Prioritize showing group members (not posts) on group landing page, describe groups, provide groups directory

I think it makes more sense on the group landing page to show the list of members. So on the groups navigation, flip posts and members so members are on top and shown by default on the landing page.

I also think displaying here a brief description of what it means to be in each group would be helpful.

Without getting too recursive, a groups directory would also be helpful to list them all in one place alongside description and links to members and posts.

6 Likes

Can you provide a visual mockup of what you are describing please.

1 Like

… methinks does not need a mockup. Stated another way: just suggesting reverse the POSTS and MEMBERS sub-pages to display MEMBERS by default and let user click POSTS to see the posts by group members.

[quote=“tobiaseigen, post:1, topic:15719”]
I also think displaying here a brief description of what it means to be in each group would be helpful.[/quote]

[quote=“tobiaseigen, post:1, topic:15719”]
Without getting too recursive, a groups directory would also be helpful to list them all in one place alongside description and links to members and posts.[/quote]

I will hold off on creating mockups until I understand better what is happening with badges. I think there is some functional overlap, with badges making transparent who is in which group on the site and what it’s for.

Unless badges are going to provide this eventually, on groups settings page, I’d like to see a text box to write brief description of the group. On the group landing page, this text woulds be displayed directly under the group name.

I imagine the groups landing page could look very similar to the user profile page, showing transparently what is going on in the group, who’s in charge of it, and what membership means.

Please forgive the newb question but how do I get to the group landing page? I am experimenting with Discourse as a platform for managing private discussions between invited groups, and it would be useful for each member in the group to have a way of seeing who else can view their contributions.

See: https://meta.discourse.org/groups/discourse

The only way I know of browsing to them is by looking at a user’s profile page, then clicking on the group name.

3 Likes

One new thing to get used to with discourse is the way groups and categories work with each other.

Content lives in categories, people live in groups.

And you set permissions to categories based on groups.

So if you have a mailing list or google group you want to move over to discourse you’d want to set up a group for the user list and a category for the messages. If you want to have 10 lists you are moving to one discourse site, you’d create 10 groups and 10 categories…

… though my experience has been that discourse is different enough that you may want to think about setting up one discourse install with multiple categories for each group you are migrating over. :slight_smile:

3 Likes

hi Im not seeing group info on profile pages and only staff and above can see the forum/groups/group_name page. Am I missing something?

do you see this?

https://meta.discourse.org/groups/discourse/members

Look for the “Group is visible to all users” on the group settings page on your forum.

1 Like

I see the discourse group, yes.

I recall the group visible option now. I left it unticked because it is visible to all site users, and for a couple of groups I was looking for an option along the lines of “Only visible to group members”.

I am running an experimental group, and just want those members to potter along between themselves, off the radar, till they get the hang of what they are doing.

well, that is exactly what you have. when that is deselected, only group members and admins can see it. When it’s selected, anyone can see it. I did just test all this and found that what I just wrote is true, except that anonymous users can’t see groups at all. System groups like ‘everyone’ also don’t work as you might expect - just show 0 members.

https://meta.discourse.org/groups/everyone/members

1 Like

I appreciate you checking. What you see is not what I see. I have double checked, I am admin and a member of a group and also a member of same group has checked.

If the “Group visible to all users” box is unchecked, there is no indication of any group membership on my profile page, or the members’ profile page, and only level 3 and above can see the forum/ group/group_name summary page.

I must be missing some basic box tick somewhere?

Sounds like a bug to me!

EDIT: I just loaded a group page as anon. So… no?

Though the ‘everyone’ group is still weird.

you are right. I often get confused and look for /group/groupname instead of /groups/groupname. I wonder if it wouldn’t make sense to have both of these URLs work, esp since there is no /groups page like there is a /categories page alongside /category/categoryname.

2 Likes

I agree with this, @eviltrout can you make sure the plural form works here too? At least as a redirect.

2 Likes

Done!

5 Likes

Here are my thoughts on how to improve the group landing page.

1 Like