Participating in forums is how you can plug into more serious, organized discussions. Here’s how to join the conversation.
Finding the Right Forum
Before posting, choose the appropriate forum for your topic. Here is a broad overview of each:
- Welcome & Guidelines: Self-explanatory, this is where you first check in while exploring the forums.
- Announcements: This is where we will announce events, promote articles, etc.
- Group Forums: These are forums belonging to the groups you create! For example, our Filmmaker’s Club has their own forum currently listed. You can access these forums both from the forum list and your group’s page.
- Community Discussion: Community-wide general discussion forum. For casual chatting, questions for members, etc.
- Resources & Action Alerts: This forum contains topics for sharing free resources, ICE alerts, protests, direct actions, mutual aid requests, etc.
- Article Discussion: Discussing both The Convergence Lens and our Community Column articles.
- Fandom Corner: A safe space for fandom nerds to geek out. Remember, you can also create a group (if you are a Critic or Insider) or ask a moderator to create one for your specific fandom as well!
- 18+ Forums: For kink ethics and NSFW art/fanfic discussion. We debated on whether or not we wanted to even have this forum, but we decided that logistically this is the easiest way for us to ensure minor safety without having to implement ID checks. This forum is locked to Critic & Insider tier members, in the hopes that the pay gate is another roadblock to violations of this policy.
- Media School: This is for discussing, analyzing, and educating around TV/Film, books, representation, media literacy, etc.
- Research Collaboration: For journalists, writers, students, scientists, and scholars to share information, request help or advice, and collaborate on projects together.
- The Critics Club: Private forum for Critic tier members.
- The Insiders: Private forum for Insider tier members.
- Insider Polls: Private tier where Insiders can answer polls that we post, to help us shape our vision and/or choose our next investigations.
Browse these forums to get a feel for each space’s focus. Each forum will have its guidelines pinned.
Creating a New Topic
Step 1: Navigate to Forum
- Click “Forums” in main navigation
- Select the forum category you want
- Scroll down to “Create New Topic”
Step 2: Write Your Post
Title:
- Keep it clear and descriptive
- Avoid clickbait
- Make it specific enough to attract the right participants
- Example: “Analysis: How Spider-Verse Handles Multiverse Ethics” not “Thoughts on this?”
Body:
- Introduce your topic clearly
- Provide context if needed
- Ask specific questions to invite discussion
- Use paragraphs and/or bullet points for readability
- Add relevant links or sources
Step 3: Add Tags (Optional)
- Help others find your topic
- Use relevant, specific tags
- Don’t over-tag
Step 4: Preview & Post
- Review for typos and clarity
- Attach any images if needed
- You can also attach a poll if you want
- Click “Submit” when ready
Replying to Existing Topics
Step 1: Read the Thread
- Read the original topic completely
- Scan existing replies to avoid repetition
Step 2: Find Reply
- Click “Reply” in the toolbar or scroll to the bottom of the thread
- Update your reply tags if needed
Step 3: Write Your Response
- Address the topic directly
- Quote specific parts if responding to long topics
- Add new insights or perspectives
- Keep it relevant
Step 4: Post
- Review for errors
- Click “Submit”
Formatting Tools
Use formatting to enhance readability:
- Bold for emphasis
- Italic for titles or slight emphasis
- Quote blocks for extended quotes
- Bullet lists for multiple points
- Links for sources
Best Practices
Be Thoughtful:
- Take time to craft meaningful posts
- Quality over quantity
- Add value to discussions, not division
Be Clear:
- Write in complete sentences
- Break up long posts with paragraphs
- Use descriptive subject lines
Be Respectful:
- Disagree with ideas, not people
- Assume good faith
- Step back if you’re getting heated
Editing, Closing, & Deleting Topics
To Edit:
- Click on your topic
- Select “Edit” from the toolbar
- Make changes
- Click “Submit”
Posts show “edited” timestamp when modified.
To Close:
- Click on your topic
- Select “Close” from the toolbar
This prevents new replies from being posted. The topic is no longer active, but the contents will remain.
To Delete:
- Click three dots (⋯) on your topic
- Select “Delete”
- Confirm deletion
Read more in the edit/delete post info doc.
Forum Notifications
We will not notify you of forum topics, replies etc via email unless you subscribe to them. Notifications for replies, likes, etc on your own topics will get sent to your notifications tab as well as as a pop-up when you are browsing the site (not outside of it). We are not using WebSocket yet as it is an additional cost, but once we can afford it we will upgrade and your notification experience will be a lot faster/smoother.
Read more about notifications in “How to Subscribe.”
