From Thursday the 10th of January, the Etsy forums will shut down and be in read only mode. This is while they transition to a new platform. The forums will return fully on the 22nd of January.
We understand that the new Etsy Forums will run on Lithium – to get an idea of what they may look like it’s worth remembering that the eBay Forums also run on Lithum’s platform.
Etsy say that Teams and Forums to make it easier for you to connect with other sellers and grow your creative business. In order to do this they’re moving to a new platform but an important point to note is that are going to purge all old threads. Forums threads without a comment in the past three years will not be migrated to the new platform and Etsy suggest that if you have any old threads bookmarked with important information that you note this information down. It would be very naughty of us to suggest that an alternative course of action would be to add a comment to every thread of interest to you.
New Etsy forum features from 22nd January
Connect with other members
Making it easier to interact: Within Etsy Team and Forums threads, enhanced comment functionality lets you @mention and “like” other members’ posts. After posting a new thread, you’ll be able to select an accepted solution that indicates when another member’s reply addresses your question effectively.
Helping your voice shine through: Express yourself easily with an increased character limit and text formatting tools including bullets, numbers, and emphasis options like bold and italics.
Expanding topic sections in the Forums: We’re increasing the overall number of sections available in the Forums, and adding intuitive labels to surface the answers you need quickly. Plus, the new shop critique section provides an easy way to share and request feedback.
Communicate easily
Introducing improved notifications: Robust activity settings including onsite notifications and email alerts give you total control of how you follow along with community conversations, from new replies to threads you’ve created to @mentions from other sellers in the Teams and Forums.
Simplifying group-wide communication: Improved tools for Team Captains and Leaders make it simple to quickly communicate with all members, including a streamlined group messaging feature and a customisable announcements section on each team’s homepage.
Stay in the loop
Surfacing answers faster: With the addition of accepted solutions, increased Forum sections, straightforward post labels, and the ability to like and tag other members within threads, it’s easier than ever to connect with insights and information when you need it. You’ll also be able to search simultaneously across existing Forums and Teams threads to see what questions have already been answered by the community. You can even follow threads or saved searches that you want to pay close attention to.
Delivering the news you need: An Etsy announcements section throughout community landing pages will keep you informed on important site news and updates. In the Forums, an Etsy Success section will surface Q+As with staff and more facilitated programming all in one place. The most important news will also appear as an announcement banner within each Etsy Team, providing yet another way for you to stay informed.
Supporting Team Captains and Leaders: A dedicated team leaders resource page will include education, toolkits, and updates on opportunities for sponsorship. Plus, you’ll have access to self-service workshops and guides designed by Etsy experts to increase the success of team members.