The site settings below live under Moderator Category Management at /admin/site_settings/category/discourse_mod_categories. They only switch capabilities on — the message content is set by moderators, per topic or per category.
Each setting and feature has its own page:
| Setting | Default | Documentation |
|---|---|---|
mod_categories_enabled |
false |
Master switch & category management |
topic_footer_message_enabled |
true |
Per-topic footer message |
precheck_new_topic_enabled |
true |
Per-category new-topic prompt |
topic_reply_prompt_enabled |
true |
Per-topic reply prompt |
mod_whisper_enabled |
true |
Moderator whisper |
mod_categories_enabled defaults to false — the whole plugin is inactive until an admin turns it on. The feature switches default to true, so each feature works as soon as the master switch is on; an admin can turn an individual feature off without disabling the plugin.
| Feature | Documentation |
|---|---|
| Pin a post to the bottom of a topic | Pin a post to the bottom |
| Require approval for replies to a topic | Per-topic reply approval |
| Private moderator note on a topic | Private moderator note |
| Staff "Moderator notes" user-menu tab | Moderator-notes user-menu tab |
| Forum-wide first-post checklist (configured from the sidebar) | First-post checklist |
| Moderator whisper (staff-only side conversations in a topic) | Moderator whisper |
Only moderators and admins can set the per-topic and per-category content. The persistence endpoints (PUT /discourse-mod-categories/topic/:id and /category/:id) are Guardian-gated; regular and anonymous users get 403.
- Feature list — everything the plugin adds.
- Category management — what moderators can do with categories.
- Moderators vs Admins — how the plugin changes the role split.
See Tests & screenshots for the test-suite overview and a screenshot of every feature.