IWS is currently upgrading the community forum platform from a mediawiki plugin on BriteWiki to Discourse, an online forum platform built for web-based discussion. "Discourse captures what a modern, sustainable, and fully open-source Internet discussion platform should be – both from a technology standpoint and a sociology standpoint." Discourse is a 100% open source system. Their design mission is to keep it simple. They offer user friendly and accessible dashboards optimized for reading, browsing and custom sorting. Check out key features of Discourse in this presentation.

1. web-based discussion platform
1

2. Discussion
Upgrading the Forum Platform
BriteDiscourse
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• Current Platform (limitations)
• New Platform (advantages)
• Ease of Use for the User Community
• Support and Maintenance for IWS
• Hands-On User Setup and Exploration

3. Current Platform
MediaWiki Forums Hosted on BriteWiki
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4. BriteWiki
Not Originally Built for Online Discussion
BriteDiscourse
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• Forums currently hosted on BriteWiki
• Not built for online client discussions
• Was built for online documentation
• Serves as a platform for collaborative writing
• Deployed using a MediaWiki template

5. BriteDiscourse 5

6. BriteWiki
Not Originally Built for Online Discussion
BriteDiscourse
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• Wiki application is difficult to use
• Forum Plugin (AWC) abandoned
• Manual updates are required
• Lower functioning discussion board

7. Deploying Discourse
Forum Platform Built for Online Discussion
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8. Why?
BriteDiscourse 8

9. Deploying Discourse
Why Is It Important that We Upgrade Platforms?
BriteDiscourse
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BriteCore Built by the Community

10. Deploying Discourse
Why Is It Important that We Upgrade Platforms?
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Community is Growing

11. Deploying Discourse
Why Is It Important that We Upgrade Platforms?
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We Want Everyone’s
Voice to Be Heard
Web-Based Communication
is Most Efficient

12. About Discourse
Forum Platform Built for Online Discussion
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13. About Discourse
Simple. Modern. Fun.
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Discourse captures what a modern, sustainable, and
fully open-source Internet discussion platform should
be – both from a technology standpoint and a
sociology standpoint.

14. About Discourse
Built for Client Discussion
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• Discourse’s Mission is to Keep it Simple
• 100% Open Source (one version)
• Low Maintenance (tons plugins and settings)
• User Friendly and Accessible
• Dashboard Optimized for Online Discussion

15. Key Features
Why You’re Going to Love It
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16. Flexible Formatting
Customized Color Schemes
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17. Dashboard
Nice. Clean. Simple. Fun.
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18. Device Friendly
Works Well on Tablets and Mobile Phones
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+ Mobile Safari, iOS 6+
+ Mobile Chrome, Android 4.1+
+ Mobile IE, Windows Phone 8+

19. Device Friendly
Ability to Add Community App to Device
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Save the Community
Discourse to your device
for easy access!

20. Device Friendly
Ability to Add Community App to Device
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Saving Discourse as an App
Visit the Community Discourse site:
https://community.britecorepro.com/admin

21. Device Friendly
Ability to Add Community App to Device
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1. Click the “send to”
icon in the bottom-center
of your phone.

22. Device Friendly
Ability to Add Community App to Device
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2. Click the white
plus sign labeled “Add
to Home Screen”.

23. Device Friendly
Ability to Add Community App to Device
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3. Label the app as
“BriteDiscourse” and
then click Add.
BriteDiscourse

24. Device Friendly
Ability to Add Community App to Device
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25. Dashboard
Designed for Easy Sorting, Browsing, & Reading
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26. Friendly Navigation
Designed for Easy Sorting, Browsing, & Reading
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27. Friendly Navigation
Designed for Easy Sorting, Browsing, & Reading
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28. Friendly Navigation
Designed for Easy Sorting, Browsing, & Reading
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29. Friendly Navigation
Sort by Category
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30. Friendly Navigation
View by Latest
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Topics with Recent Posts

31. Friendly Navigation
View by New
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Newly Created Topics

32. Friendly Navigation
View by Unread
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Topics with Unread Posts

33. Friendly Navigation
View by Starred
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Topics You Star to Track

34. Friendly Navigation
View by Top
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Top Most Active Topics

35. Friendly Navigation
View by Categories
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All Topics Grouped by Category

36. Fluid Browsing
Just-in-time loading
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• Simple to Follow
• Replies Flow Down the Page
• Offers Just-in-Time Loading
• Along with Reply Count

37. Reserved Placement
Pick Up Where You Left Off
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38. Traffic Updates
Post Toolbar Measures Topic Posts and Views
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39. Easy Previewing
Opens Over the Top of Threads
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Read or Quote Users While
Previewing Your Own Reply

40. Active Tips and Alerts
Your topic is similar to…
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41. Member Tagging
Direct Replies to Individuals
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42. Private Messaging
Delivery and Support
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Send Private Messages to Individual Users or
Groups of Users via the Dashboard
!

43. Easy, Easy, Easy Linking
Simply Copy and Paste into Viewer
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!
Links to Wikipedia, YouTube, Amazon,
GitHub, Twitter, Flickr and others
automatically format to display
additional content.

44. Image Sharing
Copy and Paste or Drag and Drop
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45. Revision Tracking
Keeps Track of Edits and Revisions
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46. Topic Linking
“Replying as New” Links Related Topics Together
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47. Topic Linking
“Replying as New” Links Related Topics Together
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48. Search
Auto-Scoped to Location
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49. Dashboard Notifications
Opt in to Email… or Dont!
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Name mentions, replies to
posts, and private messages.

50. Dashboard Analytics
Per User, Topic, Post, Flag, Like, or Email
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51. Low Maintenance
Point and click upgrades
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Discourse notifies IWS
when new updates are
available for the system.

52. Practical Application
How Can I Use Discourse?
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53. Application
What Should Discourse Be Used For?
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• Promoting Change Requests
• Sharing operational procedures & efficiencies
• Discussing vendor integrations & experiences
• Discussing Industry-Related Topics
• Raving about BriteCore / Staff

54. Software
Tools for Sharing Information
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55. Application
Screen Capture Software
BriteDiscourse
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56. Nimbus
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57. Application
Nimbus Screen Capture Software
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58. Application
Nimbus Screen Capture Software
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59. Application
Nimbus Screen Capture Software
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60. Application
Nimbus Screen Capture Software
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61. SnagIt
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62. Application
SnagIt Screen Capture Software
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...

63. Application
SnagIt Screen Capture Software
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64. Application
SnagIt Screen Capture Software
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65. Application
SnagIt Screen Capture Software
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66. Application
SnagIt Screen Capture Software
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67. Hands-On Learning
Setting Your Company Up for Success
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68. Discussion
Exploring BriteDiscourse
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• BriteWiki Forum Conversion
• Current Organization
• User Setup
• Hands-On Activity

69. Discussion
BriteWiki Forum Conversion
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Converted
• Categories
• Forum Topics
• Threads
• Replies
• Usernames
Semi Converted
• User Emails
• Profile Pictures
Reset
• Passwords

70. Logging In to
Discourse
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71. Hands-On
Connect to Network
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1. Connect to Wireless Network: BCC_MTG
2. Open browser and type in credentials when prompted.
1. Username: 14iws
2. Password: 14iws
3. Note: username and password is case sensitive.

72. Hands-On
Retrieving Password
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1. Retrieve Admin Notification from Email
2. Go to https://community.britecorepro.com/
3. Login to BriteDiscourse

73. Hands-On
Update Your Password
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74. Hands-On
View Dashboard
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75. Setting Up Your
Discourse Profile
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76. Hands-On
Navigate to Profile
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77. Hands-On
Navigate to Profile Preferences
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78. Hands-On
Update Profile
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79. Hands-On
Update Profile Background and About Me
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80. Hands-On
Opt in to Email Notifications
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Receive updates
daily, weekly, or
every two weeks.

81. Begin Working with
Discourse
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82. Like a Post
82

83. Hands-On
Navigate to BriteCore Conference Category
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84. Hands-On
Navigate to Topic: Learning How to Like a Post
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85. Hands-On
Click the Pink Heart to Like the Post
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86. Star a Topic
Star a Topic of Your Choice
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87. Hands-On
Click the Star Icon Next to a Topic to Star It
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88. Hands-On
View Starred Topic in Starred Category
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89. Reply to a Post
Reply to a Post of Your Choice
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90. Hands-On
Learning How to Reply to a Post
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Draft Text Preview Text
Toolbar
Minimizes Reply Box
Resizes Preview Area

91. Hands-On
Learning How to Reply to a Post
Quote a Post
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Draft Text Preview Text

92. Hands-On
Learning How to Reply to a Post
Bolds Text
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Draft Text Preview Text

93. Hands-On
Learning How to Reply to a Post
Italicizes Text
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Draft Text Preview Text

94. Hands-On
Learning How to Reply to a Post
Inserts Hyperlink
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Draft Text Preview Text

95. Hands-On
Learning How to Reply to a Post
Block Quote
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Draft Text Preview Text

96. Hands-On
Learning How to Reply to a Post
Preformatted Text
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Draft Text Preview Text

97. Hands-On
Learning How to Reply to a Post
Upload File
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Draft Text Preview Text

98. Hands-On
Learning How to Reply to a Post
Numbered List
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Draft Text Preview Text

99. Hands-On
Learning How to Reply to a Post
Bulleted List
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Draft Text Preview Text

100. Hands-On
Learning How to Reply to a Post
Heading Level
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Draft Text Preview Text

101. Hands-On
Learning How to Reply to a Post
Horizontal Rule
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Draft Text Preview Text

102. Hands-On
Reply to Post of Your Choice
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Draft Text Preview

103. Markdown
Formatting & Cheat Sheet
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104. Hands-On
About Markdown
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Markdown allows you to write using an easy-to-read,
easy-to-write plain text format, which then converts to
valid HTML for viewing on GitHub

105. Hands-On
Formatting Headings
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106. Hands-On
Formatting Paragraphs
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107. Hands-On
Formatting Text
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108. Hands-On
Formatting Lists
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109. Hands-On
Formatting Lists
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110. Hands-On
Formatting Links
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111. Hands-On
Formatting Cheat Sheet
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Markdown Basics:
https://help.github.com/articles/markdown-basics/

112. Tag a User
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113. Hands-On
Respond to a Post and Tag a User
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114. Quote a User
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115. Hands-On
Click the Quote Icon to Quote a User Reply
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116. Work with Topics
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117. Hands-On
Selected User: Add a New Topic
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1. Click +Create Topic button to add a new topic.
2. In the topic area, type a clear and concise topic title asking
users where they’d like to eat tonight.
3. In the body, ask users to provide you with helpful links and/
or pictures regarding the discussion topic.
All other users, please respond to the post. Copy and paste
relevant links or drag and drop pictures into the reply.

118. Add Internal Link
118

119. Hands-On
Add Internal Link
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Use the tool bar
to link to, edit, or
bookmark replies.

120. Hands-On
View Example Post
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See Example Under: Link to a Topic of Your Choice

121. Edit Topic or Reply
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122. Hands-On
Edit One of Your Topics or Replies
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1. Navigate to one of your posts.
2. Click the edit icon to edit the post.
3. View the editor as you update your post.

123. Explore Discourse
Be an Active Part of the BriteCore Community
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124. On Your Own
Be an Active Part of the BriteCore Community
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• Create a New Topic for the Community to View
• Respond to a Community Topic
• Give Advice to a Community Member
• Add a Screenshot to a Topic or Reply
• Receive a New Like on One of Your Posts

125. Discourse Challenge
Become a BriteCore Super User
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126. On Your Own
Learn Keyboard Shortcuts
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127. Refreshments Break
Sponsored by E2VALUE (Property Evaluations)
Debbie Wagner, VP of Sales
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