Discourse 2.4.0.beta8 Release Notes

[maiki]

Discourse 2.4.0.beta8 Release Notes

New features in 2.4.0.beta8

Tag Synonyms

Discourse now supports tag synonyms, as well as tag merging. Similar tags, common tag mis-spellings, colloquialisms, and more can now be combined into a single tag. Further, if the tag being set as a synonym already exists, the tags will be merged automatically, with all topics being retagged with the primary tag.

Theme Management Improvements

The Discourse theme system has evolved tremendously over the last few Discourse releases. Theme components were introduced, allowing site designers to create a single design or feature that can be easily added to any existing themes through the user interface. As sites grow, and more themes and components created, it can become difficult to remember to include every component in every theme, and time consuming when it is remembered.

Site designers can now easily add a component to a theme without leaving the theme component page, as well as quickly add a component to all active themes. Designers can also easily add all active components to a single theme, without the need to select each component individually.

Note that the add all feature only adds active themes/components. If a theme or component is not used by any other themes/components, it will not be added via add all. Such themes/components will need to be added individually at least once first.

Poll Improvements

Two new features have been added to Discourse polls. Previously, poll results were displayed as bar graphs. Now, poll creators can also choose a pie chart display. Note that it is not possible to show who voted (public votes) with the pie chart display.

Polls (bar and pie) can also now be quickly exported by admins, direct from the post. When exported, admins receive a CSV with the complete poll results, which can then be further analyzed as needed. Note that the Data Explorer plugin must be installed and enabled for this feature to work.

suppress from latest category setting removed

Suppress from latest allowed site admins to remove a category’s topics from the site’s default homepage, whether /latest , /categories , or something else. However, this feature caused confusion for admins and users when users changed their homepage preference. We also received requests to hide categories more thoroughly, rather than just on the homepage. It was also a site-wide setting, so users who did want to see the category on their homepage had no option to do so.

All categories set to suppress_from_latest will be automatically set as muted for all users. Users can then choose to unmute the category if they prefer to see it on their homepage, as well as other views within Discourse. Further, a new site setting mute all categories by default has been added for sites with large numbers of categories, most of which they don’t need users seeing by default. When mute all categories by default is enabled, admins should configure categories in the default_categories_tracking and default_categories_watching settings to override the mute, and ensure new users see something when they sign up for the site.

Trust Level 2 PM

Users reaching TL2 will now receive an automatic PM congratulating them on their promotion, and encouraging them to start the advanced user tutorial. Like all text in Discourse, this PM can be customized by admins as needed.

Even more!

But wait, there’s more! We do our best to highlight new features and changes for you, but there’s always too many changes to detail. We’ve highlighted a few more new features below, but for a full list of new features, bug fixes, UX improvements, and more, be sure to review the Additional Features and Fixes listed below.

• Support pasting a list of usernames into a PM
• Improve suspect user discovery
• Consolidate group membership request notifications.
• Limit the number of active sessions for a user
• Hide posts from incoming email based on dmarc verdict
• Improve email change workflow
• Filter reviewables by date range
• Dismiss new per category
• Automatically redirect to authenticator when there is only one
• Notify tag watchers when tag was added to post

[maiki]

@maiki

Tag Synonyms

Discourse now supports tag synonyms, as well as tag merging. Similar tags, common tag mis-spellings, colloquialisms, and more can now be combined into a single tag. Further, if the tag being set as a synonym already exists, the tags will be merged automatically, with all topics being retagged with the primary tag.

That’s pretty cool. I know we have a lot of plural/singular tags going on, so this might help that along. Also, is there a different between games and Gaming?

@maiki

Poll Improvements

Two new features have been added to Discourse polls. Previously, poll results were displayed as bar graphs. Now, poll creators can also choose a pie chart display. Note that it is not possible to show who voted (public votes) with the pie chart display.

Polls (bar and pie) can also now be quickly exported by admins, direct from the post. When exported, admins receive a CSV with the complete poll results, which can then be further analyzed as needed. Note that the Data Explorer plugin must be installed and enabled for this feature to work.

Hey, fun! I like the polls, and even have a fun plan ya’ll will like, very soon!

@maiki

suppress from latest category setting removed

Suppress from latest allowed site admins to remove a category’s topics from the site’s default homepage, whether /latest , /categories , or something else. However, this feature caused confusion for admins and users when users changed their homepage preference. We also received requests to hide categories more thoroughly, rather than just on the homepage. It was also a site-wide setting, so users who did want to see the category on their homepage had no option to do so.

All categories set to suppress_from_latest will be automatically set as muted for all users. Users can then choose to unmute the category if they prefer to see it on their homepage, as well as other views within Discourse. Further, a new site setting mute all categories by default has been added for sites with large numbers of categories, most of which they don’t need users seeing by default. When mute all categories by default is enabled, admins should configure categories in the default_categories_tracking and default_categories_watching settings to override the mute, and ensure new users see something when they sign up for the site.

Ah, super cool! I plan on changing both talkgroup and a new site to mostly mute all categories. I want to create a space where folks opt-in, across the board. We should avoid distraction.