Help:Wiki-style forums/set up

Wikia now has two types of forums for carrying on threaded discussions. Here we discuss the set-up of the older Wiki-style forums. See Message board forums for the newer phpBB forums.

Wikis created since July of 2006 had Forums installed at creation. Older wikis who desire this feature can request help from the Wikia Community Team.

How do I set up forums?
Setting up a new wiki forum involves copying a set of pages to your local Wikia. This page describes a basic set-up that adds two forums. Many aspects of this can be customised, but this set-up gives a good place to start.


 * Copy the following pages to the same title on your local wikia (all links go to the starter wikia):


 * 1) Forum:Index
 * 2) Forum:Help desk
 * 3) Forum:Watercooler
 * 4) Template:Forumheader/Help desk
 * 5) Template:Forumheader/Watercooler
 * 6) Template:Forumheader
 * 7) Category:Forums
 * 8) Category:Help desk
 * 9) Category:Watercooler


 * If you are not using the default css, copy the following text to the local MediaWiki:Common.css

/* Forum formatting -Algorithm & -Splaka */ .forumheader { border: 1px solid #aaa; background-color: #f9f9f9; margin-top: 1em; padding: 12px; } .forumlist td span { display: block; padding-left: 10px; font-size: smaller } .forumlist td span a { text-decoration: none; } .forumlist td span.forum_author { padding-left: 30px; } .forumlist td.forum_edited a { text-decoration: none } .forumlist td.forum_title a { padding-left: 20px; } .forumlist td.forum_title span a { padding-left: 0px } .forumlist td.forum_title a.forum_new { font-weight: bold; background: url(/images/4/4e/Forum_new.gif) center left no-repeat; padding-left: 20px; } .forumlist td.forum_title a.forum_new:visited { font-weight: normal; background: none; padding-left: 20px; } .forumlist th.forum_title { padding-left: 20px; }


 * Save w:c:starter:Image:Forum new.gif to your hard drive, and then upload to your local wikia with the same name.


 * Add (optionally) a link to Forum:Index to the local MediaWiki:Sidebar and MediaWiki:Navlinks

**Forum:Index|Forum

You may wish to test the forums by adding welcome messages similar to those at Welcome to the help desk and Welcome to the watercooler.

How do I add new forums in addition to the defaults?
See Help:Forums.