FAQs: Community

FAQs: Community

Access, Purpose, and Permissions

What can Community Forums be used for?
Community Forums provide a self-service space where customers, agents, and other users can exchange product knowledge, ask for assistance, report issues, suggest improvements, and receive updates. They are designed to support peer-to-peer discussion while allowing support teams to participate, guide conversations, and surface useful answers.

For example, a customer can post an installation question, another customer can share their experience, and an agent can add the confirmed resolution and mark the most helpful response as the best answer.
Can a separate community be maintained for each department?
Yes. A community can be created for each department. Each department’s community home page shows the posts published for that department, along with the categories available within it.

This separation is useful when product lines or support teams need distinct spaces. For example, a hardware department can maintain categories for devices and accessories, while a software department can maintain separate categories for installation, integrations, and release updates.
How do categories affect which posts agents see?
Categories organize forum posts within a department. Selecting a category displays the posts associated with that category, helping agents and users focus on a specific product area or discussion theme.

Category details can also show:
  1. The number of posts in that category
  2. The number of followers
  3. The names and email addresses of agents and help center users who follow it
Are forum posts the same as support tickets?
No, Forum posts are community conversations, while tickets are support records. However, a forum post may be converted into a ticket, and the post details can then display its associated Ticket ID.

This is useful when a public issue requires private troubleshooting, account-specific investigation, or formal case handling.

Creating and Publishing Topics

Which topic types are available in Community Forums?
Community Forums support five topic types:
  1. Discussion - for sharing experiences, use cases, or open-ended conversations
  2. Announcement - for organization-led news, launches, or important notices
  3. Question - for product, setup, or usage questions
  4. Idea - for feature requests and improvement suggestions
  5. Problem - for reporting product issues or technical failures
The community configuration may display a default type first, but an agent can select a more suitable type while creating the topic.
How should the correct topic type be selected?
Choose the type based on the intended outcome of the post rather than the topic’s wording.
  1. Use Question when the main goal is to obtain an answer.
  2. Use Problem when the post concerns a defect, failure, or unexpected behavior.
  3. Use Idea when the user is proposing an enhancement.
  4. Use Announcement when the organization is communicating a decision, release, or event.
  5. Use Discussion when there may be multiple valid viewpoints or shared practices.
For example, “How can two-factor authentication be enabled?” is a Question. “Two-factor authentication codes are not being accepted” is a Problem. “Please add backup codes” is an Idea.
What information should be completed before publishing a topic?
A complete topic should include:

  1. Select a Topic Type.
  2. Enter the post title and description.
    1. Make the title specific enough to be understood in search results and list views.
  3. Select the relevant Category and Forum.
  4. Add relevant Tags.
  5. Add email recipients when the post must be shared immediately.
    1. A maximum of five email addresses can be added.
  6. Configure post preferences.
    1. Follow the topic
    2. Make the post sticky
  7. Complete SEO details where appropriate.
    1. Title
    2. Meta keywords
    3. Meta description
  8. Preview the topic.
  9. Adjust the permalink if needed.
  10. Publish the post or save it as a draft.
Can a topic be prepared without publishing it immediately?
Yes. A topic can be saved as a draft and published later. This is appropriate when the content requires review, when supporting images or links are not final, or when an announcement must be released at a specific time.

Drafts can be found using the My Drafts filter.
Can a published topic be shared by email?
Yes. A topic can be shared by email when it is published. Up to five email addresses can be included.

For example, after publishing an announcement about a service change, an agent can send it directly to a sales manager, implementation partner, and key customer contacts without requiring them to discover the post themselves.


Can images be added to a community topic?
Yes. Images can be inserted into the post and configured with supporting properties, including:
  1. A link-back URL
  2. Alt text
  3. A description
  4. Alignment options
Alt text provides a text alternative if an image cannot load. A description can help readers understand the image context, including when it appears in search indexing. The image itself can also link visitors to a relevant page or topic.
Can one community topic link to another?
Yes. A post can link to a previously published community topic. This helps avoid duplicated explanations and lets agents guide readers toward an existing answer, known issue, or announcement.

Searchability and SEO

Why should tags be added to community posts?
Tags make topics easier to locate, navigate, and group by subject. They are particularly useful when categories are broad or when similar information spans several forums.

For example, a post in the “Product Setup” category might use tags such as installation, SSO, and Windows so users can find it through more than one path.
What SEO settings are available for a topic?
Each topic can include:
  1. SEO title - the text shown in the browser tab and potentially in search-result listings
  2. Meta description - a short explanation of the page’s purpose
  3. Meta keywords - relevant terms associated with the post
  4. NoIndex - controls whether search engines can index the topic
  5. NoFollow - controls whether search engines can follow links on the topic
  6. Permalink editing - allows the topic URL to better reflect its subject
When should the permalink be edited?
Edit a permalink when the default URL does not clearly describe the topic or when a more meaningful, keyword-focused URL will make the link easier to understand and share.

For example, a permalink such as /community/sso-setup-guide is more meaningful than one based on a generic or incomplete title. Changes should be reviewed carefully before sharing the URL broadly.
What is the difference between NoIndex and NoFollow?
  1. NoIndex is used when the topic should not appear in search-engine indexes.
  2. NoFollow is used when search engines should not follow links included in the topic.
These options are useful for posts that should remain accessible to community users but should not be promoted through external search results or link crawling.
Can a social-sharing image be set for a forum post?
Yes. A featured image can be assigned to a post, either by selecting an image already included in the post or by uploading one separately.

This is particularly useful when links are shared through platforms such as Facebook or Twitter, where an appropriate image can improve recognition and engagement.

Finding and Filtering Posts

How can agents find recently published community posts?
Use the Recents filter to view the most recent posts. This is useful for monitoring new activity, identifying emerging issues, and responding promptly to fresh questions.


How can unanswered posts be identified?
Use the Unreplied posts filter. It displays posts awaiting an agent response across the available forum types.

This view is useful for teams that need to prevent community questions or problem reports from being overlooked during high-volume periods.
What are sticky posts, and how can they be found?
Sticky posts are important posts pinned by the organization so they remain prominent. They can be found through the Sticky posts filter.

A sticky post is appropriate for information that should remain visible, such as an active service advisory, major product release notice, or community participation guideline.
How can an agent locate unfinished work?
Use My Drafts to find topics saved by that agent but not yet published. This helps separate unpublished content from active public discussions.
Can posts be filtered by both topic type and status?
Yes. Forum posts can be filtered by type and status together.

For example, an agent can filter for:
  1. Question posts with the Answered status
  2. Problem posts with the Temporary fix status
  3. Idea posts marked Under review
This combination makes it easier to review a specific subset of community activity rather than scanning all posts.
Can posts be filtered by when they were published?
Yes. Posts can be filtered by publishing period:
  1. Last 7 days
  2. Last 30 days
  3. Last 365 days
  4. All time
  5. Custom period
This is useful for reviewing recent release-related conversations, analyzing long-term trends, or locating content from a known time frame.


How many posts can be displayed on a page?
The default list-view setting displays 10 posts per page. The maximum is 50 posts per page.

Increasing the record count can reduce paging when reviewing a category, while a lower number may be easier to scan when posts have long titles or detailed metadata.


Views and Display Preferences

What is shown in Classic view?
Classic view provides a detailed list of posts, including:
  1. Forum title
  2. Brief content summary
  3. Category name
  4. Agent name
  5. Agent who most recently responded
  6. Most recent update time
  7. View count
  8. Comment count
  9. Like count
Agents with the necessary permission can also access actions by hovering over a post, including editing it, setting it to read-only, or opening it in the help center.
What is the difference between Classic view and Compact view?
Compact view provides a condensed version of the post list. It includes the core details needed for scanning activity:
  1. Forum title
  2. Category
  3. Agent name
  4. Most recent responding agent
  5. Last update time
  6. Views, comments, and likes
Classic view is better when agents need a content preview. Compact view is better for reviewing larger volumes of posts quickly.


What is the Status Board used for?
The Status Board is a kanban-style view for customer-posted Questions, Ideas, and Problems. It organizes topics by their available system-defined statuses, helping agents review and manage groups of similar posts.

It does not apply to every topic type. Discussions and announcements are not included in this board.
Can custom statuses be created for community topics?
No, Community topics use only the available system-defined statuses. Users cannot create custom statuses.

This limitation should be considered when designing internal workflows. If a team requires a highly specific lifecycle such as “Engineering validated,” “Documentation planned,” or “Release candidate,” those stages cannot be added as custom community statuses.


Which statuses are available for Questions?
Questions can use these statuses:
  1. No status
  2. Most voted
  3. Need more info
  4. Answered
  5. Unanswered
  6. Working on it
Which statuses are available for Ideas?
Ideas can use these statuses:
  1. No status
  2. Most voted
  3. Under review
  4. Maybe later
Which statuses are available for Problems?
Problems can use these statuses:
  1. No status
  2. Most voted
  3. Not a problem
  4. Temporary fix
How can the post list be ordered or sorted?
Display preferences allow agents to control how posts appear:
  1. Order By shows posts in publication order, with newer posts at the top and older posts lower in the list.
  2. Sort By allows sorting based on created time or modified time.
Sorting by modified time is useful when the team needs to find conversations that have recently changed, even if they were originally created some time ago.

Managing Conversations and Replies

Can agents view a topic as a full conversation?
Yes. Conversation mode displays the responses contributed by customers and agents. It is available for all forum topic types.

This view is useful when a topic has several replies and an agent needs to understand the context, identify unanswered points, or determine whether the discussion has already reached a resolution.
Can a helpful customer reply be highlighted?
Yes. An agent can mark a useful customer comment as the best answer.

This is particularly valuable when a community member provides an accurate solution before an agent responds. Marking the best answer helps future readers identify the practical resolution without reading every reply.
Can replies be prevented on a post?
Yes. An agent with the appropriate permissions can set a post to Read-only, preventing further responses.

This should be used carefully. It is appropriate when an announcement no longer requires discussion, an issue has been resolved and further replies would fragment the conversation, or a post must remain visible for reference without continuing debate.
What activity details are available within a forum post?
The post detail view can show:
  1. Topic type
  2. Views
  3. Likes
  4. Dislikes
  5. Replies from help center readers
  6. The Ticket ID, if the topic was converted into a ticket
  7. The topic’s current status
These details help agents determine whether a post needs attention, has high community interest, or requires escalation into a formal support process.

Monitoring Engagement

How can highly active participants be identified?
Use the Top contributors filter. It identifies posts from agents and help center users who are actively participating in discussions.

This view can help community managers recognize knowledgeable users, identify potential advocates, and review discussions that may be influencing other customers.
Can agents see who follows a category?
Yes. From the category details, selecting the follower count displays the names and email addresses of agents and help center users who follow that category.

This can help agents understand who should receive attention or who may be interested in an update posted to that category.
What do views, comments, likes, and dislikes indicate?
These metrics provide different forms of engagement:
  1. Views indicate how often the topic has been opened.
  2. Comments indicate the level of conversation.
  3. Likes indicate positive community response.
  4. Dislikes indicate negative reaction or disagreement.
High views without replies may suggest that a topic is useful but complete. High comments on a problem report may indicate broad impact or that the original explanation is unclear.


Operational Guidance and Limitations

Does changing a topic status create a custom support workflow?
No, Topic statuses are fixed system-defined labels used for organizing relevant forum types. They do not provide a customizable workflow engine.

For example, a Problem can be categorized as “Temporary fix,” but a team cannot add custom community states for internal engineering approval, QA verification, or release scheduling.
Should every support issue remain in the community?
No, A community topic is useful for broadly applicable questions, public guidance, known issues, and peer discussion. A ticket is more appropriate when troubleshooting involves customer-specific information, private account details, or a case requiring formal ownership and follow-up.


How can duplicate questions be reduced without deleting useful community activity?
Before publishing a new response or topic, search the appropriate category and review related posts. When an existing answer is still valid, link to that post rather than recreating the same guidance. Tags, clear titles, and appropriate categories make this process more reliable.

For example, instead of creating separate posts for “Reset password,” “Password reset help,” and “Cannot reset password,” a team can maintain a clear primary topic and direct related conversations to it when appropriate.
When should a post be made sticky instead of relying on search?
Use a sticky post when the information is important enough to remain at the top of the relevant post list. Search remains useful for long-term discovery, but sticky placement is better for urgent, time-sensitive, or universally relevant updates.


How should an agent handle a question that needs more details before it can be answered?
Use the available Need more info status for Questions and ask for the missing information in the conversation. Keep the request focused on details necessary to diagnose the issue, such as the product area, expected behavior, actual behavior, or steps already tried.

Avoid requesting sensitive information in a public forum. If private details are required, move the issue to a support ticket.

Managing Moderation Settings in Community

How to automatically approve community posts
There is a moderation option in the community setup which allows designated users (AKA moderators) to approve or reject posts according to an organization's community guidelines.

If you want community posts to be auto-approved, disable the community moderation from you desk setup.

To disable moderation:
  1. Go to the Zoho Desk Setup page
  2. Select Community under CHANNELS
  3. Select the department for which you want to disable the moderation

  4. Click the Edit button.

  5. On the Edit Category page, under Moderation, select None from the drop-down menu.

  6. Click Save.

 

All future community posts will be auto-approved to be published.

How to moderate posts in the community?
When moderation is enabled for a category, moderators can review new forum topics, and replies before they get posted to the community. Also, such content does not display instantly until the moderator approves it. Typically, when a new user posts a topic or a reply, it is first placed into a queue that is moderated by you. The post can either be approved or moved to trash.

To moderate a post or reply in your community:
  1. Click the Community module.
  2. On the Community Home page, click Moderation in the lower-left corner.
  3. On the Waiting Approval tab, you can view a list of topics that are awaiting approval.
  4. Click a topic to open it in the right pane.



  5. Click Approve at the bottom of the topic window.
    Alternatively, click Move to trash to delete the topic from the community.
  6. Click the Replies tab to go on and moderate any replies you have received for existing topics.

NotesNote: By approving a post, you also automatically approve all future posts by that user.

How to enable moderation for community?
An online community is a platform where customers can ask questions, find answers, share best practices and engage with each other. However, 
creating a community forum opens up your business to potential spammers which render the self-help support community effectively useless. For example, legitimate questions will be pushed down towards the bottom; on most of the sections, the first page will only contain spam. You can overcome this problem by having the forum posts moderated before they are published in your community.

When you enable moderation, you are required to approve the very post of a user in the community. Once approved, all future posts from the user will automatically be allowed.

To enable content moderation:
  1. Click the Setup icon (  ) in the top bar.
  2. In the Setup Landing page, click Community under Channels.
  3. In the Categories List page, hover your mouse pointer and click the Edit icon (  ) corresponding to the category you want to moderate.
  4. Select the First post only option from under the Moderation section.
  5. Specify the Moderators for the category.
    By default, Zoho Desk Administrators will be the moderators.
  6. Click Save.

Also Read: Moderating Posts