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Gemini-2.5-flash-preview-05-20

Executive Report on Discourse Feature Requests

sam

Look at the top 1000 open topics in the feature category - ordered by like (first post only) - all time … make me an executive report of the:

  • Top 20 features CDCK should build
  • Easiest 20 features CDCK could build
  • Obvious duplicates
  • Things that are very poorly defined

ask me no more questions, just run the research

forum_research_bot
Preparing research

Proposed goals: Retrieve topic titles, topic IDs, URL of the first post, the number of likes on the first post, and the full content of the first post for each matching topic for analysis.

Found 1000 posts matching ‘category:feature status:open post_type:first order:likes max_results:1000’

Researching

Researching: Retrieve topic titles, topic IDs, URL of the first post, the number of likes on the first post, and the full content of the first post for each matching topic for analysis. Identify potential features, their complexity, and any instances of duplication or poor definition within the top 1000 open feature requests by likes on the first post.

Found 1000 posts matching ‘category:feature status:open post_type:first order:likes max_results:1000’

Here is an executive report based on the top 1000 open topics in the feature category, ordered by the number of likes on their first post:

Executive Report: Feature Requests in Discourse Meta

This report summarizes key insights from highly-liked open feature requests in the “Feature” category on Discourse Meta, identifying top priorities, easier-to-implement features, recurring themes, and areas needing clearer definition.

Top 20 Features CDCK Should Build (by community interest)

These features have garnered the most likes on their initial posts, indicating strong community demand and potential impact:

  1. Usercard Redesign Experiment (55 likes) [1] - A significant UI/UX overhaul for usercards, currently an experiment.
  2. Experimental ‘lazy_loaded_categories’ feature enabled on Meta (44 likes) [2] - Improves performance for communities with many categories.
  3. Changes coming to settings for giving access to features (from trust levels to groups) (44 likes) [3] - Enhancing permission flexibility by shifting from trust levels to groups.
  4. ActivityPub Support: Phase 1 RFC (39 likes) [4] - Integration with the ActivityPub protocol for federated content consumption.
  5. Notify on every like should be the default (38 likes) [5] - Changing default notification behavior for likes to be more aggressive.
  6. Add ‘stop impersonating’ link to user avatar dropdown when impersonating (31 likes) [6] - A quality-of-life improvement for administrators.
  7. The "new new" has been enabled on Meta (26 likes) [7] - Experiment merging ‘new’ and ‘unread’ lists for simplification.
  8. Add … option to Discourse Reactions (24 likes) [8] - Expanding reaction options beyond a static number.
  9. Offering "private support" as part of a public support community (24 likes) [9] - Addressing a complex use case for confidential client support within a public forum.
  10. Matrix protocol for chat (24 likes) [10] - Deeper integration with the Matrix communication protocol.
  11. Closing the flag loop (24 likes) [11] - Notifying users when their flags are handled, encouraging more flagging.
  12. Natural breakpoints or "chapters" for long topics? (24 likes) [12] - UI/UX improvements for navigating lengthy discussions.
  13. iOS 16 web push notifications in 2023 (23 likes) [13] - Implementing web push notifications for iOS devices.
  14. Accessibility audit and shepherd for making improvements (23 likes) [14] - Dedicated effort to improve overall Discourse accessibility.
  15. Auto-bump a topic if its title contains today’s date (23 likes) [15] - Automating visibility for event-related topics.
  16. Adding custom content to summary emails (22 likes) [16] - Allowing custom HTML/text in digest emails. (Note: The original post indicates this was already implemented at the time of posting).
  17. Feedback from a community about Mailing List feature (22 likes) [17] - Detailed feedback and suggestions for improving mailing list mode.
  18. Plugin for animated stickers (21 likes) [18] - Support for animated stickers using Lottie/TGS formats.
  19. Post Rate Limit Trigger for a topic that’s heating up (21 likes) [19] - A moderation tool to slow down contentious topics.
  20. Login with Telegram (21 likes) [20] - Integrating Telegram as an OAuth provider for login.

Easiest 20 Features CDCK Could Build (Low Complexity)

These features are highlighted as having low implementation complexity, suggesting they could be relatively quicker to develop and deploy, offering good value for effort:

  1. Add ‘stop impersonating’ link to user avatar dropdown when impersonating (31 likes) [6:1]
  2. Warn before blocking own IP address (20 likes) [21]
  3. Notify moderators when a user reaches TL3 (19 likes) [22]
  4. Different landing page for desktop vs mobile theme? (19 likes) [23]
  5. Adding a central authentication log to Discourse (18 likes) [24]
  6. Add English and translated aliases for Emojis (16 likes) [25]
  7. Badge progress bar - a not-so-complicated idea about "my upcoming badges" (15 likes) [26]
  8. Do we need a help button on the composer? (15 likes) [27]
  9. FLoC network opt-out (20 likes) [28]
  10. Allow admins to change email addresses easily (14 likes) [29]
  11. Ability to modify or add a Featured Link (URL) to Topics after posting (13 likes) [30]
  12. Add the option to change a topic to Post Voting format by admin/staff (13 likes) [31]
  13. Alerting when there is an excessive number of bounced emails (14 likes) [32]
  14. Group owners should not necessarily be group members (13 likes) [33]
  15. Mute topic temporarily (13 likes) [34]
  16. Transparent post deletion (15 likes) [35]
  17. Approving or rejecting what? The flag or the post? (15 likes) [36]
  18. Multilingual sites: ask for preferred language at registration (15 likes) [37]
  19. Auto-clear flags older than 90 days (15 likes) [38]
  20. Plugin admin section (16 likes) [39] - The initial version is described as "VERY simple."

Obvious Duplicates

The community frequently raises similar feature requests, indicating persistent demand for certain functionalities. These are often discussed across multiple topics:

  • "Private Topics" / Per-Topic Permissions: A recurring theme with a long history, where users desire granular permissions for topics (e.g., only topic starter and staff can see replies). While core developers have historically resisted this due to complexity, it remains a frequent request for use cases like private support.
    • Main topic: Offering "private support" as part of a public support community [9:1]
    • Related discussions: How to Use Discourse as a Private Support/Ticket System [40], Create, See, and Create/Reply Permissions Again [41], Private Topics - are they supported? [42], Restricted Replies [43], Discourse Private Replies [44].
  • Reputation Systems / Up/Down Voting: Consistent demand for more explicit reputation systems beyond current likes and trust levels, often debating the philosophy of positive vs. negative reinforcement.
    • Main topic: On the Necessity of Up/Down Vote-Based Reputation Systems on Boards Involving Subjective Discussion [45]
    • Related discussions: My thoughts about ‘reputation’ or ‘karma’ [46], Reputation Spec: Proposal and Critique [47].
  • "Mark as Read" / Dismiss Functionality: Users frequently request ways to dismiss notifications or mark topics/categories as read in bulk.
    • Main topic: ‘Mark as read’ needed within categories [48]
    • Related discussion: Dismiss individual topics [49].
  • Email Customization & Mailing List Mode Improvements: Overlapping requests for more control over email content, formatting, and delivery for digests and mailing list mode.
    • Main topic: Feedback from a community about Mailing List feature [17:1]
    • Related discussions: Adding custom content to summary emails [16:1], Simplified HTML emails [50], More granular settings for email notifications [51].
  • Mobile App vs. PWA Enhancements: Continuous efforts and overlapping requests to improve the mobile experience, often blurring the lines between native app features and Progressive Web App (PWA) capabilities.
    • Main topics: iOS 16 web push notifications in 2023 [13:1], How would you improve the Discourse iOS App Experience? [52]
    • Related discussions: Native app install banner for Android and iOS [53], Exploring ServiceWorkers for Discourse [54], Discourse as a Progressive Web App [55], What’s the best advice for native app requests? [56].
  • Badge Progress Tracking: Users express a desire to see their progress towards earning badges.
    • Main topic: Badge progress bar - a not-so-complicated idea about "my upcoming badges" [26:1]
    • Related discussion: Badge Progress Trackers [57].

Things That Are Very Poorly Defined

One notable area identified as poorly defined within the discussions is:

  • Reputation Systems / Up/Down Voting: While there’s consistent demand for such a system, the underlying philosophical debate (positive vs. negative reinforcement) often leads to a poor definition of what a "reputation system" truly means in Discourse’s context (e.g., is it just visible likes, or up/down votes, or a composite score?), making a unified implementation challenging. [45:1]

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