Multiple Forums?

[OverallOpinion]

So, the main page has a list of the forums, but the Sub-Forums seem to be cluttering the list.

Is there anyway I can hide the subforums are the main pages forum list?

Ex: Hobbies
Fishing
Camping
Hiking

I would like it just to display

Hobbies.

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Furthermore, Forums page, under I believe it to be activity module. Where it shows a list of all the forum topics.

Is there anyway I can duplicate this module, HOWEVER, making it a completely different forum, with different topics.

Example.

Navigation bar

FORUMS (where the main module for forums is location) BLOGS, ARTICLES, GROUPS, PREMIUM ( A custom page tab I created by adding a new page... ) HOME ( Another custom page I added that just redirects the user to the main homepage ((my forum is hosted under a subdomain of my dns)))

Now, My PREMIUM tab is blank, but I would like to all together create an alternate forum, with alternate list of topics. How would I do this?

Thanks again! You guys are really helping this process along, and I do truly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!

[OverallOpinion]

I hope this is an option!

[OverallOpinion]

Anybody?

[Wayne Luke]

At this time, you would have to edit templates to remove the sub-forums from the main activity stream module on the home page.

[In Omnibus]

So if I understand correctly, removing subforums from display in the main activity stream, will make them invisble on the forums page?

You could add the following to the css_additional.css template

.subforum-list
{display: none;}

[Cmathis]

At this time, you would have to edit templates to remove the sub-forums from the main activity stream module on the home page.

Isn't the option to hide the sub-forums a standard feature on even the oldest of forum platforms? I want to list several school districts, each one having many schools. My members want to see a list of "districts", not a list of a hundred schools they have no interest in.

[Mark.B]

Isn't the option to hide the sub-forums a standard feature on even the oldest of forum platforms? I want to list several school districts, each one having many schools. My members want to see a list of "districts", not a list of a hundred schools they have no interest in.

The situation is as Wayne has explained I'm afraid, you are welcome to raise an improvement request in the tracker if you feel this should be changed.
As support we can only advise you how the product works, we cannot change it.

[Wayne Luke]

Isn't the option to hide the sub-forums a standard feature on even the oldest of forum platforms? I want to list several school districts, each one having many schools. My members want to see a list of "districts", not a list of a hundred schools they have no interest in.

You can control what forums each person sees and has access to using Custom Usergroups and permissions. However, the system can become hard to manage if you have many usergroups and forums. This is an age-old issue that really doesn't have a good solution.

You can create custom usergroups under Usergroups -> Add New Usergroup. Create one for each school district and assign it to the proper forums using Usergroups -> Channel Permissions. Then when the users register, you would assign to them the usergroups they should be under by editing their user profile under Users -> Search For Users.

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A better solution would be to use Social Groups. These are found under the Groups tab in your default navigation. With Social Groups, each school district can have a "Group Owner" and create a group. They get practically the same functionality as Forums but you don't have to manage the memberships as the Site Administrator. Each person would apply to join the different groups they are interested in and the assigned Group Owner would approve it. Each group can have its own logo or icon, owner, moderators. They manage their own discussions. You would be free to manage the site as a whole instead of micromanaging users. You can even create the social groups and when someone steps up to lead them, assign ownership to them. These management functions aren't available in Forums. you have to maintain everything.


You can even create categories for your Groups in the AdminCP under Channels -> Channel Management. So they can be organized by school type, area, etc...
Modules are provided to show users which groups they belong to. Group Owners can invite users to become members and more.

Then you can use forums how they were designed as general purpose discussion areas.

[Cmathis]

This is an age-old issue that really doesn't have a good solution.

Actually, there are easy solutions. The old, outdated FusionBB had an option to show or not show sub-forums under the categories. It was as simple as checking a box in the Admin Control Panel.

Fact is, vBulletin just doesn't have a feature that other platforms do. It's okay, I just wanted to point out that it's doable and it's being done. Here is the option "List Sub Forums". All, number, or by name (clickable)

[Cmathis]

And when they're listed, they don't take up the entire page, like vBulletin. ;-)

[Mark.B]

Anything is "doable" with time, skill and money.
The only way to have anything like this changed is to raise an improvement request in the tracker.

http://tracker.vbulletin.com/secure/CreateIssue.jspa?pid=10091&issuetype=4

Just fill in the summary and description fields, don't worry about the rest, we will sort that.

[Wayne Luke]

Actually, there are easy solutions. The old, outdated FusionBB had an option to show or not show sub-forums under the categories. It was as simple as checking a box in the Admin Control Panel.

Fact is, vBulletin just doesn't have a feature that other platforms do. It's okay, I just wanted to point out that it's doable and it's being done. Here is the option "List Sub Forums". All, number, or by name (clickable)

That isn't really a solution to managing a ton of forums and the users assigned to each forum. That is just a method of display. You can do that in vBulletin as well. All it takes is some template editing and/or CSS.

[Cmathis]

That isn't really a solution to managing a ton of forums and the users assigned to each forum. That is just a method of display. You can do that in vBulletin as well. All it takes is some template editing and/or CSS.

Exactly, that's the point, it's a method of display for the general public. You don't have to edit each user group.

And, it can be achieved with the click of the mouse, not editing templates and CSS. My only point was, that it's much easier in other forum software - that's all. Most people at the "user" level don't want to be forced to edit code, just make a simple display adjustment.

Thanks for the info. :-)

[Wayne Luke]

Users won't be editing code. They don't even have access to do so. As the site owner, you control the display. You're wanting to do something that the great majority of our customers do not. This is why we give you the full access to the source code, templates, css, etc... You can make the system do anything you want.