In the admin profile for a user, there is a field “Private Topics”.
This terminology is not aligned with the terminology that is used in the rest of the code.
I propose to rename it to “Personal Message Topics” or “PM Topics”
See discussion below.
AI-generated summary
The discussion centers on renaming the term “Private Topics” in Discourse’s admin interface to better reflect its actual function — personal messages (PMs). RGJ initiated the proposal, noting the term is inconsistent with the rest of the codebase and suggesting “Personal Message Topics” or “PM Topics” instead. robbie.morrison encountered confusion while trying to list a private topic associated with a suspicious account, highlighting the term’s ambiguity. Moin confirmed that the “private topic” count often refers to the automated welcome PM sent to new users, and agreed the term is misleading. RGJ clarified this is core Discourse functionality, not tied to any plugin. robbie.morrison endorsed “PM Topics” and suggested “Automated PM Topics” as alternatives, though RGJ clarified the counter includes all PMs, not just automated ones. Finally, awesomerobot confirmed the term will be updated to “Personal Messages” via an open pull request, acknowledging the long-standing oversight. The consensus is that “Private Topics” is confusing and should be replaced with clearer, more accurate terminology aligned with user expectations.
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Hello all, I have a newly created possibly suspicious account with the following activity log. Can I list the indicated private topic somehow? My efforts to do so did not find a solution as yet. TIA.
Usually that private topic is the welcome PM sent after sign-up. I think “private topic” is a rather confusing term for “personal message”.
I don’t have and never had this plugin installed, but I see the same number on my test user.
I have never posted anything as the test user. But in the user’s inbox I can see the PM.
3 Likes
This is indeed not related to my “Private Topics” plugin but a core Discourse functionality with a confusing name.
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“PM Topics” works for me. “Automated PM Topics” perhaps also?
No, this counter counts all PM topics. And the fact that it is 1 for this user comes from the fact that every new user gets one automated message.
6 Likes
It’s been this way for a very long time, guess we missed it! This will update to “Personal Messages”
8 Likes