TownSmith Messaging has been developed as a software framework allowing us to customize its functionality for each integration according to your needs. Some possible features are described here.

• Unlimited Bulletin Board Creation—Using TownSmith Messaging, a web site administrator or a web site's users, depending on configuration, can create an unlimited number of online bulletin boards, discussion threads, and postings.
  
  
• Fully Customizable Interface—The software engine of TownSmith Messaging is completely separate from the interface under which it operates, allowing the client to create a fully customized interface to match their existing web identity.
  
  
• Fully Threaded Messaging—TownSmith Messaging allows the web site administrator to display messaging in a fully threaded fashion such that messages and all levels of replies are displayed hierarchically. In this way, the user can easily see which responses were made to certain prior postings. Should the administrator choose, the messages can also be displayed in a "flat" format without hierarchical organization.
  
  
• User Identity Tracking—You can configure the system to record the identity of any user who makes a posting on a bulletin board and automatically provide an e-mail link to that user's mail box. You can also automatically provide a link to the user's profile page on your site, an avatar image representing the user's identity, or any other piece of user identity you've captured. You can also configure the system to allow users to post messages anonymously.
  
  
• Notification Capabilities—TownSmith Messaging can be configured to allow users to mark any discussion thread for "notification." The user can request notification of only direct responses to a particular message or to any depth of responses in the continuing thread. The user will then have any new posts to that discussion thread either e-mailed to them or put in one of their mail boxes on your system. The system can be configured such that users are sent an e-mail to let them know that new messages are waiting in their mail box and that they should come back to your site to read them.
  
  
• Online E-mail Capabilities—Due to TownSmith Messaging's notification capabilities, it can be used as a full online e-mail system that provides users with a permanent historical record of the messages they've sent and received displayed in a hierarchical, fully-threaded format.
  
  
• Personal Bulletin Boards—By giving permission or access codes to certain other users, the creator of any bulletin board can make their board private, excluding unauthorized users from reading messages on it or posting to it.
  
  
• Moderator Capabilities—TownSmith Messaging can be configured such that boards are moderated by a web site administrator. With such a configuration, all new messages would be submitted for approval before they are actually posted. They could also be posted, but removed by a web site administrator once the administrator has had a chance to review them.
  
  
• Self Moderated Capability—TownSmith Messaging can be configured such that the users, themselves, moderate the postings of other users. If a user finds a certain posting to be offensive, they can remove it temporarily from the board. The message in question then goes to the site administrator for final approval or removal. If the message has been read and approved by the administrator, it then goes back on the board and cannot be removed by a user again.
  
  
• Thread Moving—An administrator or users can be enabled to move highly active threads from low in a message tree up to the top either as a primary thread or as an entirely new board. That message thread will then be displayed and active in both locations.
  
  
• Collapsing and Expanding Display—Message trees can be set to expand and collapse according to a user's preference. For example, when a user comes to the message center of the site, all message threads could be "collapsed" such that only the primary topics are showing. If the user clicks an expand button next to any message, that message's entire discussion tree is then revealed. This allows for easy navigation of very large message board systems. Once a user is finished looking at a particular message tree, they can click on a "collapse" button to collapse it back to down to its original state.

For more information about TownSmith, e-mail us at info@townsmith.com.