# ESR Usage Help
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/esr-usage-help/401203
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [April 21, 2026, 8:55pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/esr-usage-help/401203 "2026-04-21T20:55:38Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@haydenjames](https://meta.discourse.org/u/haydenjames)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2026, 8:55pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/esr-usage-help/401203/1 "2026-04-21T20:55:38Z")
Here it is!..
It’s taken me over an hour to track this down. It seems members are not getting the Discobot greetings anymore?
I had to sign up on another account that I know uses an old version of Discourse to see this:
Where can I read about change to `personal_message_enabled_groups`
Spending way to much time getting lost in Discourse settings and changes these days. 😕
Was this not always TL0 before?:
I must be losing it but I’m thought I remember new members being send a welcome PM and being able to see the messages feature. Which had been the case over the years when I signed up at many discourse forums.
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### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2026, 9:02pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/esr-usage-help/401203/2 "2026-04-21T21:02:56Z")
> [@haydenjames](#):
>
> It seems members are not getting the Discobot greetings anymore?
Correct. This was disabled by default.
[https://github.com/discourse/discourse/pull/34373](https://github.com/discourse/discourse/pull/34373)
But it is independent from the `personal message enabled groups` setting. Creating new PMs has been allowed only for TL1 and above by default for years. Not being able to create a new message doesn’t prevent you from replying to messages you receive. The setting that was changed in August is `disable_discourse_narrative_bot_welcome_post`.
I also think the messages tab for notifications has been hidden for a very long time (I don’t remember it being different at all). I think using the default configuration, this works quite well because you don’t receive that many notifications before you reach TL1. On forums where messaging is only allowed to users with a higher trust level or not at all, or on forums where it takes much more reading to reach TL1, this might be different.
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### Author:  [@haydenjames](https://meta.discourse.org/u/haydenjames)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2026, 9:09pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/esr-usage-help/401203/3 "2026-04-21T21:09:33Z")
I need a version of Discourse where I’m not constantly playing whac-a-mole with settings. Is there any plan to offer something more stable again?
[I switched to the old stable branch last year](https://meta.discourse.org/t/unboxing-discourse-3-5/379249/7) and it was solid. No surprises, things stayed where they were, and I could actually get comfortable with it. Now the forums is in my way and eating up time in my days.
Since the new release model, there have been a lot of changes and it keeps throwing settings around.
I’m not against improvements, but I need something predictable. A version where settings and features stay consistent long enough to rely on, similar to how the **old stable branch behaved** :
> [@January 2026 Releases](https://meta.discourse.org/t/january-2026-releases/393903/13):
>
> Is Stable going to end up having more frequent updates now? I was very much enjoying the stable set it and forget it operation of the Stable branch. Will the new ESR branch follow the same philosophy, or should we expect a different update cadence?
* * *
Also, side note, I can’t hit enter anymore (for a new line) after `**:` it puts an emoji. This was not the case previously. Is this already a known bug, or do I need to report it?:
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### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2026, 9:13pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/esr-usage-help/401203/4 "2026-04-21T21:13:17Z")
I think now such a change would be handled using the [upcoming changes feature](https://meta.discourse.org/t/upcoming-changes/395390)
> [@haydenjames](#):
>
> Since the new release model, there have been a lot of changes and it keeps throwing settings around.
This change happened before the new release structure was introduced
> [@haydenjames](#):
>
> Also, side note, I can’t hit enter anymore (for a new line) after `**:` it puts an emoji. This was not the case previously. Is this already a known bug, or do I need to report it?:
>
> 
I think it only happened because you have the asterisk in front of the colon.
ESR is what stable used to be before. But there were also quite frequent updates for that because there were lots of security fixes in the past months
> [@Understanding Discourse release channels](https://meta.discourse.org/t/understanding-discourse-release-channels/264400/1):
>
> ### esr
>
> ESR stands for **Extended Support Release**. Approximately every 6 months, one of the monthly releases is designated as an ESR. ESR versions receive critical security fixes for a longer period — they remain supported for 2 releases after the _next_ ESR is declared.
>
> On GitHub: [GitHub - discourse/discourse at esr · GitHub](https://github.com/discourse/discourse/tree/esr)
>
> The tag `esr` always points to the latest ESR release. For backward compatibility, the `stable` branch and tag are aliased to `esr`.
>
> The ESR channel is not necessarily more “stable” than **latest**. It’s more about the idea that the bugs are known, and it serves as a checkpoint for a specific set of features and improvements. With **latest** , there may be new bugs introduced, then fixed a few commits later.
> [@Configure a supported tracking branch to get Discourse software updates](https://meta.discourse.org/t/configure-a-supported-tracking-branch-to-get-discourse-software-updates/17014/1):
>
> ### `esr`
>
> ℹ **Extended Support Release**
>
> The `esr` tag tracks the latest Extended Support Release, intended for sites prioritizing long-term stability and security over frequent updates.
>
> - Declared approximately every 6 months from the monthly releases.
> - Receives security fixes and critical backports for an extended period.
> - May have limited compatibility with community plugins and theme components.
>
> > ⚠ **Note:** Not receiving regular maintenance updates can leave some features outdated or visually inconsistent.
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### Author:  [@system](https://meta.discourse.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2026, 9:13pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/esr-usage-help/401203/5 "2026-05-21T21:13:47Z")
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