Discourse features | Discourse - Civilized Discussion

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We’ve replaced all that with the power of just-in-time loading. Want to read more? Keep scrolling down.</p> </div> <div class="feature-item__media"> <video preload="auto" poster="/a/vid/scroll_poster.jpg" autoplay="" loop="" muted alt="example of discourse scrolling" > <source src="/a/vid/scroll.webm" type="video/webm"> <source src="/a/vid/scroll.mp4" type="video/mp4"> </video> </div> </article> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>Chat in real time</h3> <p>Create channels for community members to chat more informally and build relationships. When things come up that belong in a more discoverable place, chat messages can be quoted in topics where the discussion can continue over time.</p> </div> <div class="feature-item__media"> <video preload="auto" poster="/a/vid/chat_poster.png" autoplay="" loop="" muted alt="example of discourse chat" > <source src="/a/vid/feature-chat.webm" type="video/webm"> <source src="/a/vid/feature-chat.mp4" type="video/mp4"> </video> </div> </article> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>Empowering possibilities with AI</h3> <p>Our one-stop solution for integrating <a href="/ai">Artificial Intelligence to your Discourse community</a>, and making it easier to use and moderate.</p> </div> <div class="feature-item__media"> <video preload="auto" poster="/a/vid/ai_topic_summary_poster.png" autoplay="" loop="" muted alt="example of discourse AI" > <source src="/a/vid/ai-topic-summary.webm" type="video/webm"> <source src="/a/vid/ai-topic-summary.mp4" type="video/mp4"> </video> </div> </article> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>A personal touch</h3> <p>A custom sidebar and deliberately chosen user preferences allow community members to fine-tune their experience on your site to best meet their needs while out-of-the-box defaults and site settings allow you to configure the default experience for your community.</p> </div> <div class="feature-item__media"> <video preload="auto" poster="/a/vid/sidebar_poster.png" autoplay="" loop="" muted alt="example of discourse sidebar" > <source src="/a/vid/feature-sidebar.webm" type="video/webm"> <source src="/a/vid/feature-sidebar.mp4" type="video/mp4"> </video> </div> </article> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>Simple, but with context</h3> <p>Discourse is a simple, flat forum, where replies flow down the page in a line. Expand context at the bottom and top of each post, and also in quotes, to reveal the full conversation without losing your place.</p> </div> <div class="feature-item__media"> <video preload="auto" poster="/a/vid/context_poster.jpg" autoplay="" loop="" muted alt="example of discourse reply expansion" > <source src="/a/vid/context.webm" type="video/webm"> <source src="/a/vid/context.mp4" type="video/mp4"> </video> </div> </article> </section> <section class="half-col"> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>Born mobile, born to touch</h3> <p>Discourse was designed for high resolution touch devices, with a built-in mobile layout. Read or post from your laptop, tablet, and phone in your browser of choice, or our <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/discourse-app/id1173672076?mt=8">Discourse iOS app</a> and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.discourse&hl=en">Discourse Android app</a>.</p> </div> <div class="feature-item__media"> <img loading="lazy" src="/a/img/features/mobile-1x.png" srcset="/a/img/features/mobile-1x.png 1x, /a/img/features/mobile-2x.png 2x" alt="discourse on a mobile phone"> </div> </article> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>Links automatically expand</h3> <p>Want to share a cool link you found? Just paste it in on a single line and we’ll make it awesome. Links to Wikipedia, YouTube, Amazon, GitHub, Twitter, Flickr, and hundreds of other popular websites automatically expand to provide additional context and information.</p> </div> <div class="feature-item__media"> <video preload="auto" poster="/a/vid/onebox_poster.png" autoplay="" loop="" muted alt="example of a link embedding in discourse" > <source src="/a/vid/onebox.webm" type="video/webm"> <source src="/a/vid/onebox.mp4?2" type="video/mp4"> </video> </div> </article> </section> <section class="mini"> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>Single sign-on</h3> <p>Seamlessly integrate Discourse with your existing site’s login system with easy, robust single sign on.</p> </div> <div class="feature-item__media"> <img loading="lazy" src="/a/img/features/sso-1x.jpg" srcset="/a/img/features/sso-1x.jpg 1x, /a/img/features/sso-2x.jpg 2x" width="425" alt="single sign on example button"> </div> </article> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>Trust system</h3> <p>As members become trusted regulars over time, they earn abilities to help maintain their community.</p> </div> <div class="feature-item__media"> <img loading="lazy" src="/a/img/features/trust-1x.jpg" srcset="/a/img/features/trust-1x.jpg 1x, /a/img/features/trust-2x.jpg 2x" width="425" alt="a badge granting a user more forum control"> </div> </article> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>Community moderation</h3> <p>Let the community suppress spam and dangerous content, and amicably resolve disputes.</p> </div> <div class="feature-item__media"> <img loading="lazy" src="/a/img/features/moderation-1x.jpg" srcset="/a/img/features/moderation-1x.jpg 1x, /a/img/features/moderation-2x.jpg 2x" width="425" alt="example of a flagged post"> </div> </article> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>Spam blocking</h3> <p>Built in Akismet spam protection and heuristics including new user sandboxing, user flag blocking, and standard nofollow.</p> </div> <div class="feature-item__media"> <img loading="lazy" src="/a/img/features/spam-1x.jpg" srcset="/a/img/features/spam-1x.jpg 1x, /a/img/features/spam-2x.jpg 2x" width="425" alt="example of a spam post"> </div> </article> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>Social login</h3> <p>Easily add common social logins like Google, Facebook, Twitter, Discord, and GitHub.</p> </div> <div class="feature-item__media"> <img loading="lazy" src="/a/img/features/social-1x.jpg" srcset="/a/img/features/social-1x.jpg 1x, /a/img/features/social-2x.jpg 2x" width="425" alt="social login buttons"> </div> </article> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>Summarize topics</h3> <p>Use the Summarize button to condense long topics to just the most interesting and popular posts.</p> </div> <div class="feature-item__media"> <img loading="lazy" src="/a/img/features/summarize-1x.jpg" srcset="/a/img/features/summarize-1x.jpg 1x, /a/img/features/summarize-2x.jpg 2x" width="425" alt="a summarize post button"> </div> </article> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>Badges</h3> <p>Encourage positive community behaviors through the included set of badges, or add your own custom badges.</p> </div> <img loading="lazy" src="/a/img/features/badges-1x.jpg" srcset="/a/img/features/badges-1x.jpg 1x, /a/img/features/badges-2x.jpg 2x" width="425" alt="a badge for the number of likes a user recevied"> </article> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>Emoji</h3> <p>Access a searchable list of standard emoji. Choose from four different emoji sets, or define your own custom emoji.</p> </div> <img loading="lazy" src="/a/img/features/emoji-1x.jpg" srcset="/a/img/features/emoji-1x.jpg 1x, /a/img/features/emoji-2x.jpg 2x" width="425" alt="a list of emoji"> </article> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>Reply via email</h3> <p>When you aren’t active on the website, your notifications will be automatically sent to you via email. Reply via email from anywhere, on any device.</p> </div> <img loading="lazy" src="/a/img/features/replyemail-1x.jpg" srcset="/a/img/features/replyemail-1x.jpg 1x, /a/img/features/replyemail-2x.jpg 2x" width="425" alt="an email reply"> </article> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>Two-factor authentication</h3> <p>Enhance your account security with the free Android or iOS authenticator apps.</p> </div> <img loading="lazy" src="/a/img/features/twofactor-1x.jpg" srcset="/a/img/features/twofactor-1x.jpg 1x, /a/img/features/twofactor-2x.jpg 2x" width="425" alt="a summarize post button"> </article> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>Admin dashboard</h3> <p>Your most relevant and essential community health metrics are only a click away.</p> </div> <img loading="lazy" src="/a/img/features/dashboard-1x.jpg" srcset="/a/img/features/dashboard-1x.jpg 1x, /a/img/features/dashboard-2x.jpg 2x" width="425" alt="a summarize post button"> </article> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>Official plugins</h3> <p>Add chat integration, topic voting, Google Adsense, and more with our <a href="../plugins">officially supported plugins</a>.</p> </div> <img loading="lazy" src="/a/img/features/plugins-1x.jpg" srcset="/a/img/features/plugins-1x.jpg 1x, /a/img/features/plugins-2x.jpg 2x" width="425" alt="a summarize post button"> </article> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>Comprehensive API</h3> <p>Anything you see on screen, you can also do via an API call. Discourse is a JavaScript app that talks to <a href="https://docs.discourse.org">our Discourse API</a>.</p> </div> <img loading="lazy" src="/a/img/features/api-1x.jpg" srcset="/a/img/features/api-1x.jpg 1x, /a/img/features/api-2x.jpg 2x" width="425" alt="javascript code"> </article> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>100% open source</h3> <p>Incorporate Discourse into your site with complete confidence – the code belongs to everyone.</p> </div> <img loading="lazy" src="/a/img/features/opensource-1x.jpg" srcset="/a/img/features/opensource-1x.jpg 1x, /a/img/features/opensource-2x.jpg 2x" width="425" alt="discourse’s github page"> </article> <article class="feature-item"> <div class="feature-item__description"> <h3>One-click updates</h3> <p>Automatic notification of new versions in the dashboard, with a one-click web update process.</p> </div> <img loading="lazy" src="/a/img/features/update-1x.jpg" srcset="/a/img/features/update-1x.jpg 1x, /a/img/features/update-2x.jpg 2x" width="425" alt="the discourse upgrade button"> </article> </section> <div class="long-list"> <h2>Plus so much more!</h2> <div class="col"> <h3>Configure</h3> <ul> <li>Translations for <a href="https://translate.discourse.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">46 languages and counting</a></li> <li>SEO optimized for Google indexing and searching</li> <li><a href="https://commonmark.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Markdown</a>, BBCode, and HTML formatting in posts</li> <li>Automatic backups</li> <li>CDN support</li> <li>Blog integration</li> <li>Automatic & custom avatars</li> <li>Email invitations</li> <li>Mailing list support</li> <li>Dark mode and WCAG color scheme</li> </ul> </div> <div class="col"> <h3>Discuss</h3> <ul> <li>Anonymous posting</li> <li>File attachments</li> <li>Hide spoilers</li> <li>Embeddable polls</li> <li>Desktop notifications</li> <li>Auto-save drafts</li> <li>Post revision history</li> <li>Personal messaging</li> <li>Drag & drop image uploads</li> <li>Collaboratively edit wiki posts</li> </ul> </div> <div class="col"> <h3>Admin</h3> <ul> <li>Inline & bulk moderation</li> <li>Moderator flag queue</li> <li>Sitewide alerts & pinned topics</li> <li>Make your site invite-only</li> <li>Easily add private spaces</li> <li>Site analytics dashboard</li> <li>Post approval</li> <li>Self-managing usergroups</li> <li>Promote popular topics</li> <li>Incoming & outgoing link tracking</li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="content-wrapper center-cta"> <h4>Extend the functionality of your Discourse community with our officially supported plugins</h4> <a href="/plugins" class="button--secondary"> Explore our plugins directory</a> </div> </main> <div class="signoff-banner"> <h2>Are you ready to start your community?</h2> <a class="button--primary" href="/pricing"> Try it free for 14 days</a> </div> <footer class="site-footer"> <div class="site-footer__wrapper"> <div class="site-footer__top"> <div 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