Forums
Forums on Storyfall help you build community and engage with your readers. You can create different types of forums depending on your needs.
Forum Types
Storyfall offers three types of forums:
Platform Forums
Public forums created by Storyfall staff. These are for platform-wide announcements, discussions, and community events. Users can’t create platform forums, but any registered user can participate in them.
Writer Forums
Personal forums for your subscribers and followers. Use them for:
- Discussing your stories.
- Sharing updates and behind-the-scenes content.
- Gathering feedback from your community.
- Exclusive announcements.
Access: Your subscribers and team members.
Story Forums
Discussion spaces tied to specific stories. Use them for:
- Chapter discussions.
- Theory crafting.
- Spoiler-tagged conversations.
- Reader feedback on specific content.
Access: Readers who’ve accessed the story.
Creating a Forum
As a Writer
- Navigate to your Writer’s Workshop.
- Click on the Forums tab.
- Click “Create Forum”.
- Fill in the details:
- Title: The forum name.
- Description: What the forum is about.
- Type: Choose Writer or Story forum.
- Story (if Story forum): Select which story it’s for.
- Click “Create Forum”.
Forum Settings
When creating a forum, you can configure:
- Visibility: Who can see and access the forum.
- Posting Permissions: Who can create threads.
- Moderation: Auto-moderation settings.
Creating Threads
To start a discussion:
- Open the forum.
- Click “New Thread”.
- Enter your title and content.
- Add tags (optional) to categorize the discussion.
- Click “Post”.
Thread Features
- Rich text formatting: Bold, italics, lists, and more.
- Spoiler tags: Hide spoilers with collapsible sections.
- Mentions: Tag other users with @username.
- Pinning: Pin important threads to the top (forum owners only).
- Polls: Embed polls in your messages to gather feedback or let readers vote on ideas (see below).
Polls
Add polls to any forum message to gather feedback, let readers vote on story directions, or settle community debates. Polls are embedded directly in the rich text editor.
When creating a poll, you can configure:
- Question: What you’re asking.
- Options: Two or more choices for voters.
- Multiple selections: Allow voters to pick more than one option.
- Results visibility: Show results always, only after voting, or never.
Each user can vote once per poll. Voters can undo their vote if they change their mind.
Replying to Threads
Forums support threaded discussions:
- Click on a thread to read it.
- Use the reply box to add your comment.
- Quote specific parts of other posts.
- React to posts with likes.
Moderation
As a forum owner, you have moderation tools:
Moderation Actions
- Delete posts: Remove inappropriate content.
- Pin threads: Highlight important discussions.
- Lock threads: Prevent further replies.
Moderation Tools
Access moderation tools by:
- Opening a thread or post.
- Clicking the moderation menu (three dots).
- Selecting the appropriate action.
Story Forums
Story-specific forums work well for focused discussion:
Organizing Story Forums
Create separate forums for:
- General Discussion: Overall story chat.
- Chapter Discussion: Per-chapter threads.
- Spoilers: Clearly marked spoiler discussions.
- Theories: Reader predictions and analysis.
Spoiler Etiquette
When discussing story events:
- Mark threads with [SPOILERS] in the title.
- Use spoiler tags for revealing content.
- Specify which chapter you’re discussing.
- Respect readers who aren’t caught up.
Subscriber-Only Forums
Writer forums can be restricted to subscribers only. When creating or editing a forum, set the Access Level to “Subscribers Only”. Subscriptions can be free or paid, so this doesn’t necessarily mean readers have to pay to access the forum.
Next Steps
- Notifications - Manage how you stay informed about forum activity and more.
- Blog Posts - Write longer-form content for your audience.
- Monetization - Earn from your community through subscriptions.
- Events - Host and participate in writing competitions.
- Publishing Your Story - Get your story out there.