Discourse is an open source forum project launched by Stack Overflow co-founder Jeff Atwood, based on Ruby on Rails and Ember.js development, database usage PostgreSQL and redis. Discourse abandons the topic discussion form of traditional forums, adopts a new version of channel/topic classification method, and is applicable to both desktop and mobile terminals.

Discourse 3.0 has been officially released, and this release brings live chat and user status, a customizable sidebar, and a new notification interface, among many other improvements.

new setup wizard

A new setup wizard has been added, allowing some of the most important features to be configured instantly with a simple toggle.

live chat

Discourse now includes a live chat feature where site administrators can create channels for community members to hang out and have informal discussions.

new sidebar

Members can now add categories, tags, and chat channels to the sidebar for quicker access to content of interest.

user status function

It is a familiar function, which is basically configured in all domestic chat apps.

New “Notifications” menu

Users can decide which notification types are allowed.

User prompt function

Simple Operation Guide

Other highlights of Discourse 3.0:

• A huge overhaul of the hashtag system makes it easier to identify channels, categories, and tags by name.
• It is now possible to configure which groups can communicate privately in topics.
• Improved the Instant Search UI in the site header to find what you’re looking for faster.
• The open source tools for building Discourse have been updated. Highlights include Ruby 3.1, Rails 7, and Ember 3.28 with Ember CLI.
• Added some polish to Discourse, like more helpful error pages, an improved page load spinner, new splash screen animations, and faster image preloads.

This release also marks the 9th anniversary of Discourse 1.0, and more details on Discourse 3.0 can be found on the official blog.