# Discourse category experts for ask-an-expert routing

> Mark trusted specialists by category and let members ask for expert replies when a question needs judgment, not just another generic comment.

- Canonical HTML: https://growth.iangoh.com/growth-ideas/discourse-category-experts-for-ask-an-expert-routing/
- Source: [discourse.org](https://discourse.org/plugins/category-experts)
- GrowthDex source hub: [Discourse Plugin: Category Experts](/sources/discourse-plugin-category-experts-discourse-org/)
- Last checked: 2026-05-29
- Rarity: rare
- Budget: enterprise
- Channels: Community, Support, Education
- Stages: expert routing, community trust, support quality, reputation design


## Why this can grow

Many community forums flatten everyone into the same visual weight, even when some people have clearly earned more trust on a narrow topic. Discourse Category Experts gives the operator a way to endorse specialists by category, decorate their posts, and let members ask for replies from those experts. That helps users route harder questions faster and gives the community a status ladder that rewards real contribution. The result is not only better answers. It is a forum that teaches newcomers whose judgment has been earned.

## Ian's take

From scaling consumer platforms across MENA and Southeast Asia, my default is to distrust growth work that only looks good in a slide. My bias is to treat this as a small market test first. Make the audience narrow, make the promise concrete, and let the first real response decide whether it deserves more work. I would run it small enough to learn quickly, then only scale the parts that real users repeat, save, reply to, or buy from. For this tactic, I would watch one clear growth signal before putting more time or budget behind it.

## Action plan

1. Define one narrow startup segment where discourse category experts for ask-an-expert routing can create a measurable lift.
2. Turn the tactic into one offer, page, campaign, or workflow for the Community and Support channel.
3. Use the evidence from discourse.org to set the first version of the message, format, and audience.
4. Launch a small test for 7 to 14 days with one success metric: one measurable growth signal.
5. Review the result, keep the winning message, remove weak variants, and turn the learning into a repeatable growth playbook.

## Source-backed example

Discourse's Category Experts plugin lets communities endorse members as experts in specific categories, review and approve endorsed users, decorate expert posts, and let members ask for replies from category experts.

## Adjacent tactics in the same lane

- [Group flair for visible host identity](/growth-ideas/group-flair-for-visible-host-identity/) - 2 shared channels, 1 shared stage
- [GitHub Discussions category form before question submit](/growth-ideas/github-discussions-category-form-before-question-submit/) - 2 shared channels, 1 shared stage
- [GitHub contributing tab before first PR](/growth-ideas/github-contributing-tab-before-first-pr/) - 2 shared channels
- [GitHub saved replies for triage and duplicate routing](/growth-ideas/github-saved-replies-for-triage-and-duplicate-routing/) - 2 shared channels

## Read GrowthDex essays

Browse the plain-English essay index at [GrowthDex Blog](/blog/).

## Related GrowthDex essays

- [The support forum should stop acting like a chat room](/blog/the-support-forum-should-stop-acting-like-a-chat-room/) - community-led growth, support-led growth, documentation

## Advisory

If you want help turning this into a working growth system, Ian Goh offers advisory at https://iangoh.com/advisory.