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Connect Your Forum to Slack & Discord

Connect Your Forum to Slack & Discord

Community management doesn't happen in a vacuum. Your team is already collaborating in Slack or Discord, and constantly switching between platforms can be exhausting. That's why we've built native integrations that bring forum activity directly to your team chat.

Why Integrate with Team Chat?

Stay Informed Without Context Switching

Get instant notifications in your team channels when important events occur in your forum. No need to constantly check the dashboard or refresh the page.

Faster Response Times

When a user posts a question or reports an issue, your team sees it immediately in Slack or Discord. This means faster response times and happier community members.

Better Collaboration

Discuss moderation decisions, coordinate responses, and share insights with your team in the same place you're already working.

Reduce Alert Fatigue

Configure exactly which events trigger notifications, so your team only sees what matters. Filter by tags, keywords, or event types.

Slack Integration

Setup Process

  1. Navigate to Integrations

    • Go to your instance settings in the Foru.ms dashboard
    • Click on "Integrations"
    • Select "Slack"

  2. Authorize with Slack

    • Click "Connect to Slack"
    • Choose the workspace you want to connect
    • Select the channel where notifications should be posted
    • Authorize the Foru.ms app

  3. Configure Notifications

    • Choose which events to monitor:
      • New threads
      • New posts/replies
      • Moderation reports
      • User registrations
    • Set up tag filters (e.g., only notify for threads tagged "Support")
    • Configure keyword alerts (e.g., notify when posts mention "bug" or "urgent")

  4. Test the Integration

    • Send a test notification to verify everything is working
    • Adjust settings as needed

Notification Format

Slack notifications include rich formatting with all the context your team needs:

🆕 New Thread in #support

"Payment processing error"
by @john_doe

I'm getting an error when trying to process payments...

[View Thread] [Reply] [Mark as Resolved]

Advanced Features

Custom Notification Rules

Create sophisticated notification rules using our API:

// Only notify for high-priority threads
{
  "type": "SLACK",
  "name": "High Priority Alerts",
  "config": {
    "webhookUrl": "https://hooks.slack.com/...",
    "channel": "#urgent",
    "events": ["thread.created"],
    "filters": {
      "tags": ["urgent", "bug"],
      "keywords": ["critical", "down", "broken"]
    }
  }
}

Thread Actions

Interact with forum threads directly from Slack using slash commands:

  • /forum reply [thread-id] [message] - Reply to a thread
  • /forum close [thread-id] - Close a thread
  • /forum assign [thread-id] [@user] - Assign a thread to a team member

Moderation Workflow

When a post is reported, moderators receive an interactive message:

⚠️ Content Reported

Post by @user123 in "General Discussion"
Reason: Spam
Reported by: @moderator_jane

[View Post] [Delete] [Ignore] [Ban User]

Discord Integration

Setup Process

The Discord integration follows a similar process:

  1. Navigate to Integrations

    • Go to your instance settings
    • Click "Integrations"
    • Select "Discord"

  2. Create a Webhook in Discord

    • Open your Discord server settings
    • Go to "Integrations" → "Webhooks"
    • Click "New Webhook"
    • Choose the channel for notifications
    • Copy the webhook URL

  3. Configure in Foru.ms

    • Paste the Discord webhook URL
    • Select which events to monitor
    • Set up filters and rules
    • Test the integration

Notification Format

Discord notifications use embeds for a clean, organized look:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 🆕 New Thread                       │
│                                     │
│ Payment processing error            │
│ by john_doe in #support             │
│                                     │
│ I'm getting an error when trying... │
│                                     │
│ 🏷️ Tags: support, payments         │
│ 👁️ View Thread                     │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

Discord Bot Commands

Install the Foru.ms Discord bot for interactive features:

  • !forum search [query] - Search the forum
  • !forum stats - View forum statistics
  • !forum recent - Show recent threads
  • !forum subscribe [tag] - Subscribe to tag notifications

Use Cases

1. Customer Support Team

Scenario: Your support team uses Slack and needs to respond quickly to customer questions.

Solution:

  • Connect your forum's "Support" category to a dedicated Slack channel
  • Enable notifications for new threads and replies
  • Use Slack's threading feature to discuss responses before posting
  • Track response times with Slack analytics

Result: Faster response times, better team coordination, happier customers.

2. Community Moderation

Scenario: Your moderation team is distributed across time zones and uses Discord.

Solution:

  • Send all moderation reports to a private Discord channel
  • Enable notifications for posts containing flagged keywords
  • Use Discord roles to assign moderators to specific categories
  • Create a moderation log channel for transparency

Result: Consistent moderation, better coverage, reduced response time.

3. Product Team Feedback

Scenario: Your product team wants to stay informed about feature requests and bug reports.

Solution:

  • Create a Slack channel for product feedback
  • Filter notifications to only show threads tagged "feature-request" or "bug"
  • Use Slack reactions to vote on priorities
  • Automatically create Jira tickets from high-priority threads

Result: Better product decisions, closer connection to users, streamlined workflow.

4. Community Engagement

Scenario: You want to celebrate community milestones and encourage participation.

Solution:

  • Send notifications to a public Discord channel when users earn badges
  • Announce new members in a welcome channel
  • Share popular threads to increase visibility
  • Create weekly digests of top content

Result: More engaged community, better retention, positive atmosphere.

Best Practices

1. Choose the Right Channel

Don't spam your general channel with every forum notification. Create dedicated channels:

  • #forum-support - Customer support threads
  • #forum-moderation - Moderation alerts (private)
  • #forum-feedback - Feature requests and bug reports
  • #forum-announcements - Important threads only

2. Use Filters Wisely

Start with conservative filters and expand as needed:

// Good: Specific, actionable notifications
{
  "events": ["thread.created"],
  "filters": {
    "tags": ["urgent", "support"],
    "minUpvotes": 5
  }
}
 
// Bad: Too noisy, will overwhelm the channel
{
  "events": ["thread.created", "post.created", "post.updated"],
  "filters": {} // No filters = everything
}

3. Set Up Quiet Hours

Respect your team's time by muting notifications during off-hours:

{
  "quietHours": {
    "enabled": true,
    "timezone": "America/New_York",
    "start": "22:00",
    "end": "08:00"
  }
}

4. Monitor Integration Health

Regularly check that your integrations are working:

  • Review notification logs in your dashboard
  • Test integrations monthly
  • Update webhook URLs if they change
  • Monitor for delivery failures

5. Train Your Team

Make sure everyone knows how to use the integration:

  • Document your notification rules
  • Share keyboard shortcuts and slash commands
  • Create a guide for responding to forum threads from chat
  • Set expectations for response times

Pricing

Slack and Discord integrations are available on:

  • Premium Plan: 1 integration included
  • Enterprise Plan: Unlimited integrations

View pricing details

Troubleshooting

Notifications Not Appearing

  1. Check webhook URL: Ensure it's correct and hasn't expired
  2. Verify filters: Your filters might be too restrictive
  3. Check permissions: The bot needs permission to post in the channel
  4. Review logs: Check the integration logs in your dashboard

Duplicate Notifications

  1. Check for multiple integrations: You might have set up the same integration twice
  2. Review event subscriptions: Ensure you're not subscribed to overlapping events

Formatting Issues

  1. Update the integration: We regularly improve notification formatting
  2. Check Discord/Slack version: Older clients might not support all features
  3. Report issues: Contact support if formatting looks broken

Security Considerations

Webhook URLs

  • Keep webhook URLs secret: Anyone with the URL can post to your channel
  • Rotate URLs regularly: Update webhook URLs every few months
  • Use HTTPS only: Never use unencrypted webhooks
  • Monitor for abuse: Check for unexpected messages

Permissions

  • Limit bot permissions: Only grant necessary permissions
  • Use private channels: Keep sensitive notifications in private channels
  • Review access regularly: Audit who has access to notification channels

Next Steps

Ready to connect your forum to Slack or Discord?

  1. Set up your integration
  2. Read the API Reference for advanced configuration
  3. Explore Webhooks for custom integrations
  4. Check out CRM Integration for sales teams

Have questions? Contact our support team or join our community.

Pro Tip: Combine Slack/Discord integration with webhooks for ultimate flexibility. Use webhooks to send notifications to multiple platforms, trigger custom workflows, or integrate with tools that don't have native integrations.