We have some “private” discussions going on here at Creative Storefront and I’d like to have them here on the site somehow rather than just emails.

  • User Access Manager: we can create categories that are only accessible to certain users. Works well, but then are posts sent to RSS? Also are posts then visible by title, but then restricted/closed? Are they listed in the Recent Posts? (I don’t want them to be.) I think I’d rather have these private/back room discussions less prominent.
  • bbPress: forum software built by Automattic (the same people who run WordPress), so of course there’s seamless integration. Full-blown forum software so it has all of the bells and whistles.
  • WP Forum: a WP plugin that’s been around a while, but hasn’t been updated in since Sep 2008.
  • Forum Server: they modestly promote, “This is a much more advanced and better than the WP-Forum plugin … ” but hey, worth looking at.

Thoughts?