Creating a private forum

Creating a private forum

Roles: Primary Admin, Admin

Description: In this article, you will learn how to make a general forum private, so only the people and teams you choose can see it and take part. You can create a new private forum or change an existing public forum to private.

Benefits:

  • Focused groups: Give a team, cohort, or project group its own space for discussion.
  • Safer conversations: Members can talk openly when they know who can read their posts.
  • Flexible access: Add or remove people and teams at any time, or make the forum public again.

How private forums work

  • Every forum has an Accessibility setting. It is Public by default, which means every learner can see the forum.
  • A Private forum is visible to admins and to the people and teams you select. It shows a Private tag on its card on the Forums page.
  • When you add a team, its members get access. The team's managers are not added automatically.
  • Posts and polls in a private forum are visible only to people with access.
  • If you remove someone, they lose access and stop getting notifications about the forum. Links to its posts no longer open for them.

Forums page with a forum card that shows the Private tag

Step by step: create a private forum

  1. In the top navigation menu, go to Engagement > Forums.
  2. Click the red + button at the bottom-right of the page.
  3. Enter a Title and a Description, and add a cover image.
  4. Next to Accessibility, select Private. The Advanced Customization link appears.
  5. Click Advanced Customization. The Customize Accessibility window opens.
  6. Under Make it visible to, choose Individual to pick people or Team to pick teams. Select the ones who should have access.
  7. Check the bar at the bottom of the window. It shows how many users and teams can access the forum.
  8. Click Save in the window, then click Save Forum.

Accessibility set to Private with the Advanced Customization link, Delete, and Save Forum

Customize Accessibility window with Make it visible to Team or Individual, the user list, and the access count bar

Step by step: make an existing forum private

  1. Go to Engagement > Forums.
  2. Point to the forum card and click the three-dot menu in its top-right corner, then select Edit. You can also open the forum with View Forum and use the three-dot menu at the top of the forum page.
  3. Next to Accessibility, select Private.
  4. Click Advanced Customization, select the people and teams who should have access, and click Save.
  5. Click Save Forum.

Forum card menu with Edit, Delete, and Archive next to View Forum

Step by step: change who has access, or make the forum public again

  1. Open the forum's Edit page, as described above.
  2. To change who has access, click Advanced Customization, update your selection, and click Save.
  3. To make the forum public again, set Accessibility to Public.
  4. Click Save Forum.

Note: If a private forum or one of its posts is featured on a banner, the banner becomes unavailable. Check your banners in Settings > Banner.

Common questions

Who can see a private forum?

Admins and the people and teams you selected. Learners who are not selected don't see the forum in their Forums list.

Can managers see a private forum their team is part of?

Not automatically. Adding a team gives its members access, but not its managers. Add managers as individual people if they need access.

Can I change who has access later?

Yes. Edit the forum, click Advanced Customization, update the selection, and save. Anyone you remove loses access.

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