One of the great features of the Wikidot platform is that each wiki comes equipped with a discussion board. This can be useful for many applications at the BGC, especially for courses. Below is a step by step guide to setting up and using the forum feature in the BGC wikis.[1]
Activating the Forum
The first step in using the discussion forum is turning it on in the the site administration panel. This panel should be accessible from any page in the wiki by clicking Site Admin.[2] Once you have entered the administration panel you can activate the forum by selecting Settings under Forum & discussion in the side menu.
Activate the forum by clicking the activate forum now button:
Your forum should now be active and ready to use. Use the following instructions to learn how to post to the forum and change its structure.
Using the Forum
Now that you have activated the forum you can begin to use it. Clicking on the Forum link anywhere in the web should take you to the default set up, which looks like this:
From here you can see the list of categories (in this case there is one category General) as well as the number of threads and posts in each category. To enter the category and read or add threads and posts click on the category name General. Before any threads have been added your forum should look like this.
Click the Create a New Thread button to add a thread to the forum. Add information under the Title, Summary as well in the general text editing box to create a starting post for your thread.
The result should look like the following image.
From here you click either the New Post or Reply buttons to continue the conversation in your forum.
You'll notice that creating a thread, adding a post or replying to a post all use the familiar Wikidot toolset:
Continue to add threads and posts where you see necessary to generate a discussion on your site.
Changing the Forum Structure
If you are an administrator you can go also change the structure of your forum, adding adding additional groups and categories to the default setup. Do this by choosing Structure under Forum & discussion in the side menu.
When you enter Structure in the admin section for the first time your forum should look like this:
Here we see not only the forum categories that we see in the general wiki, but also the hidden forum categories that include page comments and deleted threads.
Adding Groups
Adding groups to the forum structure is relatively straightforward. At the bottom of the forum structure click the Create a new group
You will be provided with a text box to edit the name, description, and nesting structure of your group.
Once you add the relevant information click save and you should see your new group.
You can always edit, delete, or change your groups place in the forum structure by using the edit, delete, move up and move down links.
Adding Categories
Adding categories to a group in a forum is as easy as adding groups. Click on the Add a category link in the appropriate group.
Just as with groups you will be presented with a text box to edit the title, description, and nesting structure of your category.
Save your new category will appear under the appropriate group within the forum structure.
Just like with groups you can also edit, delete, move up and move down your category within the forum structure.
Finally, once you exit the administration panel you can view your forum and the new structure will be visible and new threads and posts can easily be created.
Notes
1. PLEASE NOTE THAT ONLY ADMINS CAN ACTIVATE AND SET UP FORUM STRUCTURE.
2. Most BGC Wikis have the forum turned on by default and you may not need to do this step for your wiki.
