Dumbcourse – Old-browser friendly UI at /dumb (D-pad + small screens)

Plugin
1
:information_source: Summary Dumbcourse adds a lightweight, old-browser friendly Discourse UI under /dumb, designed for D-pad navigation, small screens, and older Android WebViews where the standard Discourse UI can be too heavy.
:hammer_and_wrench: Repository Link https://github.com/TripleU613/dumbcourse
:open_book: Install Guide How to install plugins in Discourse

Features

  • Serves a minimal SPA at /dumb on the same Discourse domain
  • ES5 / no build step; intentionally minimal DOM/JS/CSS for older browsers and WebViews
  • Uses same-origin Discourse JSON endpoints and standard Discourse session cookies
  • Topic lists: latest, new, top, unseen, hot, my, plus categories
  • Category view: /dumb/c/:slug/:id
  • Topic reading and posting (reply/quote/reactions)
  • Search and basic profile views
  • D-pad-friendly navigation with focusable UI elements

Configuration

  1. Install the plugin

    • Add the repo to containers/app.yml under hooks -> after_code, then rebuild the container.

  2. Enable it

    • Go to Admin → Plugins → Dumbcourse
    • Enable dumbcourse_enabled

  3. Choose defaults

    • Set the default theme and default landing view (see Settings below).

  4. Verify

    • Visit: https://YOUR_FORUM_DOMAIN/dumb
    • Anonymous users should land on /dumb/login
    • Logged-in users should see the configured default view

Screenshots

Old browser / standard Discourse UI

Screenshot_20260203_211407
Screenshot_20260203_2114071080×2400 284 KB

Dumbcourse UI

Screenshot_20260203_211552
Screenshot_20260203_2115521080×2400 223 KB

In a thread

Screenshot_20260203_211625
Screenshot_20260203_2116251080×2400 187 KB

Post actions / selection

Screenshot_20260203_211643
Screenshot_20260203_2116431080×2400 193 KB

Basic menu

Screenshot_20260203_211744
Screenshot_20260203_2117441080×2400 250 KB

Plugin settings

Screenshot from 2026-02-03 21-18-38
Screenshot from 2026-02-03 21-18-382239×1283 172 KB

Status / Known limitations

This project is currently beta (initial implementation was done quickly), so expect rough edges. Contributions and code review are welcome.

Current known gaps / open questions:

  • Signup + CAPTCHA: account creation relies on Discourse’s standard signup flow, but CAPTCHA behavior may vary by site configuration.
  • Security review: the simplified UI should not bypass Discourse permissions, but it has not yet had a thorough security review. Please report any concerns or suspicious behavior.
  • Moderation/admin UX: moderation and admin tooling are minimal today; expanding this safely is on the roadmap.
  • Touch + D-pad interactions: touch input can conflict with focus navigation on some devices; improvements are planned.
  • Link sharing: /dumb provides an alternate UI, which raises questions about sharing canonical links between “dumb” and standard users. A consistent approach is still being refined.

Credits

Special thanks to @ars18 (GitHub: https://github.com/alltechdev) for key contributions and for helping kick off the original idea.

Settings

Name Description
dumbcourse_enabled Master on/off toggle for Dumbcourse.
dumbcourse_default_theme Default theme for /dumb (dark / light).
dumbcourse_default_view Default landing view (latest / new / top / unseen / hot / my / categories).
dumbcourse_sidebar_link_enabled Adds a sidebar link to /dumb.