Topic list sidebars from closed guidance topic
Attach a closed guidance topic as a category or tag sidebar so recurring instructions stay visible beside the live thread list.
Why this can grow a startup
A forum often hides its best operating instructions in a pinned topic that disappears the moment new posts arrive. Discourse Topic List Sidebars solves that by letting the operator reuse a topic as a sidebar on a category, tag, or even top-level discovery pages. That keeps checklists, submission advice, and important links in view without forcing every visitor to open a separate thread first. It is a simple way to keep the forum legible while the topic list keeps moving.
Source-backed example
Discourse recommends creating sidebar topics in their own category or tag, then closing and unlisting them before using their topic IDs to populate sidebars across categories, tags, or even the all-topics views.
Source-reported evidence
Source: Discourse Meta: Topic List Sidebars
Sidebars can appear on category pages, tag pages, and `/latest`, `/new`, `/unread`, or `/top`, and parent-category sidebars can inherit into subcategories.
Attributed to the cited source; GrowthDex has not independently verified it. Use this as context, not as a forecast, benchmark, or recommended target.
Evidence scope: claims and metrics are attributed to the linked source; GrowthDex has not independently replicated the reported result. Check the original context and validate fit before applying it. Read the evidence methodology.
Source discovered: May 30, 2026
When to use it
Use this when Community, Documentation, Website is relevant to wayfinding, docs discoverability, community onboarding and you can run a bounded test with a medium budget.
When not to use it
Do not use it as a substitute for customer evidence, a clear owner, or a measurable stop condition. Local platform rules and market behavior still need checking.
How to do it
- Choose one target segment and define the exact next action this tactic should prompt.
- Adapt the tactic to Community and Documentation, using evidence from Discourse Meta: Topic List Sidebars as context—not as a promised result.
- Record a baseline for: Share of target users completing the product's first-value action. Set a guardrail that would make you pause the test.
- Run a narrow pilot and choose a test window that fits the normal decision or use cycle; do not scale before you have observed the full cycle.
- Compare the signal with its baseline. Scale only if the intended action improves without crossing the guardrail; otherwise revise one variable or stop and record what you learned.
Compare a stack for your situation
Compare source-backed tactics against your product, stage, budget and channel strengths, then choose one experiment to test.
Explore the context
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Apply this with an operator
Build creator and community systems around real incentives, trust, and repeat participation.