Configuring Discourse

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#1

I’ve decided to set up a Discourse server at work for some internal collaboration. I really like the way it all hangs together and i think it will be useful…

Just wondering if you guys ran into any gotcha’s when configuring Discourse? Any hints/tips/advice?

I’ve been reading through the forums on the Discourse site and it’s got a lot of useful info, just thought I’d ask given you guys went through the process pretty recently.

Thanks

#2

You’ll have to talk to @tcn33 for setup/backend stuff, but one of the things I’m really proud of (and thought was really warranted) was our custom-written introduction to Discourse.

One of Discourse’s greatest weaknesses is how different it is to a lot of forums. People might already be used to bbcode if they’ve used other forum software (VB/phpBB) in the past, and while Discourse has limited support for bbcode in its editor, for many people it’ll probably be the first time they’ve even heard of Markdown, let alone used it.

That, and because there’s so many other new things about Discourse means I felt an intro to Discourse post was necessary when starting out. There’s buttons people can click on to make things happen, of course, but it really helps with the first ten minutes when people are starting out with your forum.

Also, not going to tell you how to use Discourse, but collaboration might be an outside niche case.

#3

Thanks for that.

I say collaboration, I probably just mean communication. I work for a consultancy and it’s rare to spend any time with my colleagues at work as we’re all off doing projects and meetings all day, so we need a space to interact with each other - post links, have discussions, etc.

I went for the option of setting up Discourse on DigitalOcean. Still in the configuration stages though, and I think I messed it up by not using the right SMTP details so when I try to create an account I don’t get an email :slight_smile: Might have to start from scratch but not a big deal given how quick it is to set it all up.

#4

Again, still the wrong use case IMHO.

Have you looked at something like Slack?

#5

I’ll throw in another vote for Slack. We use it for a podcast that we record and it works great.

#6

Yeah I have, and I’m not so sure about it Basically I just want what I have with Appletalk (and other forums I use), but just for us at work.

I’ve set up Discourse and it was really easy, just going through and doing some customisations at the moment. Surprised how easy it all is, and how fluid.

The real key will be whether the other staff buy into it and start using it. If not, then it’s not the right solution to the problem - or the problem is unsolvable given our personalities. But I’m happy enough giving it a whirl.