Hello everyone!
I just wanted to let you know that you’ll see a new feature on the Forum homepage over the coming weeks.
This new feature will showcase a small selection of top, trending, or important topics at the top of our forum page. The featured topics will be a selection of member topics and Forum team topics, which will be updated by the team regularly.
We wanted to introduce the featured topics section for a few reasons:
The feature brings attention to essential topics - whether they’re announcements, popular discussions, or useful resources. This way, critical content doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of newer posts.
Members can immediately see what’s popular or what’s being discussed. This should encourage more interaction as people can be more likely to engage with highlighted posts that catch their eye right away.
New members often don’t know where to start, if they don’t have a specific reason for joining the Forum e.g. if there’s no particular issue they need to ask for help with. With featured topics highlighted, they can easily spot popular topics and dive into discussions without having to scroll or search.
If there’s important news, a product update, or something time-sensitive, we can feature it, ensuring it’s seen by everyone who visits the forum.
This featured topics update will come in the next couple of weeks, so watch this space.
Take care,
Jenny
EDIT: I know that there’s a lot of feedback on the Forum around changes to the THS user experience, where there’s frustrations over changes that have been made, or around changes that you feel would make the overall experience better. This means that hearing about a change to the Forum might make you wonder why THS isn’t focusing on the feedback you’ve given.
I just wanted to clarify that making a visual change to the Forum is within the scope of the Forum team (as our job is to manage the Forum, including the look and feel of it) but while the Forum team can provide product updates and pass along feedback, we don’t have the power to make any product or process changes.
The decision to update the look of the Forum homepage is a decision that was made within the Forum team, and doesn’t impact any work going on behind the scenes which relates to member experience.