory of categories, often at /discussions
- A feed of posts. Each post is a card with a title. Some cards also show a short excerpt.
- Categories featured on the home page or in the sidebar
- Forums the person follows, in the sidebar when they are signed in
- Search across discussions. When the community uses Community Knowledge AI, that search can answer from forum posts. See What is Community Knowledge AI?.
A category page lists the threads in that topic, and it can list sub-categories. Opening a thread shows the post and its replies. How a member finds a forum, writes a post, and follows a thread is in Getting Started with Enterprise Forums.
Note: People who are not signed in can read public forums. When they open a forum that requires an account, the community can show a sign-in prompt and bring them back to that page after they sign in. Public forums stay readable without an account.
What the add-on includes
| Building block | What it delivers |
|---|---|
| Discussions directory | A home for every forum on the community site, often at /discussions, separate from a single chapter or event page. |
| Categories | Topic areas for threads, including sub-categories. Each category has its own visibility and its own team. |
| Feed | A list of posts on the discussions home and inside a category. A discussion can be pinned to the home or to the top of its category. |
| Post types | Discussion, Question, Idea, and Blog, where the community and the category have turned that type on. |
| Forum roles | Guest, regular user, volunteer, moderator, and forum administrator. What each role can do is below. |
| Tags | Labels members use to find related discussions. A tag created for forums is also available on events, and the reverse is true. |
| Follows and notifications | Follow a forum or a thread, then get site and email updates. The bell next to the profile picture lists notifications. |
| Moderation | Review flags, approve or archive posts, lock or move a discussion, and remove a post. The actions depend on the role. |
| Recognition | Points, badges, and leaderboards can count forum activity, such as starting a thread, replying, or having a reply marked as the answer, when gamification is turned on. Leaderboards can appear in the discussions sidebar. See Introduction to Bevy gamification. |
How it differs from chapter and event discussions
| Chapter and event Discussions | Enterprise Discussions | |
|---|---|---|
| Included | Yes, when the community turns them on for a chapter. Event discussions follow that chapter. | No. This is an add-on. Ask your Customer Success Manager if you want it. |
| Where people find it | In the Discussions area on a chapter page or an event page. | In the discussions directory and on category pages. |
| Who can start a thread | A member of that chapter, or a person attending that event. | A signed-in member, where that forum allows posting. Someone who is not signed in can read a public forum. |
| Where a pin appears | On that chapter or event discussion list. | On the discussions home, or at the top of the category. |
| Best for | A conversation tied to one chapter or one event. | An ongoing forum with many topics, categories, and moderators. |
How members post on a chapter or event page is in Participate in chapter and event discussions. How a chapter team moderates those threads is in Manage and moderate chapter and event discussions.
A category tied to a chapter or an event can share that chapter or event's name, description, and image. Sharing stays off until your Customer Success Manager turns forum sync on. Updating either side updates the other. The description is stored as plain text. What stays in sync is in About forum sync with chapters and events.
Who can take part
Five roles cover the forum. Guests and regular users are recognized automatically. Volunteer, moderator, and administrator are assigned on the forum. The same person can hold a different role in a different category.
| Role | How they get it | What they can do |
|---|---|---|
| Guest | Not signed in. | Read public forums. |
| Regular user | Signed in. Recognized automatically where the forum allows members to take part. | Start a discussion, reply, add tags, attach a file, and flag a post. |
| Volunteer | Assigned on the forum. A chapter volunteer also receives this role on that chapter's forum. | Approve or archive posts, lock or move a discussion, and pin a discussion to the discussions home. |
| Moderator | Assigned on the forum. A chapter leader also receives this role on that chapter's forum. | Edit or delete other people's posts, and manage volunteers. |
| Administrator | Assigned on the forum. | Create, edit, and delete forums, and manage other forum administrators. |
Note: A forum administrator manages forums. An HQ admin manages the community. The two roles are assigned separately. Bevy Support grants HQ admin access. Chapter check-in staff keep ordinary member access on the forum. The check-in role does not make them a volunteer.
The full permission list, including permissions a community can add to a role, is in About role management and permissions. How to assign someone on a category is in Create and manage forums.
What members can post
When more than one type is available, New post asks which kind of thread to start. The menu lists only the types that category allows. From the discussions home, it lists the types the community has turned on. If only one type is available, New post opens the composer directly.
| Post type | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Discussion | An open thread of replies. |
| Question | A thread where one reply can be marked as the answer. |
| Idea | A suggestion members can vote on. |
| Blog | An article-style post, on categories that offer it. |
Choosing a type is in About choosing a post type. A published thread can be changed to another type later. The link, the title, and the replies stay. Type-specific details, such as an accepted answer or idea votes, are hidden until the thread is changed back. That change is in About post type conversion.
Who can see a forum
Each category is public, or limited to people who are signed in. A forum linked to a private chapter is further limited to members of that chapter. The same forum can look different depending on who opens it.
| Who is looking | What they can open |
|---|---|
| Not signed in | Public forums. Forums limited to signed-in people, and forums linked to private chapters, stay hidden. |
| Signed in, not a member of that chapter | Public forums, and forums limited to signed-in people. |
| Member of a private chapter | The forums above, plus forums linked to the private chapters they belong to. |
| Forum administrator | Every forum on the site. |
Note: There is no private forum that stands on its own. To limit a forum to a group, link it to a private chapter. A person who is not signed in may still open that chapter's public page, while the forum stays hidden. Who can see a forum is in About forum visibility.
What it is not
- The live chat inside a virtual event. That conversation belongs to the session. A forum thread stays on the discussions directory.
- The Discussions area on a chapter page or an event page. Those threads are Introduction to discussions.
- Included with every Bevy community. Ask your Customer Success Manager if you want the add-on.
- A substitute for an HQ admin. A forum administrator is assigned on a forum. An HQ admin is assigned for the community.
- A staff badge. A role name on a post shows forum responsibility. A staff badge shows that the person works for the company or the community. See Identify company staff with a staff badge.
- Points and badges by itself. Gamification is a separate feature. It can count forum activity when it is turned on.
Where to go next
- Getting Started with Enterprise Forums — how members find a forum, post, reply, and follow a thread.
- Create and manage forums — how admins create categories, assign roles, and pin a discussion.
- Moderating discussions — how moderators review, remove, and restore posts.
- Introduction to discussions — threads on a chapter page or an event page. Joining those threads is in Participate in chapter and event discussions.
- Introduction to Bevy gamification — points, badges, profile titles, and leaderboards.