# Users are encouraged to post to categories they have no write access to
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/users-are-encouraged-to-post-to-categories-they-have-no-write-access-to/22894
**Category:** Feature
**Created:** [December 5, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/users-are-encouraged-to-post-to-categories-they-have-no-write-access-to/22894 "2014-12-05T18:26:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@tobiaseigen](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tobiaseigen)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/users-are-encouraged-to-post-to-categories-they-have-no-write-access-to/22894/1 "2014-12-05T18:26:34Z")
This is a UX bug, methinks, that will cause some confusion on a new forum I am launching next week. See screenshot below - this is for a category where “everyone” is only allowed to see and not post or reply.
There is a “new topic” button and even encouragement at the bottom to post with “there are no more test topics. why not create a topic.”
If you click any of these you can create a topic but only elsewhere, not in this particular category.
Edit: I just realized it’s worse than that. If you try to create a topic in a category you are not allowed to post in, the only category option is “uncategorized” and you can’t contribute to any of the other categories you ARE allowed to post in. This will be a sad, confusing first experience for a newbie to the forum.
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2014, 1:09am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/users-are-encouraged-to-post-to-categories-they-have-no-write-access-to/22894/2 "2014-12-06T01:09:36Z")
Ok so why expose that category to them at all? This feels like an “it hurts when I do this” problem.. so don’t do that?
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### Author:  [@riking](https://meta.discourse.org/u/riking)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2014, 1:16am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/users-are-encouraged-to-post-to-categories-they-have-no-write-access-to/22894/3 "2014-12-06T01:16:57Z")
Uh, the Releases and Howto categories here on meta? Normal people should see them (“exposed”), but they shouldn’t be creating topics…
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### Author:  [@sam](https://meta.discourse.org/u/sam)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2014, 9:36pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/users-are-encouraged-to-post-to-categories-they-have-no-write-access-to/22894/4 "2014-12-06T21:36:45Z")
bbs has this problem to a degree [boing - Boing Boing BBS](http://bbs.boingboing.net/c/boing) , but it seems like not many are complaining about it.
the alternative is to hide the button there that causes a different problem (why can I not create topics?)
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### Author:  [@chapoi](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chapoi)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2025, 11:33am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/users-are-encouraged-to-post-to-categories-they-have-no-write-access-to/22894/5 "2025-12-04T11:33:24Z")