Chris Anderson

I'm going to take a step back in a very meta manner and point out that this is exactly the kind of repeat topic that forums should do a better job of addressing: New users asking the same question over and over again.  
How do we drive them to the right information (that is official, that is published, that can be referenced)? 
How do we upcycle related or existing topics?
How do we give authority to answers and users?  
How do we capture these trending questions?  

Some thoughts: 
- This really is a bold vision. This isn't some copycat, incremental change to a feature.  This is a vision statement by IPS to challenge us, as community admins: What are your core competencies and major topics of discussios, how are you identifying them, how are you organizing them, how are you presenting them, how are you leveraging the suite of apps around those competencies? 
This is interesting in the sense that there's yet another new way of presenting content.  There's Our Pages for featured content, there's this new Tagging for tagged content, there's Leaderboard for popular content, there's Activity Streams for recent content,  and there's the traditional navigation.  
- This approach is very top down, which poses significant pros and cons. The beauty of the open tagging system was that, quite frankly, it required no administration on my end.  You want to mistype a tag? Go ahead.  You want to create a new tag? Go ahead.  As an admin, I now have the opportunity - and more candidly, the burden - to maintain, update, and cleanse a master list of tags. This brings up questions like: what is the threshold for when a topic is popular enough to deserve a tag? Who is going to maintain and update the tag among my staff (with ACP security access)? How am I going to publish and promulgate a new tag to inform users? Who is going to consistently monitor content to ensure content is tagged and tagged properly? How do I backtag content if I introduce a new tag? Should a tag's relevancy or usefulness ever go away, and what would I do then? None of these are necessarily new questions, but a closed end universal system sharpens all of these questions for the community admin.  
- For existing sites, we will be particularly challenged in trying to adopt this new vision. We are not equipped to update our existing content at scale: tools to batch add tags to certain sections, remove tags, batch edit / rename / merge tags, etc. 
 
My first impression is that vision seems impressive and amazing.  But it requires more upfront strategy, more upfront thought, and more ongoing work.  And this new system only works if the execution is there.  

For the love of God and those in need,
Grant full access, I humbly plead.
With Creator's plan, they'll build and grow,
A chance for all to let dreams flow.

PLEEEASE bring Page Builder Full Access to the CREATOR plan! 🙏

Another feature that would be awesome - a way to reuse blocks from one page to another page. If you spend time adding blocks and dialing in the settings to the Forum Index but you may want that same set of widgets on the Blog  you have no choice but to start all over - If settings are not identical the presentation may cause distraction, people will notice and not make the site feel cohesive. 
In my mind If I am on the blog index there was an object on the left to drag and drop (existing configured blocks ) I drag to the target well - some interface that will show a card and allow me to pick existing configured blocks that are already present on other pages which appear in this target well.  
Perhaps some mechanism that knows that the blocks configured here are shared on other pages, If I modify a setting on one page an option to update these settings on all other pages that share this collection of blocks.  🙏

Along with @Joel R suggestions - I would like (some) blocks (the first sections under pages) to have a temporal option -  when they go live and how long they live or if they only need to be active during a specific scheduled repeating time.  Sometimes we may need to prep stuff that is embargoed and want to get it setup prior for it to go live at a future date and time. 

Example I have a third party who has a daily broadcast stream I would like for their feed to appear when they are online. But that block disappears after the stream. 

Thank you, this seems to be a significant évolution.
 
To align with the power of the IPS structure and to continue differentiating from what exists elsewhere, it would be useful to have the option to display content only to specific members, to specific groups, or after a certain number of days of registration.
 
This would allow for the implementation of powerful filters. Additionally, it would also be beneficial to display only content with a specific tag, and so on.
 

Introducing new Page Builder tools in Invision Community 5
Widgets are an incredibly powerful tool for displaying curated content of your choice on any page of your community - and despite the extensive array of settings for customizing their data, they've often been limited in terms of their design options. But this changes thanks to the new Page Builder tools in Invision Community 5!
Widget Designs
Previously in version 4, widgets would often have 2 designs: one for the main content area and a more minimal version for the sidebar. This worked well, but it meant your page was very limited in terms of design as you'd typically need to use the same table-like layout for most widgets. Anything beyond that would typically require a custom block to be coded, often with additional HTML or CSS.
Version 5 offers much more customization by allowing you to change the design of each widget with the click of your mouse - no coding necessary! When dragging a widget onto your page, a new toolbar at the bottom of the page appears, holding all of the widget design options. Lets take a look at some below!
Grid
A familiar a very layout used elsewhere in the suite, the Grid design neatly aligns entries in a grid with a large cover photo sitting up top. A great combination of visual imagery alongside meta data such as entry descriptions.

 
Featured
A spacious list and a great way to feature content, pardon the pun.

 
Wallpaper
Perfect for content which includes uploaded cover photos or thumbnails! The Wallpaper design stretches each image to make it occupy the entire background, overlaid by a minimal amount of content. A subtle gradient sits behind the text to ensure it's easy to read, even on detailed images.

 
Rows (table)
The Rows design is a very familiar one, used very often throughout other areas of the suite. Content is displayed in a neat table, that collapses into a more compact design on small screens.

 
Minimal
Great for displaying a lot of content in a compact area! Minimal only shows primary information and hides meta data such as entry descriptions and stats. Great for sidebars, or areas with limited width.

 
Minimal Grid
The Minimal Grid design removes large meta information and displays content in a nice, compact grid. A nice option for displaying a lot of content while being cautious of vertical space.

 
Carousel
The Carousel option is quite unique because it can be applied in tandem with other widget designs, and is a perfect way to make the existing layouts even more compact. For example, by default, the Wallpaper design is aligned as a grid, but with the Carousel option enabled, the layout is converted into a carousel instead:
Carousel-widget.mp4
Here's another example, using the Featured and Carousel options:
Blog - featured carousel.mp4
 
Fun fact for developers: All of these designs use the exact same HTML structure; the only thing that differs is the class name on the parent element. This makes it incredibly easy to adjust the design of your own widgets without needing to manually code multiple layouts.
 
Widget Areas
Version 4 was often quite limiting when it came to aligning widgets in pages. Widgets could be dragged into a stacked, vertical list but that was typically as far as you could go in terms of design. Version 5 introduces a new concept called Widget Areas, which allow you to align multiple widgets in a variety of ways. Lets take a look!
To create an area, you simply need to drag one widget on top of another.
Blog - areas.mp4
By default, they'll align themselves into a grid, but can be realigned with ease by using the toolbar at the bottom of the page. The toolbar also holds controls for adjusting the width of widgets, and the gap between them:
Blog - alignments.mp4
 
Widget Designs and Widget Areas in Version 5 make it incredibly easy to create a completely custom page in a matter of seconds. We're really excited for you to get your hands on these new tools in Invision Community 5, and are looking forward to seeing all of these new page designs in the wild, in the very near future!

View full blog entry

Well, it appears that after 4 minutes, it's entirely flawless so we may as well just release final?

Who is ready for an alpha site to play with?

Yes. Custom emojis are still available. But only for you, no one else. 

@Foxtrek_64 Font Awesome 6 Free is used in version 5, hosted locally on your own domain for optimal performance.
There isn’t currently a way to swap this with your own Font Awesome kit, but it’s certainly something we can look into if there’s enough demand for it. 

For the Geolocation settings, is there a way of filtering all countries EXCEPT the specified one (i.e., a whitelist instead of a blacklist)? My forum's users are all based in one country, so it would make sense for me to validate all users outside of this country.
Also, does the work for users who register via SSO (e.g. Google Login)?

For my taste, “account deletion” is too well hidden under “security and privacy”. 
I would suggest to either change the tab name or to give this function its own tab, like this third-party solution does it. 

We have not posted anything formally, but you are free to create your own LMS if you like.

The longest awaited iPhone feature is almost here, native iOS notifications, and we couldn't wait to ensure it is enabled for your Invision Community.
Invision Community 4.7.9 is iPhone push notification ready for when Apple release their latest iOS update later this month. This means you'll finally get notifications on your phone, even when you do not have your browser open, to alert you of new content on followed items and more. A feature Android owners have enjoyed for a while.

With notifications, you can have an authentic native app experience with built-in Invision Community features such as the manifest editor.
The manifest editor allows you to edit your theme icons, colours and URL for when your members add your community to their phone's homepage. This manifest file helps mobile devices understand how to display your community site when launched from the home screen.

Your members can add your community to their home screen with the share button. Once it has been added, it looks and feels like a native app downloaded from the App Store.
With Apple finally allowing native notifications and Invision Community's mobile-ready UI coupled with the manifest editor, you can have a real app experience without needing a mobile app.
iPhone PWA.mp4
We intend to bring more functionality and ease of use to mobile devices over the coming releases.
We hope you're looking forward to iOS native push notifications as much as we are!
The features discussed in this announcement are available in both Invision Community and Invision Community Classic.

View full blog entry

@Charles Does this integrate with Clubs? A lot of online courses will have a special Facebook group for after taking the course. That could either be a private forum or a private club.

It's probably asking for too much. But, a way to generate a certificate of some sorts could be cool. Think LinkedIn Learning, a way to share it too across social channels.

Live Topics can create Events so sounds like we just need to integrate Events with Courses. 

Thanks for letting us know you find these valuable 🙂 

Praise be!  My community has almost a million private messages from over 20 years.  One thing that would be handy to have is the ability to remove PMs from those who have not been active in XX time. 

Happy Hump Day, team! Shout-out to @nodle for being a big fan of these posts. 👏 
In today's community management hump day topic, I wanted to chat about one of the most powerful ways you can inspire kindness throughout your community. Kindness is an essential ingredient to a successful community. 😌 I know it's a little cheesy, but it's important.
Some times you may experience negative players attempting to derail your day because, well... misery loves company. In my experience, one of the most profound ways to fight toxicity in an online community is by... not fighting at all. Instead, it’s by offering kindness to those who need it the most. That’s done through understanding, outreach and personal displays of vulnerability. 
 

Like a drop of ink in a glass of water, a troll's negativity spews throughout the community (and possibly other communities) in such a profound way that it dissuades others from participating. The compounding effect of their flippant responses, snide remarks, sarcasm, arguments and attacks ultimately creates chaos. 
Fight the ick with understanding, compassion and vulnerability. The act of opening up to an anonymous person in need not only can inspire them to change, but it opens a door towards further self-discovery. 
Being vulnerable with your members also empowers them and you.
Next time you notice a toxic member’s pattern regarding how they post, remember there is more that meets the eye. Hurt people hurt people, so take the opportunity to be kind, practice being vulnerable and watch your community blossom. 
How do YOU battle toxicity in your Invision communities? Sound off in the comments below.
As always, here is a list of changes made to the platform in the last seven days. Nicely done, team!
PS - I have an exciting blog post on the way. Stay tuned. 🙃

Happy Hump Day, team! Sort of. 😔 
One of Invision Community's founding fathers, @Rikki, is amicably moving on from Invision Community to pursue another exciting opportunity. This is his last week with us. He has a few parting words to share with you:
 

Rikki has been an instrumental player in Invision Community's success; we're bummed to see him go, but at the same time excited for him to spread his wings. 
Please leave some well wishes for Rikki in the comments! 
---
Speaking of the team, @Matt Finger wrote a new dev blog post touching on the PHP8 Compatibility Scanner, our Pre-Upgrade Resource Checker and a full change log for our upcoming September release:
 
 
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And last but not least, 4.7.2 Beta 1 is officially out. Check out the release notes here.
See you in the replies. 🙏 

@Jordan MillerHere's an article about the Bionic Font you might find interesting:
Does Bionic Reading actually work? Test for yourself! (readwise.io)
 

Appreciate you weighing in. In theory, one could clone a theme and name them according to what font they use and voila! Kind of clunky but it could be a quick way to accomplish what you suggested.
Also yes I was being lighthearted about the Bionic Reading, but serious at the same time. I was genuinely curious what our community would think, and if it opens the door to a larger discussion around UX and fonts than great! 

All jokes aside, not everyone visually processes things the same way when it is in a small, medium, or large format.  A one size fits all approach will leave some folks at a disadvantage. 
If someone has less than "normal" vision, it can be quite challenging to comfortably read everything that is presented to us as we visit one site after another. It would be nice if sites running this software suite could be the exception to the rule. There may be value in offering a variety of different fonts instead of being locked into one. Doing so would likely increase the amount of content actually read and reacted to, increasing overall engagement.
If one font appealed to one and all there wouldn't be thousands of free or purchasable fonts out there.  A vast majority of these fonts are created to be aesthetically pleasing, not for increased readability. There are some fonts that might work far better for some portion of your members, as it stands today, we can't readily offer them an option.
If your site is geared more towards educating, then things get more complicated.  People learn in a variety of different ways. Some like to read content, some like to hear it, and some want to visualize the material being presented, and many want a combination of all three at their fingertips.
Having an all-text site leaves many people out in the cold. Having a built-in ability to hear text would be great for those that want to give their eyes a break or are severely sight impaired.
So, I'm not sure if @Jordan Millerwas being lighthearted in offering up the Bionic font for discussion or was trying to strike up an earnest conversation around fonts and how they can be better utilized to serve our communities.