Can you make a category that resets daily?

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In a discussion titled “Can you make a category that resets daily?” under the Feature category, Nathaniel_Mattocks proposes a daily-resetting category, possibly inspired by a reversed URL. ColdSun notes no current mechanism exists but suggests a cron-based script could purge posts daily, though this would be a complex workaround. Mittineague asks for the reasoning behind the request, to which Nathaniel_Mattocks replies that they already implemented auto-closing topics after 42 hours — but still find value in a daily reset. Mittineague questions why auto-closing isn’t sufficient, since closed topics are effectively hidden. Nathaniel_Mattocks clarifies they’re not criticizing the current feature, just noting a simple tweak could improve usability. KazWolfe supports the idea, citing use cases like a “sandbox” category where users test formatting — automated deletion would be ideal, though locking the category already works. sam expresses skepticism, seeing limited need for such a feature. Overall, the thread explores whether automated daily pruning would be a useful addition, with mixed opinions on necessity versus existing alternatives.

1

Can you make a category that resets daily like try.discourse.org but is not a separate website?

2

There is no mechanism to do this as of yet. I suppose one could write a script that is executed via cron or what not each day that would purge all posts that are in category ‘x’.

While this approach wouldn’t be hard to do, the lack of a GUI or web interface to do such things would likely scare off most people interested in such a system.

3

I have to ask what your reasoning is for wanting such a feature.

Would something like the “close after” feature work?

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4

I already made a category that closes any topics after they are 24 hours old, so the close after is already done…

5

In what ways is that not good enough?

Closed topics will"fall away" as new topics are created.

6

I am not saying it is not good enough, just saying it is a bit simple… In a good and bad way :no_mouth:

7

+1 from me. A pruning capability would be awesome.

My forum has a “sandbox” for users to test out formatting or otherwise play with how Discourse works. While the locking capability is okay, having the posts automatically delete themselves would be awesome for cleanliness.

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8

I don’t see much reason to have this built in, but it is a fairly simple plugin

3 Likes