I don’t know what this means, and if this is affecting how the plugin Categories suppressed works?
I installed it, but when I go to a category I want to suppress from the Latest list, I can’t find the option to exclude it and the original Github page doesn’t explain it. I believe I saw something about it somewhere, but I can’t find the page anymore.
How can I suppress a category from the Latest using this plugin?
No, it’s not there.
I guess that’s because there’s no Settings?
Because the Spoiler Alert, which also has Settings disabled, isn’t in the sidebar.
I remember, from that post I can’t find, that the Categories suppressed plugin was a simple checkbox that would be ticked or unticked, inside each category, but I just can’t find that checkbox. And since I can’t find that post either, I can’t ask about it to see if there’s something I’m missing.
I think a plugin is enabled with the greyed out input when it doesn’t have an “enable” setting. 
It makes me wonder why some plugins don’t have this setting.
maybe this one?
or this one?
looks like the feature got changed awhile back. Is your Discourse up to date?
I guess that a lot of confusion comes from having those 2 topics available with so much information and links. Let me clarify what I’m experiencing now:
When I go to this topic:
you can see that the link includes the original developer’s name (I believe), vinothkannans, but when I click it, it sends me to another place:
That leads me to believe that the “old” plugin is now part of Discourse’s official plugins. You can see that the plugin was updated last month, meaning, it’s a valid and working plugin. So if we focus on that plugin alone, there are 3 issues:
1 - no clear instructions on how to use it
2 - no dedicated page here on the forum for that plugin like other plugins have (or at least I couldn’t find it)
3 - no option, inside each category, to hide it from latest (unless it’s somewhere else).
Then we have those 2 topics you shared @Andrew_Rowe, which are long, full of different information, links, etc, which don’t help us figure out what plugin to use, which link to click, etc.
I found one topic that shows the checkbox:
Thing is, when I go to a category, I can’t find that checkbox…
Ok, I figured it out!
The categories are defined here:
Admin > All site settings > Plugins > Categories suppressed from latest
… instead of going to each category and excluding it.
According to what I figured out here, it seems that both the ON/OFF as well as Settings are controlled in the Admin > All site settings > Plugins section instead.
To be honest, it’s a bit weird that there are 2 places to manage plugins. I think it would be easier and would make more sense that everything related to plugins should be in the Plugins area, but…
I think there is an issue in the code.
It detects no settings when there is no _enabled setting.
That’s said, a plugin should always have an _enabled setting.
I can make a PR later.
The settings are all grouped in one place.
The button Settings is just a shortcut to the plugin’s settings.
What I mean is that we have the Plugins area where we can see which plugins are installed, and then the Settings page, but then all settings for all plugins are mixed up, which to me, doesn’t make much sense. It would be good if everything could be managed in the same place (Installed Plugins page).
See how there’s tabs for certain plugins in the Installed Plugins page?
I think this should work the same for all plugins and so all the different settings inside that All Site Settings page would go to a tab. Even the name in the sidebar could change to just “All Plugins”. Calling it “Installed Plugins” is redundant. If they are on the list they are installed… 
And this would follow the same workflow as the categories where you have “All Categories”. You don’t need “Created Categories”, correct?
Yes, when I hover over the Settings button, it says there’s no additional settings, when there are. Thanks for the PR. Keep us posted if it gets updated, if you don’t mind. 
I see what you mean. Maybe the UI could be improved.
You have a page for the settings, and sometimes tabs on the plugin page, because it requires custom interfaces that simple settings can’t handle.
Not all plugins require a custom interface. You can ignore the global settings list page if you want, and always hit Settings button on the plugin page. That would do what you want, right?
For example, Discourse AI or any plugins:
You can access the plugin’s settings (and the custom interfaces if present).
The tab you see is essentially a shortcut for convenience when custom interfaces are present:
Some great feedback here. Thanks! We’ll definitely take it under consideration.
Just to bring you up to speed because you are new here.. previously (and for many years!) all site settings (including site settings for plugins) were reachable at /admin/settings where there is a search filter and category structure. There are alot of settings in that interface which can be overwhelming for people when they are just getting started with Discourse, and the vast majority of them do not need twiddling with at first. So over the last year or so we’ve been gradually creating new config pages that bring together settings that belong together.
This process is incomplete and there are some areas that have not yet been brought into line with the new navigation structure. Plugins has a big surface area and there’s alot of work to do here, including in each plugin. Simple utility plugins like this one that we don’t offer on our self-serve hosting are not at the top of the list, but we do welcome PRs!
Looks like the discussion here around the GitHub - discourse/discourse-categories-suppressed plugin has uncovered some issues. It’s on our official plugins list on github but it’s missing some characteristics official plugins usually have:
I’m not so familiar with this plugin myself so will check it out.
What I mean is just that if all is kept inside the “installed plugins” page, then that’s where you manage it. If you are sent to the other page, then you are inside a page where a lot more can be managed, not related to plugins only.
By creating the tabs (or any other option) inside the “installed plugins” page, there’s no need to jump around, back and forth. Inside the suggested “All Plugins” page, we could turn them on/off, change the settings, etc.
I do think it’s overwhelming. And for example, in the Plugins tab you will see things like this that are not even related to plugins (or at least not with the ones that are listed in the “installed plugins” page):
So it ends mixing everything up, creating a mess and overwhelming experience.
In the “installed plugins” page (that I suggested being renamed to just “All Plugins”), things could be organized in a way where tabs, collapse/expand buttons, and dividers along with headings would be enough to have everything together for each plugin.
At least a simple description on how to use it with some images would be enough to avoid confusion. And I still think that having an option inside each category would be great. We are editing the category and that’s where we should decide if that category is suppressed or not, instead of going to the site settings. That would declutter the site settings page and group all the category settings in one place.
