Navigate to the Control Panel > Communications Tab > Website Modules > Discussion Forums.
Click Configure - Forum Defaults to set default settings for all new forums. You can also choose different settings at the individual forum level. We recommend choosing the settings you will use most of the time.
- Visibility - Public forums are visible to members and non-members, Club forums are visible to all members, and Forum Members forums are only visible to members of the specific forum.
- Who Can Post - Moderator-only posts are usually used in announcement-only forums. Non-member can never post to forums.
- Allow Editing Posts - Allow members to edit their forum messages after they've posted. Admins and forum moderates can always edit messages.
- Posting Method - Allow members to post to a forum thread via email.
- File Attachments - Allow members to include attachments in their posts.
- Moderator Approval - Configure your forums to require moderator approval for all posts or allow members to post without approval by a moderator. If members are allowed to post without moderator approval, messages will be live on your website immediately. Remember, you can still moderate individual members of a forum, and you can still change the default setting for an entire forum when it's created.
- Sending Emails - Send forum messages to members via email or make them viewable online only.
- Forum Mode - In Discussion Forum mode, emails containing posts are sent to the member (for example, Martin Smith) from the forum (for example, Board Members), and all replies are sent back to the forum. In Listserver mode, emails are sent to the forum (Board Members), and replies go back to either the forum or the original poster of the message.
- Subscriptions - Allow members to subscribe to individual threads within a forum and receive notifications when a new message is posted in a thread.
- Allow Private Replies - Allow forum members to reply to another member posting a message directly via email outside the forum.
- Send Email - Allow members to receive forum messages via email. If this option is not checked, members cannot receive messages via email regardless of their individual forum settings.
- Email Format - Configure the format of forum thread emails.
- Frequency - Define the default email frequency for forum messages. These settings can be changed by individual members in the forum settings of their Member Profile.
- Preferred Text Editor - Allow members to post formatted messages with the Formatted Text Editor, as opposed to a plain text editor.
- Message Signature - Allow members to include a short signature at the end of their posts (up to 200 characters). The signature can be configured in the forum settings of their Member Profile.
- Show Name - Show the member's full name when posting messages.
- Link to Bio - If you have enabled the Member Directory, display a link to the member's bio with their posts.
- Show Location - Display a member's location (from their contact information) with their posts.
- Local Time Offset - Adjust the time listed for message posts based on your time zone.
- Show Picture - Display a member's directory profile photo with their posts.