Overview

Description

Hot Topics helps bring attention to the discussions that matter most on your community. By highlighting active topics and showing what’s currently popular, members can quickly spot conversations worth jumping into instead of scrolling past pages of quiet threads.

Using a smart activity-based scoring system and a configurable Popular Now widget, Hot Topics makes it easier to discover ongoing discussions, encourages more clicks and replies, and helps your forum feel active and alive - even during quieter periods. It adds modern engagement cues without getting in the way or adding unnecessary complexity.

Features

Hot Topic Indicator

• Displays a hot indicator after the topic title in forum listings

• Automatically detects active discussions based on replies, views, and recent activity

• Fully configurable thresholds and time windows

• Choose between an icon, text label, or icon + text and change the color to your preference.

• Enable or disable per forum

Popular Now Widget

• Shows trending topics based on recent activity

• Works in sidebar areas

• Configurable time ranges (1h, 6h, 24h, or custom)

• Adjustable topic limits and forum filtering

• Focuses on current conversations, not old popular threads

Smart Activity Scoring

• Weighted scoring using replies, views, and recency

• Uses exponential decay to prevent older topics from staying “hot” forever

• Designed to prioritise momentum and recent engagement

Admin Control

• Dedicated ACP settings panel with clearly organised tabs

• Global and per-forum configuration options

• Sensible defaults, with full control when you want to fine-tune

Would you like to see it in action? Visit Administrata.