Archive & canon summaries

Long-lived communities accumulate a lot of discussion. Forumera gives you tools to turn that activity into durable knowledge via archives and canon summaries.

Why archive?

Over time, some threads:

• Have been fully resolved.
• Are no longer actively used.
• Are still worth keeping for context.

Archiving moves these threads out of the main flow while keeping them available for search and reference. Members can still read them; they are just less prominent in day-to-day browsing.

Archive view

The archive view collects archived threads in one place. Typical uses:

• A "Solved" archive for support questions.
• An "Old announcements" archive for out-of-date news.
• An "Historic discussions" area for long-form debates that are no longer active.

Admins decide which threads are archived, usually based on clear internal guidelines.

Canon summaries

Some threads become canonical: they contain the best explanations, debates, or examples on a topic. Instead of expecting everyone to read a 200-post discussion, admins or trusted members can create a canon summary:

• A curated, long-form summary of the key insights and decisions.
• Linked back to the underlying discussion for full context.
• Discoverable via search and referenced from related threads.

Canon summaries are ideal for:

• Onboarding new members to a topic.
• Documenting decisions and their rationale.
• Turning ephemeral conversation into stable documentation.

How members experience canon

Members typically see canon summaries:

• Linked from the top of related threads.
• Optionally listed in dedicated "Canon" or "Best of" sections, depending on how the forum is configured.
• Surfaced in search results when topics match.

Reading the canon first gives a high-signal overview; reading the original threads later adds colour and nuance if needed.