I like both 1 and 3. One looks cleaner and three responds better to the constant requests about the latest unread posts that the community members have expressed.
I think 4 is not advisable: questions that do not have many views risk to be buried.
I prefer the look of the box channels. If “Latest Topics” can be configured to be a box I’d use that. However, I’m basing that on the fact that I don’t anticipate coming to the forums looking for historical information. My usage pattern is more like a chat/slack/reddit. I’m only dealing with current topics.
You betcha!
I ‘do’ LOVE Discourse.
I went with option 1 (and I would be fine with 2), mainly because it was a simple, uncluttered visual for the opening page that still provide some info about what each ‘box’ was about. I’m okay with anything, as long as it’s in Discourse, but I was just opting for simple and uncluttered.
