[r-a-y]

I really just want a forum with categories. It seems that in the native BP settings you have to create a Group first, which then gets its own forum? Is this correct?

Yes, you have to create a group first. Think of Facebook’s fan page / group discussions page. That’s what it is modeled after (I believe!).

If you want a forum with categories, I would suggest installing a WordPress forum plugin like Simple:Press or Mingle Forum.

If you’re comfortable working with another forum script, you can try installing the standalone version of bbPress and integrating WordPress and bbPress together. I list this as another option.

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Or, how do I get something similar to what BuddyPress.org has? I notice that at the bottom of the forum topic listing, it says: “You will auto join this group when you start a new topic.” How did u get that functionality?

The auto-joining is default with BuddyPress. When you’re logged in and you are on a forum post that you are not a group member of, that message will be displayed. Visit the test install of BP – http://testbp.org – for an example.