Forum module FAQ

How do I enable students to rate forum posts?

1. Access the Assign roles page via the Roles tab in editing forum page, then follow the "Override roles" link. (In Moodle 1.9 onwards, click the "Override permissions" tab in the editing forum page.)
2. Select the Student role.
3. Set the capability mod/forum:rate to allow.
4. Click the "Save changes" button.

Note: By default, only administrators are able to override permissions. Instructions on enabling teachers to override permissions can be found in Override permissions.

How can I create a teacher-only forum?

A teacher/tutor-only forum may be added to a course by creating a hidden forum. Teachers are able to view hidden course activities whereas students cannot.

How can I remove the news forum from a course?

1. Delete the news forum from the course homepage.
2. In Course settings set "News items to show" to 0.
3. Delete the Latest news block.

How can I remove test messages from a new forum?

There are several options (Here is a nice graphic). Remember you can

• Move the discussion/thread to another forum
• Edit the post with your moderator powers
• Delete the post with your moderator powers
• Split the thread at a particular post and move it to another thread
• Split>move>delete your test messages.

How do I enable logged-in users to view the site news?

See News forum for details.

Why does 'Post threshold for blocking' still not stop students from exceeding the threshold?

Once the 'Post threshold for blocking' is armed and set in the forum activity instance, it is actually the mod/forum:throttlingapplies capability that enforces it. By default, this is set to 'Not set' in the student role. Either set this to 'Allow' for the student role in system, or use a override on the forum activity instance this applies to. While one forum can have one limit, it can be applied to one user and not another by using the roles system. For more information see MDL 10720 or discussion here.

How can I set a display period for news forum announcements?

Timed posts are disabled by default, but the feature can be enabled by checking the forum_enabletimedposts checkbox in the forum settings via Administration > Modules > Activities. Timed posts can then be created by users with the capability to view hidden timed posts (normally admins and teachers).

Why are email copies of forum posts not being sent?

The most likely reason is that the cron is not set up. Please refer to the cron instructions.

Tips:

• Try the default settings in Administration > Server > Email. This generally works.
• Make sure that allowuseremailcharset in Administration > Server > Email is set to No. Setting this to Yes can cause a problem in some versions of Moodle.

Why can't students in separate groups reply to a forum discussion started by a teacher?

When using groups, teachers are given the option of adding a new discussion topic for all participants or for a selected group. To enable students in separate groups to reply to a discussion, the teacher must copy and paste their discussion topic for each separate group, selecting each group from the dropdown menu at the top left of the forum page before clicking the "Add a new discussion topic" button.

Why can't an admin user post in the site news forum?

Please check the following:

• Default role for all users (in Administration > Users > Permissions > User policies) - should be set to Authenticated user
• Default frontpage role (in Administration > Front Page > Front Page settings) - should be set to none or Student
• That the admin user is not assigned the role of guest as a system role or a front page role or in the site news forum context

How do I enable guests to post in a forum?

It's not possible to enable guests to post in a forum, though there is a workaround. Please see the section 'Guests and posting in a forum' in Forum permissions for details.

How can I close/archive a forum?

A permissions override may be used to close/archive a forum so that students may no longer start new discussions, nor add replies, but may still read all the discussions. For further details, see Forum permissions.

Can I subscribe to just one discussion in a forum?

Not at present. There is a mod: http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-1626

Students can see the Latest News block but can't access messages

N.b. the Latest News sidebar block is sometimes mistaken for the Forum itself; in fact it is only a display of information from the Forum. If students can't access the messages, this is often because the News Forum itself has been hidden from student view.

To Show the News Forum again, Teachers (i.e. editors on that area) should:

1. Log in, access the relevant course area, and Turn Editing On
2. Locate the News Forum link on the area's Front Page (often in the top middle block). If hidden, its link appears ghosted-out and its Eye icon, closed.
3. To Show it, click the Eye icon once until it appears as an Open Eye.

See also

• Using Moodle Forum module forum
• Using Moodle Ability to post anonymously forum discussion