Talkyard

Talkyard is an open-source, self-hosted community discussion platform that integrates forum threads, real-time chat, and embeddable blog comments. It functions as a web application designed to facilitate structured conversations and knowledge sharing within a single system. Users deploy the software on their own servers to manage community interactions, providing a centralized hub for various types of social exchange.

The platform supports multiple interaction styles, ranging from long-form discussions and question-and-answer threads to quick chat messages. It is used for managing community forums, collecting feedback, and adding comment sections to external blogs. The system allows administrators to configure embedded comments through a dedicated admin area, ensuring that the discussion remains integrated with the host's own infrastructure.

Key features

• Upvoting system to surface high-quality ideas and comments
• Question and answer functionality with the ability to select a correct answer
• Real-time chat channels with email notifications
• Embeddable blog comments for external websites
• Anonymous posting options for feedback or sensitive questions
• Tags with assignable values for filtering and sorting
• Recent reply tracking to navigate large discussions
• Parent comment jumping for easier navigation in deep threads
• Disagree button to help users correct mistakes in discussions

The software is built using Scala and ReactJS. It includes specific mechanisms for handling large discussions, allowing users to quickly find new replies by clicking a recent button in the sidebar when returning to a topic. The tagging system is designed for more than simple categorization, enabling users to assign specific values to tags to allow for complex queries, such as filtering by priority levels.

Talkyard is intended for community managers, educators, and site owners who require a versatile communication tool. It provides a way to host a social network or a support forum without relying on external tracking or advertising services for comment sections.