We're happy to announce the release of NodeBB v4.3.0, which contains native support for remote categories, bringing better integration with other NodeBB forums, WordPress, Lemmy, PieFed, mbin, and other "group-based" implementors on the ActivityPub network!

What does this mean?

It means that starting with this release, you will be able to "browse" to other categories simply by searching for them in your /world page. Just like with regular categories, you can "track" or "watch" remote categories — the former will show up in your /unread page, and the latter will also send notifications on new topics.

Prior to this change, remote categories were rendered just like regular users, and there was some confusion over who was a user and who was a publisher.

The integration with blog platforms like WordPress also mean you'll be able to use NodeBB kind of like a feed reader, with built-in notifications when new content is received. We're hoping to also extend this to support Ghost as well

Some examples of categories loaded remotely in this NodeBB:

• "Fediverse" on piefed.social (running Piefed) — @fediverse@piefed.social
• "ActivityPub Protocol" on SocialHub (running Discourse) — @protocol@socialhub.activitypub.rocks
• Vivaldi Browser Blog (running WordPress) — @blog@vivaldi.com
• "General Climbing News" on community.openbeta.io (running NodeBB) — @news@community.openbeta.io
• Fediverse memes (running Lemmy) — @fedimemes@feddit.uk

Other notable changes in v4.3.0

Chat allow/deny list

There was some desire for more fine-grained support for allow/deny lists for the chat system. This is now available in v4.3.0. Per @baris:

> Leaving allow list empty would mean anyone who is not in deny list can message you.
> Leaving deny list empty would mean anyone who is in allow list can message you.
> If both are empty everyone can message you.
> Current restrictChat toggle can be turned into a toggle to disable chat completely.
> Upgrade script can add the users following to the allow list if they have restrictChat turned on.

Show number of topic watchers

You are now able to see the number of users watching a specific topic alongside the existing stats (posts, views, etc.)

Accessibility updates

• Avatar background colours are now selectable via keyboard navigation
• Post drafts are now accessible via keyboard navigation

... and of course

• Bug fixes and security updates