The Forum Overview tab in the dashboard provides great data and statistics on your Forum.

See the number of posts, comments, upvotes and claps in the Forum in a specified timeframe in this graph:

Filter by Forum Board to get a better idea of the activity in each board.

See your most popular "Hot Topics" in a pie chart, and the proportion of posts with those tags in a specified timeframe.

Filter by Forum Board to get a better idea of the most popular topics in each board.

A list of the most popular posts (generated by the top number of upvotes and claps) within the specified timeframe, with how many comments, upvotes, and claps each of them has garnered.

A list of the most active members posting, generated by the total number of posts made in the specified timeframe with how many posts these members have made.

A list of the most active members commenting on and replying to posts, generated by the total number of comments and replies they’ve made in the specified timeframe with a count of how many replies and comments they have made.

Filter by Forum Board to see who are the most active posters and most engaging posts.

All posts and comments made on the Forum, whether they have been deleted by the poster or by Forum Moderators can be seen in the dashboard, in the Posts & Comments tab.

Sort, search, and see all Forum posts, when they were posted, by whom, and to what Board. See the comments, views, or votes they’ve received in detail from this list.

If a post is locked, a small lock icon will also appear in line with the post details.

If they are being reviewed due to spam notification, you can see which Forum Moderator has reviewed the post, and when, and see its status.

Sort, search, and see all comments, when they were posted, edited, and by whom. Also, see if they’ve received any claps from other members. If they are being reviewed due to spam or other reasons, you can see which Forum Moderator has received the comment and when, and see its status.

Admins that have been added as Forum Moderators can see the most information, as they have access to posts and comments that have been deleted.

Admins who are also assigned as Forum Moderators can manage members’ reports of problematic posts and comments in your community’s dashboard, in the Forum menu, in Report Moderation.

Forum boards enhance engagement by organizing posts and the access to the posts in your Forum. Customize your Forum Boards, and set their access levels and visibility from this tab in the dashboard.

Add boards to your Forum by selecting the +Add Board button in the upper right-hand side of this dashboard page.

Add graphic assets of a board cover and board page banner to match your branding or use the default graphics provided.

Each post must be assigned to a board and boards (and all posts within) can be accessible to visitors, only signed-in members, or only to selected spaces.

The visibility toggle controls the visibility of the board as a whole. Visible boards will be seen in the Forum, and in search results while hidden boards will not appear in the Forum or in search results. Direct links to hidden boards will only be accessible by Forum moderators.

You can control who can see the board and all posts within by setting the access settings in the forum board dashboard when adding the board, or by editing the board.

Boards that are marked Public are visible to visitors to the community and all members who are signed in. The board and the posts within appear in search results in the community.

Boards that are gated (either by a skippable gate or enforced gate) are visible to visitors to the community and all members who are signed in. But, visitors cannot engage with the posts within those gated boards (upvote or like, comment, or read all comments) unless they sign in. The gated board and the posts within appear in search results in the community.

Boards that are restricted to 'All Members' are only visible to members who are signed in and not to visitors. The board and the posts within only appear in search results in the community when a user is signed in.

Individual posts cannot be restricted to spaces, but boards can be. If a board is restricted to a space, only those members in the space can see the Board cover and any posts within that Board. The board and the posts within only appear in search results in the community to those in the space.

Boards can be restricted so only Forum Moderators can post to that board. This limits who can post to that board, but any member can comment on the posts within.

Restrict posts to moderators only in the Forum Board Dashboard Settings:

Change the graphics, name, subtitle, access, and visibility at any time to boards by selecting the edit icon in line with the Board.

Customize your community’s Forum and appoint community members as Forum Moderators in the Forum Settings tab.

Customize the visibility of the entire forum from the dashboard.

The Forum will display in the main menu on the front end, and members who have access to the Boards (all members, or space-restricted Boards) will be able to access it.

The Forum will not display in the main menu on the front end, and no members will be able to access it.

If the Forum visibility is turned off, direct links to forum posts, etc. will not work and will send users to a ‘Forum is under construction’ page

This card shows an overview of your community. You can customize its details on the community customization page.

If a post or comment has not received any reactions or comments, it can be edited by the original poster. Or, you can enable posters to edit their work and comments even after it's received comments and reactions. Simply toggle 'on' the setting to 'Allow users to edit their posts after receiving comments and votes' from this page.

You can change how "Forum" and "Board" are called in your community. Rename "Forum" the name of your choice that is up to 11 characters long, and "Board" the name that is up to 20 characters long. After modifying the menu name, all the associated text will be automatically updated on both the community and in the dashboard.

If your forum is public for visitors to view content, you can hide members’ information to protect their privacy.

From the dashboard, you can decide to show or hide the dates forum posts were made. This setting will apply to all posts in the forum.

If a post is edited or changed by the poster, that timestamp will also appear on the post detail page.

Choose whether or not your member would receive notifications in their inbox if their posts receive comments or their comments receive replies.

The reaction mode for Forum posts can be changed to ‘likes’ or thumbs up 👍 versus up/down voting in your community. The platform uses these reactions from members to populate the most popular Forum posts in your community and provide accurate metrics in your dashboard.

This change must be made by the Gradual team and once made, will reflect on all posts in the Forum.

Learn more about Forum Moderators, what capabilities they have, and how to add them here.