Forum Guide

Getting Started

The UK JournoHub forum is a free community space exclusively for UK journalists, freelancers, and student journalists. Here is how to get started:

Creating Your Account

1. Click the “Login” button in the top navigation bar
2. On the login page, click “Create an account” to go to the registration page
3. Enter your email address, choose a username, and create a password (minimum 6 characters)
4. Click “Create Account”
5. Check your email for a confirmation link from hello@ukjournohub.com and click it to verify your account
6. Once verified, log in with your email and password

Your Profile

After registration, you can customise your profile to help other members know who you are:

• Display Name: Your full name as you want it shown to other members
• Bio: A short description of your role, beat, and location (e.g., “Freelance investigative journalist based in Manchester. Specialising in public interest stories.”)
• Avatar: Add an avatar URL to display a profile photo. You can use your LinkedIn photo URL, Gravatar, or any direct image link

To edit your profile, click your username in the navigation bar and select Profile, or visit /auth/profile directly.

Your public profile is visible to all forum members at /forum/user/your-username. It shows your display name, bio, post count, join date, and recent forum activity.

Browsing the Forum

The forum home page shows all categories with their thread counts. You can:

• Search the forum: Use the search bar at the top to find threads by title across all categories
• Browse by category: Click any category card to see its threads
• Check recent activity: The “Recently Active” section shows the latest threads with new replies
• Sort threads: Within a category, sort by Latest, Most Replies, or Most Views
• Search within a category: Use the search bar on the category page to filter threads by title

Creating a New Thread

To start a new discussion:

1. Navigate to the category that best fits your topic
2. Click the “New Thread” button (you must be logged in)
3. Enter a clear, descriptive title (minimum 5 characters)
4. Write your opening post (minimum 10 characters) — this sets the context for the discussion
5. Click “Create Thread”

Replying to Threads

To reply to a thread, scroll to the bottom where you will find the reply form. Write your response and click “Post Reply”. Your reply will appear immediately below the existing posts.

If a thread is locked (indicated by a lock icon), no new replies can be posted. Moderators lock threads when a discussion has concluded or if it has become unproductive.

Formatting Your Posts

The forum supports basic text formatting to help make your posts clearer and more readable:

URLs starting with http or https are automatically converted to clickable links. Lines starting with > are rendered as blockquotes — useful when quoting other sources or articles.

Liking Posts

Show appreciation for helpful or insightful posts by clicking the heart icon below any post. The like count is displayed next to the icon. Click again to unlike.

Liking is a quick way to acknowledge a contribution without writing a full reply. It helps surface the most valued contributions in a discussion.

Quoting Other Members

To quote another member's post in your reply:

1. Click the “Quote” button on the post you want to reference
2. The quoted text will be automatically inserted into your reply box, formatted with the author's name and > prefix
3. Write your response below the quoted text
4. Post your reply as normal

Quoting is particularly useful in longer threads where you want to make it clear which point you are responding to.

Editing & Deleting Your Posts

Editing

To edit one of your own posts, click the “Edit” button that appears next to your post. The post content will become editable. Make your changes and click “Save”. An (edited) indicator will be shown on modified posts so other members know the content has been updated.

Deleting

You can delete your own replies by clicking the “Delete” button. A confirmation dialog will appear before the post is removed. Note: you cannot delete the original (first) post of a thread you created — this is to preserve the context of the discussion. Deleted posts will show “[This post has been deleted]” in their place.

Reporting Posts

If you see a post that violates our community guidelines, you can report it:

1. Click the “Report” button on the offending post
2. A report form will appear — optionally describe why you are reporting the post
3. Click “Submit Report”
4. The report goes to our moderation team for review

Reports are reviewed promptly. Moderators can dismiss unfounded reports, delete offending posts, or take action against users who repeatedly violate community standards. You will not be notified of the outcome, but action will be taken where warranted.

Following Threads

To keep track of threads that interest you, click the “Follow” button (bell icon) in the thread header. The button shows “Following” when active. Click again to unfollow.

Following a thread helps you remember which discussions you are engaged in. The bell icon fills in when you are following a thread.

Forum Categories

The forum is organised into 10 categories to help you find relevant discussions:

Post in the category that best matches your topic. If you are unsure, General Discussion is always a safe choice. Moderators may move threads to a more appropriate category if needed.

How Moderation Works

Our moderation team ensures the forum remains a professional, respectful space for UK journalists. Here is how moderation works:

• Report review: Moderators review reported posts and take appropriate action (dismiss, delete post, or warn/ban the user)
• Thread management: Moderators can pin important threads, lock completed or unproductive discussions, and move threads between categories
• User management: In serious or repeated cases, moderators can temporarily or permanently ban users who violate community standards
• Category management: Admins can create, edit, lock, or remove forum categories

Moderation decisions are made in line with our community guidelines. If you believe a moderation decision was unfair, you can contact us via the contact page.

Member Roles

There are three roles in the forum:

Role badges are displayed next to usernames on every post, so you can always see who is a moderator or admin.

Forum Etiquette

To keep the forum valuable for everyone:

• Be professional. This is a community of working journalists. Treat others as you would a colleague in a newsroom.
• Stay on topic. Post in the appropriate category and keep discussions relevant to the thread title.
• Add value. Share your experience, knowledge, and practical advice. Avoid one-word replies or posts that do not contribute to the discussion.
• Protect sources. Never reveal confidential sources or sensitive information about ongoing investigations in forum posts.
• No self-promotion spam. Sharing your own relevant work is fine. Repeatedly promoting products or services is not.
• Respect disagreements. Professional disagreements are healthy. Personal attacks are not. Challenge ideas, not people.
• No doxxing. Never share another person's private information without their explicit consent.
• Use the report button. If you see a problem, report it rather than engaging in a public argument.

For the full community standards, read our Forum Guidelines & Community Standards blog post.

Forum FAQ