Discourse usage
Discourse works on laptops and tablets, in phone browsers, and via a phone app. You can also use Discourse by email - any mail you send must come from the email address listed in your ModTools (MT) account. Discourse includes standard accessibility features, though these haven't been formally verified; let us know about any issues and we'll ask the developers for help or improvements.
You automatically see all the Freegle volunteer discussion forums - you don't need to join each one. Each forum is called a group, and you can choose which ones to follow. In Discourse terms, each new message is called a topic, and you can reply to it; topics and replies are both called posts. (Discourse also has teams of users, but we use these sparingly.) Discourse doesn't have a separate Files section - anyone can currently upload images into messages, and "staff" can upload PDFs; this can be changed if needed.
Like most forums, each group has a series of topics and replies to them. A topic can also include a poll. You can "like" a topic or reply, "bookmark" posts of interest, and "flag" a post for the moderators' attention.
Quick tips
- You can receive notifications of new topics and replies in various ways.
- You can configure what's shown on the home page in Preferences -> Interface.
- If you have the Discourse site open, it updates automatically when there are new posts, showing e.g. "(2)" in the title.
