## Feature Overview
The Message Forum is a community communication feature within CondoGenie that allows owners and residents of a condominium to interact with one another through forum-style posts and comments. Users can create discussion topics, respond to existing posts, attach files, and receive notifications when new activity occurs. The forum serves as a centralized space for community dialogue, announcements, and information sharing.
## Key Concepts
- **Forum Post**: A top-level discussion topic created by an owner or resident. Each forum post has a title and an initial message body. Forum posts appear in a list on the main Message Forum page.
- **Comment**: A reply added underneath a forum post by any owner or resident. Comments appear in a list below the original post.
- **Pinned Post**: A forum post that an administrator has pinned to the top of the forum list so it remains prominently visible regardless of sorting or new activity.
- **Subscription**: A per-post opt-in setting that triggers email notifications whenever a new comment is added to that specific forum post.
- **Automatic Notification**: A notification sent automatically to the creator of a forum post whenever someone adds a comment to it.
- **File Attachment**: A file (such as an image) uploaded alongside a comment. Attached files are viewable by other users directly within the comment.
## Prerequisites
- You must be a registered owner or resident within the CondoGenie condominium platform.
- You must be logged in to your CondoGenie account.
## Common Use Cases
- **Community announcements**: An administrator creates a forum post about upcoming building maintenance and pins it to the top of the forum so all residents see it.
- **Resident discussions**: A resident creates a post asking for recommendations on a local service. Other residents reply with suggestions in the comments.
- **Document sharing**: A resident posts a comment with an attached file (such as a meeting agenda or event flyer) for others to review.
- **Tracking specific topics**: A resident subscribes to a forum post about a topic they care about, so they receive email notifications whenever new comments are added.
- **Finding past discussions**: A resident uses the search function or sorts by date to locate a previous forum post about a resolved issue.
## Limitations
- Pinning posts is restricted to administrators only.
- The subscription checkbox provides email notifications for individual posts; there is no option to subscribe to all forum activity at once.
## Additional Notes
- The Message Forum is accessible to all registered owners and residents of the condominium.
- Forum posts and comments are visible to the entire community.