Weekly Summary

[JammyDodger]

Welcome to our AI-generated Weekly Summary topic!

This is the topic where a weekly summary of meta’s activity is put together by our resident AI, trusty 'ol Bert, and posted here so everyone can get an overview of some of the top discussions over the past 7 days.

It’s set to fire every week at Sunday 21:00

If you’d like to get a ping whenever a new one is posted just set this topic to Watching (and if you change your mind, change it back ).

Much like the daily summary, feedback is certainly most welcome. We’ll be tweaking and refining the idea as we go, so all input is encouraged. We do have a separate topic for that to keep this one just for summaries, but you can find that here - Weekly Summary Feedback

Enjoy!

Small caveat… AI (even GPT-4) does hallucinate, it is unavoidable. Don’t treat everything it says as truth, as there will likely be some lies mixed in. We’ll try to manually correct any if we spot them, but still… keep an eye out.

[Discourse]

This week on meta.discourse.org…

Key Stats

• Total New Posts: 703
• Total New Topics: 109

Top Users

• Moin: 54 posts, 92 likes
• awesomerobot: 7 posts, 51 likes
• sam: 27 posts, 38 likes
• simon: 12 posts, 36 likes
• Arkshine: 18 posts, 33 likes
• icaria36: 20 posts, 31 likes
• JammyDodger: 13 posts, 31 likes
• merefield: 21 posts, 29 likes
• ondrej: 17 posts, 29 likes
• Jagster: 20 posts, 27 likes

Interesting Topics

community

• What about medium tech?: A discussion on how to make non-technical people aware of alternatives to Facebook and Twitter. simon initiated the conversation, and various users contributed their thoughts on the challenges and potential solutions.

announcements

• New default nav style and simplified color scheme: awesomerobot announced updates to the navigation style and color scheme, aiming for a more consistent and modern look.

support

• Is there a way to automatically expand the reply composer box by default?: Isaac.Eiland-Hall sought help on expanding the reply composer box by default. awesomerobot provided a theme component solution.

• Translation option of AI Helper in combination with non-English interface language: Moin raised an issue about translation inconsistencies in the AI Helper, leading to a discussion on improving the feature.

• Does anyone use the discourse narrative bot for new users?: c12gene revisited the use of the narrative bot, seeking ways to make it less annoying for users.

• Installing discourse for free?: A detailed discussion on the challenges and solutions for setting up Discourse, including email interface issues and hosting options.

• What is stopping you from trying out Discourse AI?: Users shared their hesitations and experiences with Discourse AI, highlighting the need for better education and use-case clarity.

• Add support for ‘personal notes’ on posts: A feature request for adding personal notes on posts, with suggestions for implementation and integration with existing plugins.

• Where can I access support for Discourse?: A straightforward guide on how to access support for Discourse, including contact options and admin dashboard tips.

• Upcoming Header Changes - Preparing Themes and Plugins: A technical discussion on upcoming header changes and how to prepare themes and plugins for these updates.

• Specific admin cannot access admin area of Forum: Bas provided troubleshooting steps for an admin unable to access the admin area, including cache issues and Cloudflare settings.

• I cannot save Theme settings in theme creator: Users discussed issues with saving theme settings, with sam tracking the problem for resolution.

• Date selector is not persisting date in Discourse automation: A bug report on the date selector in Discourse automation, with joffreyjaffeux providing a fix.

• Header repeats then browsing freezes when using Chrome: A support topic where Arkshine identified a Cloudflare-related issue causing header repeats and browsing freezes.

• AI Image Captioning Feature in Discourse AI Plugin: Feedback on the AI image captioning feature, with users sharing their experiences and suggestions for improvement.

• Hiding profile removes message button from user cards: A resolved issue where hiding profiles removed the message button from user cards.

• No Thumbnail for Unlisted Vimeo Videos: A support topic confirming that thumbnails for unlisted Vimeo videos are working as expected.

• Add icons for Views and Replies, and Last Activity date in Topic Cards: A feature request for adding icons to topic cards, with a PR submitted by RGJ.

• Accepting an invite to a group updates ‘invited by’ in profile: A UX discussion on whether group invites should show on user profiles.

• Like glitch: A bug report on a client-side issue where likes appeared to be applied but were not.

• Feedback on our simplified topic map experiment: Users provided feedback on the simplified topic map experiment, discussing minor UX issues and suggestions for improvement.

• Minimum character count: A support topic on configuring the minimum character count for posts.

• Details accepts only one word as summary: A bug report on the details tag accepting only one word as a summary, with a fix provided by zogstrip.

• Searching order seems to be broken when searching in topic: A bug report on search order issues within topics, with a fix implemented by zogstrip.

• Lost discourse-encrypt key: A support topic on recovering a lost encryption key, with a solution provided by supermathie.

• Discourse AI: A discussion on implementing group-based limits for AI usage, with sam expressing interest in building a quota system.

Activity by the @team Group

• awesomerobot participated in the New default nav style and simplified color scheme topic, providing updates and addressing user feedback.

• sam was active in multiple support and bug topics, including Translation option of AI Helper in combination with non-English interface language, I cannot save Theme settings in theme creator, and Date selector is not persisting date in Discourse automation.

• JammyDodger provided support in topics such as Accepting an invite to a group updates ‘invited by’ in profile and How to disable items from Menu.

• zogstrip addressed issues in topics like Details accepts only one word as summary and Searching order seems to be broken when searching in topic.

• joffreyjaffeux provided fixes and support in topics such as Date selector is not persisting date in Discourse automation and Unassigning not working in the Assign screen.

• supermathie offered solutions in topics like Lost discourse-encrypt key and No Thumbnail for Unlisted Vimeo Videos.

• HAWK provided guidance in topics such as Is there a way to automatically expand the reply composer box by default? and Create a custom Discourse plugin.

• Bas assisted in troubleshooting topics like Specific admin cannot access admin area of Forum and Where can I access support for Discourse?.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you again next week!

[Discourse]

This week on meta.discourse.org…

Key Stats

• Total New Posts: 900
• Total New Topics: 130

Top Users

• Moin: 37 posts, 82 likes
• JammyDodger: 38 posts, 74 likes
• merefield: 28 posts, 63 likes
• Lhc_fl: 20 posts, 47 likes
• pfaffman: 50 posts, 47 likes
• Heliosurge: 35 posts, 45 likes
• HAWK: 16 posts, 43 likes
• sam: 24 posts, 40 likes
• Arkshine: 13 posts, 24 likes
• Saif: 3 posts, 21 likes

Interesting Topics

community

• Member psychology - outspoken member who wants to leave but doesn’t actually leave: Jumanji discussed a member who repeatedly requests account deletion but continues to engage actively. Read more

bug

• Polls causing issues: merefield raised a PR to fix issues with polls, including image display problems. Read more
• Table editor breaks embedded images: lindsey reported that the table editor drops escape characters, breaking images. Read more
• Forum gone haywire - possibly after upgrade: JammyDodger suggested Cloudflare auto-minify as a potential cause. Read more
• Polls with markup show html tags: merefield noted this issue and a fix was merged. Read more
• Random number shows up for “Primary Group” dropdown: davidb fixed this issue. Read more

support

• Does anyone use chat on their site?: HAWK and sam discussed the benefits and configuration of native chat. Read more
• Blocking recent wave of spam: JammyDodger and Firepup650 shared strategies for handling spam. Read more
• Publishing posts from fake users: HAWK advised against creating fake accounts for content. Read more
• How are these subcategories displayed on meta?: Moin provided guidance on subcategory display settings. Read more
• Can’t find Upgrade Discourse button after last upgrade: JammyDodger helped resolve this issue by checking Cloudflare settings. Read more
• Deleting all posts in personal message not working: JammyDodger explained the behavior of soft-deleted posts. Read more
• Running multiple things on the same server as my Pi (where Discourse is hosted)?: JammyDodger and itsbhanusharma provided advice on running multiple services. Read more
• Where to find moderation flags controls?: HAWK and Lilly guided users on locating moderation settings. Read more
• Using Discourse AI as a Discobot: sam discussed the feasibility and costs of using AI personas. Read more
• Support @ or # in “Hide details” summary: Jagster and JammyDodger discussed this feature request. Read more
• After latest update, broken subcategories layout: carson provided a CSS fix for this issue. Read more
• Can’t embed BitChute videos even after whitelisting the URL: JammyDodger suggested adding a slash to the URL. Read more
• Can I add color to the text in post titles?: Lhc_fl provided CSS solutions for coloring post titles. Read more
• run_second_factor! failing when trying to promote admin: sam and Osama helped debug this issue. Read more
• Allowed to continue liking after I was informed I am out of likes: sam discussed a potential bug with likes. Read more
• Ability for mods to bulk process flags: not-ethan and Heliosurge discussed this feature request. Read more
• Latest update won’t build due to AI plugin: JammyDodger and RGJ provided troubleshooting steps. Read more
• Is there a way to default to Latest instead of unread for subcategories?: carson provided steps to change the default filter. Read more
• Complete daily or weekly digest for some users?: HAWK provided advice on mailing list mode and category exclusions. Read more
• After clicking on a topic scroll bar, the sidebar theme toggle breaks the sidebar when used: awesomerobot fixed this issue. Read more

announcements

• 3.3.0.beta3: Video thumbnails, Site setting confirmation, Faster access to plugin settings, and more: Saif announced new features and improvements in the latest beta release. Read more
• 3.2.3: Security and bug fix release: Saif detailed the latest stable release, including security updates. Read more

feature

• Including your site in Discourse Discover: Discourse explained how to opt-in to Discourse Discover. Read more
• Should I make my own groups or use the trust_levels: HAWK and Kartoon discussed the benefits of using trust levels versus custom groups. Read more

#Developer Guides

• Automating Discourse Plugin Setup with create-discourse-plugin gem: grubba introduced a new gem to streamline plugin development. Read more
• Preventing accidental serialization of ActiveRecord models: Discourse shared a patch to prevent accidental serialization without specifying fields. Read more

Activity by the @team Group

• JammyDodger participated in discussions on blocking recent wave of spam, can’t find Upgrade Discourse button after last upgrade, and publishing posts from fake users.
• HAWK provided insights on using chat on their site, blocking recent wave of spam, and publishing posts from fake users.
• sam contributed to discussions on using Discourse AI as a Discobot, running multiple things on the same server as my Pi, and debugging Discourse’s AI features.
• Saif announced new features in 3.3.0.beta3 and 3.2.3.
• awesomerobot fixed issues related to after clicking on a topic scroll bar, the sidebar theme toggle breaks the sidebar when used and change in highlighted objects.
• Lilly provided guidance on where to find moderation flags controls and random number shows up for “Primary Group” dropdown.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you again next week!

[Discourse]

This week on meta.discourse.org…

Key Stats

• Total New Posts: 694
• Total New Topics: 99

Top Users

• Moin: 36 posts, 77 likes
• JammyDodger: 32 posts, 67 likes
• pfaffman: 65 posts, 47 likes
• Lhc_fl: 16 posts, 45 likes
• awesomerobot: 14 posts, 33 likes
• Jagster: 27 posts, 27 likes
• RGJ: 13 posts, 24 likes
• jericson: 6 posts, 22 likes
• Arkshine: 7 posts, 21 likes
• Heliosurge: 19 posts, 19 likes

Interesting Topics

site feedback

• Better documentation navigation with a new sidebar: hugh introduced a new sidebar for Discourse documentation, enhancing navigation and accessibility. The sidebar includes features like improved navigation, context awareness, collapsible sections, live filter, and mobile-friendly design. read more

ux

• Minimum entropy is a confusing term: simon raised concerns about the clarity of the body min entropy and title min entropy settings, suggesting a more user-friendly explanation. read more

• Quote bar alignment on mobile: Don highlighted issues with the quote bar buttons overflowing on smaller screens, especially in languages with longer translations. read more

support

• No user PM access: Lhc_fl and Moin provided solutions for enabling private messages for new users, addressing site settings and trust levels. read more

• Updating AI plugin fails: RGJ reported an issue with updating Discourse when the AI plugin is installed, which was promptly fixed by Roman_Rizzi. read more

• Fix Discourse installation on Digital Ocean that broke during Docker update: jericson assisted waffleslop in recovering a broken Discourse installation on Digital Ocean, detailing the steps taken to resolve the issue. read more

theme

• Discourse Central Theme — Meta Pre-Release Out Now!: awesomerobot announced ongoing work on the Discourse Central Theme, inviting feedback and patience from the community. read more

marketplace

• Fix Discourse installation on Digital Ocean that broke during Docker update: jericson provided a detailed solution for recovering a broken Discourse installation on Digital Ocean. read more

bug

• Automatic extra bullet after every list line: Moin confirmed a recent fix for the issue of extra bullets appearing in lists. read more

feature

• Prevent Emailed Chat Notifications when invoked via SDK: davidb announced the completion of a feature to skip email notifications for messages created via Chat SDK. read more

community

• How are you increasing response rate in a community support forum?: noahl sought advice on increasing response rates in a community support forum, with various strategies suggested by Heliosurge and Tris20. read more

dev

• How to add an avatar frame to a user group: awesomerobot provided a detailed guide on adding avatar frames to user groups using CSS. read more

announcements

• Introducing chat threads!: JammyDodger closed the announcement topic for chat threads, inviting users to create new topics for issues or suggestions. read more

Documentation

• Discourse Forum documentation: JammyDodger welcomed new user Lam_Tran and directed them to the documentation category for further reading. read more

theme-component

• Dropdown Header: Arkshine modernized the Dropdown Header component, fixing several UX issues. read more

plugin

• Globally replace translations: Lhc_fl introduced a plugin that allows global replacement of certain words in translations. read more

installation

• Downgrade from latest stable to 3.2.0: merefield advised against downgrading a Discourse instance due to potential migration issues, suggesting an upgrade instead. read more

community

• Does anyone use the discourse narrative bot for new users?: carbonrich and awesomerobot discussed the importance of editing Discobot’s tutorial messages and the process for doing so. read more

dev

• Update the Dropdown Header Component: davidkingham praised Arkshine for quickly fixing the Dropdown Header component. read more

feature

• Add a prompt (even an aggressive prompt) to backup before updating: jericson suggested adding a prompt to backup before updating Discourse, emphasizing the importance of backups. read more

support

• A user is trying to delete the topic that he has created: Moin explained the permissions and settings related to deleting topics and posts. read more

announcements

• Join the Discourse User Testing Community: David_Ghost expressed interest in joining the user testing community, offering language skills in French and Portuguese. read more

bug

• Thousand separator silently ruins inputted value in settings: tobiaseigen fixed an issue where non-numeric characters in integer site settings caused unexpected behavior. read more

bug

• Can’t cancel a subscription for Discourse: blake resolved an issue preventing users from canceling subscriptions. read more

support

• Brand header mobile menu doesn’t fully expand until window resize: awesomerobot explained the compatibility issues between the Brand Header component and Discourse versions, suggesting an update to resolve the problem. read more

bug

• 500 Error when posting, moment.tz runtime error: joffreyjaffeux and Moin discussed a runtime error related to moment.tz, with plans to address it in future updates. read more

support

• Does anyone use chat on their site?: oshyan suggested clearer messaging for sites with no public chat channels to avoid user confusion. read more

marketplace

• Looking for senior/expert admin with complete knowledge on trust-levels, groups, category moderators, moderators, staff: Jarjar sought expert advice on Discourse roles and permissions, offering compensation for the consultation. read more

data & reporting

• What are anonymous users exactly: JammyDodger clarified the definition of anonymous users in page view metrics, introducing a new metric to distinguish between likely human and probable bot views. read more

bug

• RSS Polling plugin removes tags added manually: featheredtoast added an option to disable tag updates on RSS polls, addressing user concerns. read more

site feedback

• Missing link to what’s new: tobiaseigen acknowledged the absence of links for some new features in release notes, promising improvements in future updates. read more

bug

• Updates are available message when there are none: tobiaseigen and packman discussed an issue where update notifications persisted despite all components being updated. read more

support

• Search - allow / highlight two letter tags (current 3 letter search minimum is a problem): pfaffman and JammyDodger explored the possibility of allowing two-letter tag searches, with plans to test the feature. read more

feature

• Wishlist: Tell me when I’ve crossed the bounce threshold: ganncamp suggested an alert system for users who cross the email bounce threshold, to help them address email issues promptly. read more

ux

• Tag icons don’t show up in post text: nathank raised a concern about tag icons not appearing in post text, suggesting it would improve consistency. read more

community

• Where do you tend to post/search for Community Manager Job Listings?: Tris20 inquired about platforms for posting and searching for community manager job listings, with suggestions like the CMX Job Board. read more

community

• Is there a “Subscribe” Theme Component?: Heliosurge discussed options for adding a subscribe feature to forums, including existing plugins and potential custom solutions. read more

bug

• Editing a table with empty headers fills them in with the default text (“Column A”, “Column B”…): Lhc_fl announced a fix for the issue of default text appearing in table headers when they are left empty. read more

bug

• DM list limit: nat clarified the settings related to the maximum number of users in direct messages, addressing user concerns about visibility. read more

bug

• NoMethodError after upgrade: keegan identified a missing key for Simplified Chinese in LocaleSiteSetting, proposing a fix to avoid similar issues in the future. read more

bug

• Problem with removing the category filter at the review page: ted merged a change to make the category filter clearable on the review page, improving usability. read more

feature

• Allow muting all chat push notifications: lindsey acknowledged the need for better support in muting chat push notifications, converting the topic to a feature request. read more

bug

• onPageChange handler raised an error: joffreyjaffeux addressed an error related to the onPageChange handler, providing a fix for the issue. read more

ux

• Long login-buttons crops the left size of the login modal: awesomerobot proposed a pull request to add a max-width to login buttons, preventing them from breaking the layout. read more

theme-component

• Left side hamburger menu on mobile: featheredtoast and benji worked on a fix for the left side hamburger menu on mobile, addressing user feedback. read more

installation

• Get Error Oops The software powering this discussion forum encountered an unexpected problem after upgrade: JammyDodger suggested troubleshooting steps for resolving errors encountered after upgrading Discourse. read more

feature

• Improve the process for users switching plans: blake discussed the need for a smoother process for users upgrading their subscription plans, with potential improvements in the pipeline. read more

feature

• Add icons for Views and Replies, and Last Activity date in Topic Cards: RGJ added settings to show or hide extra metrics in topic cards, allowing users to customize their display. read more

marketplace

• Need to resolve my database problem by hand error with tags not being unique after upgrade forum: itsbhanusharma offered assistance in resolving a corrupt index issue related to Postgres 12 update. read more

community

• Member psychology - outspoken member who wants to leave but doesn’t actually leave: jericson advised on handling members who frequently request account deletion but continue to engage with the community. read more

installation

• Broke my installation with a failed upgrade - how can I recover?: PhilipLoewen decided to migrate to a larger VPS to resolve issues with a broken Discourse installation, thanking the community for their support. read more

support

• Cloudflare cookie: CF_Authorization: pfaffman discussed the impact of Cloudflare’s CF_Authorization cookie on Discourse, exploring potential solutions. read more

support

• Modifying roles and permission: ondrej and NateDhaliwal provided guidance on customizing roles and permissions in Discourse, including trust levels and group settings. read more

theme-component

• Topic Cards: chapoi addressed issues with the default height of topic cards, introducing settings to customize their appearance. read more

feature

• What are the plans for product-specific pricing table settings: blake acknowledged the potential for product-specific pricing table settings, though no immediate

[Discourse]

This week on meta.discourse.org…

Key Stats

• Total New Posts: 762
• Total New Topics: 110

Top Users

• Moin: 45 posts, 87 likes
• pfaffman: 40 posts, 69 likes
• JammyDodger: 31 posts, 68 likes
• merefield: 27 posts, 61 likes
• Jagster: 47 posts, 60 likes
• Heliosurge: 44 posts, 54 likes
• awesomerobot: 9 posts, 45 likes
• Lhc_fl: 10 posts, 32 likes
• nolo: 4 posts, 31 likes
• david: 8 posts, 31 likes

Interesting Topics

dev

• Why hasn’t Discourse been rewritten in Rust?
  tsk raised a discussion on the potential benefits of rewriting Discourse in Rust, including memory safety and performance improvements. The conversation included insights from merefield and pfaffman, who highlighted the challenges and impracticalities of such a rewrite. Read more

site feedback

• What Changed in the META ToS (July 18, 2024)
  hellekin suggested linking the mandatory banner for accepting new ToS to the actual changes for easier review. awesomerobot provided a detailed explanation of the minor changes made. Read more

• Feedback on Our Community
  wendellverli shared the launch of a large community of photographers in Brazil, seeking advice on adding a “Write a Review” feature. Read more

bug

• iOS doesn’t load CSS sometimes when navigating between subdomains
  pmusaraj and david discussed a workaround involving the <base> tag to address CSS loading issues on iOS. Read more

• Sitemap issue
  Jagster and JammyDodger advised on removing the deprecated sitemap plugin to resolve conflicts with the core sitemap functionality. Read more

support

• Using Custom Domain
  Eugene49 sought help on configuring a custom domain for a hosted Discourse instance, with pfaffman providing a solution. Read more

• Discourse for delivery dispatch
  Architect explored the potential of using Discourse as a delivery dispatch platform, with HAWK and maiki providing insights and alternatives. Read more

• How to make forum buttons rounded across all themes
  Heliosurge and awesomerobot shared theme components and CSS snippets to achieve rounded buttons. Read more

• Discourse AI Install Failing
  JammyDodger and Roman_Rizzi helped troubleshoot issues with the Discourse AI plugin installation. Read more

announcements

• 3.3.0.beta4: Topic view stats, Signup Improvements, Better usercard positioning, and more
  Saif announced new features in the latest beta release, including topic view stats and signup improvements. Read more

• Preparing your community for behind-the-scenes header changes
  david informed admins about upcoming changes to the header implementation and provided instructions for updating customizations. Read more

feature

• Why is there no record of who added or removed slow mode?
  Lilly and JammyDodger discussed querying this information using Data Explorer and the recent addition of this functionality to the admin logs. Read more

• GPT-4o mini landed - going to be supported?
  awesomerobot confirmed that the new GPT-4o mini model is supported by the Discourse AI plugin. Read more

plugin

• ActivityPub Plugin
  angus and mcdanlj discussed the compatibility of Discourse with Lemmy and the potential for following entire instances. Read more

• Discourse Topic Voting
  nat announced the migration of database tables for the Topic Voting plugin to match the Post Voting plugin. Read more

ux

• Distance between usernames and names in profile summary
  awesomerobot addressed an issue with the spacing between usernames and names in the profile summary. Read more

• Solutions and cheers appear quite large on user cards
  Lilly and awesomerobot worked on fixing the display of solutions and cheers on user cards. Read more

installation

• Initial Activation email Not sent. What’s wrong with this yaml?
  supermathie and pfaffman provided troubleshooting steps for email configuration issues during initial activation. Read more

data & reporting

• Trending Search Terms with Admin/Moderator Searches Removed?
  Lilly shared a SQL query to exclude admin and moderator searches from trending search terms. Read more

Activity by the @team Group

• JammyDodger participated in discussions on Discourse AI Install Failing, Why is there no record of who added or removed slow mode?, and Trending Search Terms with Admin/Moderator Searches Removed?.

• awesomerobot contributed to topics on Solutions and cheers appear quite large on user cards, Distance between usernames and names in profile summary, and GPT-4o mini landed - going to be supported?.

• Lilly provided insights on Why is there no record of who added or removed slow mode?, Trending Search Terms with Admin/Moderator Searches Removed?, and Solutions and cheers appear quite large on user cards.

• david announced updates in Preparing your community for behind-the-scenes header changes and participated in discussions on iOS doesn’t load CSS sometimes when navigating between subdomains.

• pmusaraj engaged in the topic iOS doesn’t load CSS sometimes when navigating between subdomains and provided support on Support itunes:image syntax in RSS Polling plugin.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you again next week!