Is there any chance to allow guest posting on discourse? (asking just for a nickname)
Or letting them create the message, and to be posted, request to join?
Thanks
3 Likes
Hey guys, thanks for your replies.
Indeed, we are using both discourses @HAWK but this message was related to Discourse for communities, which we use for a student’s forum where they share information about colleges and what to study, etc.
Sometimes they will not post because of the required register thing or just don’t register because they did not see a “new topic” button when browsing as guest.
I really like the new XenForo approach to this, where they can do all the workflow:
Screenshot by Lightshot (the see the button)
Screenshot by Lightshot (they get to post)
Screenshot by Lightshot (in order for the post to go live, they will need to register)
4 Likes
Thanks, Rodrigo! I have made this topic public again. Sorry for the back and forth. 
Your screenshots are interesting and that is indeed an interesting approach XenForo has taken. As regards Discourse, we have up until now taken a different approach because we are seeking to promote civilized discussion. We believe the quality of discussion will be better when people are asked to join the community first before posting.
The first screenshot you could emulate using a theme component, by displaying the + New Topic button that then leads to the login form. We do this already at the bottom of topics for guests. I just tested it though and noticed that it does not then take the user to the post upon completing the new user signup process. It takes them to the home page.
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We also ask visitors to signup at various addresses on the site and I noticed this. We use the /signup route to open the signup modal and it always redirects to the default home page (the first item set for the top menu), even if the modal is just closed again. I guess that can’t be changed from the settings, but I don’t think it’s such a helpful default.
1 Like
Thinking about this some more, it occurs to me that the current system is also part of the magic of Discourse that makes it so easy to maintain a community. If we allowed anyone to complete forms like this (even with annoying captcha) it would just increase the noise massively, creating work for staff.
On the other hand, I know there are some cases when communities want this noise, to be able to receive presales questions, support or outreach. One approach that could work for be for you to take advantage of the staged users feature, which allows you to exchange emails with people who are not full members of the site. We do this using group inboxes here on meta.
I do not have much experience with this myself, but you could try setting up an email address for a category, and then allowing emails in by non-users. That way you can get the questions into the category so other users can respond, and the non-user will get the replies in their email and be able to talk with them. Eventually if the decide to join the site they will retain that history.
Can you show a screenshot of this? I can’t seem to find it on my site or this one. Thank you!
No, there is no way to do this, nor is it on our roadmap.
3 Likes
What about this approach?
Screenshot by Lightshot (the see the button)
Screenshot by Lightshot (they get to post)
Screenshot by Lightshot (in order for the post to go live, they will need to register)
