# GitHub Discussions category form before question submit

> Turn repeated support or setup questions into structured discussion forms so the first post arrives with the repro details, environment, and expected outcome you actually need.

- Canonical HTML: https://growth.iangoh.com/growth-ideas/github-discussions-category-form-before-question-submit/
- Source: [docs.github.com](https://docs.github.com/en/discussions/managing-discussions-for-your-community/creating-discussion-category-forms)
- GrowthDex source hub: [GitHub Docs: Creating discussion category forms](/sources/github-docs-creating-discussion-category-forms-docs-github-com/)
- Last checked: 2026-06-05T13:35:00Z
- Rarity: rare
- Budget: free
- Channels: GitHub, Community, Support
- Stages: community intake, support quality, documentation ops, first-response speed


## Why this can grow

A community archive gets expensive when every useful answer starts with the same cleanup questions. GitHub discussion category forms let the maintainer turn a category into a structured intake step with required fields and YAML-backed templates. That matters because the first post becomes easier to answer, easier to search later, and less likely to die in a vague back-and-forth. The quality gain is operational, but it compounds into better documentation and a stronger public answer inventory too.

## 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 github discussions category form before question submit can create a measurable lift.
2. Turn the tactic into one offer, page, campaign, or workflow for the GitHub and Community channel.
3. Use the evidence from docs.github.com 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

GitHub Docs says discussion category forms use customizable web form fields, live in `/.github/DISCUSSION_TEMPLATE/`, and can be created per repository or organization to collect structured information before a discussion is posted.

## Adjacent tactics in the same lane

- [GitHub issue template chooser with blank issues disabled](/growth-ideas/github-issue-template-chooser-with-blank-issues-disabled/) - 3 shared channels, 1 shared stage
- [GitHub contributing tab before first PR](/growth-ideas/github-contributing-tab-before-first-pr/) - 3 shared channels
- [GitHub saved replies for triage and duplicate routing](/growth-ideas/github-saved-replies-for-triage-and-duplicate-routing/) - 3 shared channels
- [GitHub issue form required repro steps and environment fields](/growth-ideas/github-issue-form-required-repro-steps-and-environment-fields/) - 2 shared channels, 1 shared stage

## Read GrowthDex essays

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

## Related GrowthDex essays

- [The community archive should answer the next visitor](/blog/the-community-archive-should-answer-the-next-visitor/) - community-led growth, SEO, documentation

## Advisory

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