Creating a content Archive (non-indexed)

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AI-generated summary

The user Mark07 is seeking a way to create a read-only archive of old content in their community that is visible to regular members but not indexed by search engines like Google. They mention a previous discussion from 2017 but hope for an updated solution. Moin suggests using private categories with restricted permissions to limit visibility, but Mark07 clarifies that they want the archive accessible to all users, not just logged-in ones. NateDhaliwal notes that a plugin may be required, referencing a recent meta-discourse thread that addresses similar needs. Mark07 Moin NateDhaliwal

1

Hi there,

I have years and years of content in my community, and I’m looking to move a whole bunch of discussions into a read-only category, creating an archived area - I’d prefer not to hide it completely so regular members can still search it for reference.

All of that is easy enough.

But, I would prefer that archive of old content to be invisible to Google et al.

Is there a tag or option which will stop a category from being indexed?

2

Just to add, I did see this discussion from 2017, but I’m hoping things may have moved on a little since then.

3

Does the term “members” include users who are not logged in in this case?
Private categories aren’t indexed. So if you want only logged in users to see the topics you could limit the “see” permission of the category to the trust_level_0 group

4

Hi @Moin

Thanks for reaching out.

In an ideal world, viewers (anyone who isn’t logged in) would be able to see the category.

However, that option is worth considering as a fall back option.

Thanks again.

5

I think you’d probably need a plugin for this. This came up previously, and fairly recently: