Discourse is a 100% open source discussion platform
Announced the launch of the new version of the Discourse 3 platform, which is designed to support online discussions used by many open source projects instead of mailing lists, web forums and chat rooms.
This new version includes real time chat and user status to allow for more informal communication, a customizable sidebar for easier access to the things that matter most to each user and a new notifications interface that makes it easy to decide what's important to follow up on. , along with many other improvements.
It is worth mentioning that this platform supports the division of topics based on tags, sending notifications about the appearance of replies to messages, updating the list of messages in topics in real time, dynamic loading of content as you read, the possibility of subscribing to topics of interest and sending responses by email.
With this release we also celebrate 9 years since Discourse 1.0 , when we set out to build a platform for civilized discourse that empowered communities to improve the quality of conversations on the Internet. As we approach a decade into our journey, our desire to improve Discourse for diverse communities of all sizes is stronger than ever, and we look forward to continuing to evolve with you over the next decade.
Main news of Discourse 3
In this new version of Discourse 3 that is presented, we can find that a chat implementation that allows participants to communicate in real time, besides that now the members have the ability to add categories, labels, chats to the panel and that the latter also has a "Community" section with the most used links.
Another change that we can find is that a new configurable sidebar has been proposed by the user, as well as that the possibility of display by the user of the state is provided. The status is set in the form of an emoji or message that will be displayed associated with the participant in all sections of the platform (for example, next to the avatar in posts, in chat and on the profile).
We can also find that a new interface to show notifications, making it easy to separate important and secondary notifications. The different types of notifications are now placed in separate tabs, as well as a general section with recent notifications.
A new initial setup wizard has been proposed that allows the user to be able to configure the most important parameters of the platform, such as the access model (available to all or only registered users), the registration form (for all or only by invitation), the need to confirm participants, the presence of a chat and the inclusion of a sidebar.
Of the other changes that stand out
- The ability to display popup tips to new users with basic information about the platform's capabilities has been provided.
- The hashtag system has been redesigned, making it easier to submit by channel names, categories, and tags.
- Provided the ability to define groups of participants who can communicate with each other privately on separate topics.
- Improved the search interface, added the ability to quickly search for users and topics in a certain category by attaching "#" and "in:" filters to the request.
- The platform's software stack has been updated: Ruby 3.1, Rails 7, and Ember 3.28.
- Extended information on the pages displayed in case of errors. Improved home screen that appears during loading.
- Improved dark mode.
Finally for those interested, they should know that the system is written in Ruby using the Ruby on Rails framework and the Ember.js library (data is stored in PostgreSQL DBMS, fast cache is stored in Redis). The code is distributed under the GPLv2 license.
In addition, it is also worth mentioning that hosting plans are offered that go from $25 USD onwards, although as mentioned, the platform code is available to the general public in the following repository.
If you are interested in being able to learn more about this new release, you can check the details in the original publication, the link is this.