# Forums

The forum tool allows you to host structured discussions within your course. Learners can post messages, reply to each other, and engage in threaded conversations.

## Forum Structure

![The forum category list showing categories, forums, and topic counts](https://3870221420-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FSHilSeDtvDev0n1c7wbJ%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-f864f649a315ca92dce4272fab8f058b4d91ae09%2Fforum-category-list.png?alt=media)

Forums in Chamilo are organized in three levels:

1. **Forum categories** — Top-level groupings (e.g., "General Discussions", "Module 1 Questions")
2. **Forums** — Individual discussion boards within a category
3. **Topics (threads)** — Individual discussion topics within a forum, each with a chain of replies

## Creating a Forum Category

1. Open the **Forums**  tool from your course homepage
2. Click **Add a forum category**
3. Enter a **Category name** and optional description
4. Save

## Creating a Forum

1. Within a category, click **Add a forum**
2. Fill in the forum details:
   * **Forum name** — The title of this discussion board
   * **Description** — An optional description of the forum's purpose
   * **Category** — The category this forum belongs to
3. Configure forum options:
   * **Allow anonymous posts** — Let users post without showing their name
   * **Allow attachments** — Let users attach files to their posts
   * **Moderation** — Require posts to be approved before they become visible
   * **Notifications** — Configure email notifications for new posts
4. Save

## Managing Topics

Learners (and you) can create new topics within a forum. As a teacher, you can:

* **Pin a topic** — Keep important topics at the top of the list
* **Lock a topic** — Prevent further replies
* **Edit or delete posts** — Moderate the discussion
* **Move a topic** — Transfer a topic to a different forum

## Forum Scoring

You can assign scores to forum participation. This is useful for grading discussion activities. When enabled, you can rate individual posts and the scores can feed into the gradebook.

## Notifications

You and your learners can subscribe to forums or individual topics to receive email notifications when new posts are added. This helps keep discussions active without requiring constant manual checking.