Yes, i already looked over all that info prior to trying out the plugins. Thanks anyway though.
Hey man, I was having the exact same problem and could not find anything to help me on the BuddyPress site. Then I stumbled upon this website and it solved all of my problems:
http://wpmu.org/guide-to-buddypress-forums-how-to-set-up-group-or-sitewide-forums/
The trick for me was following her tip, “If you have any trouble, you may want to try unticking the Discussion Forum box in the Components setup page.” So my forums work now however because this box is unchecked I cannot use the Activities for the Achievements plugin. So if anyone has any help there it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks @SeannyFunco I also saw that post and tried it prior to posting here. I am thinking I’ll give the group forums a try since it seems to work well here.
Alright, I figured out what the problem is. @SeannyFunco the tip that WPMU mentions is how it’s supposed to be setup.
I think the codex needs to be updated to say that if you’re only using Site Wide Forums, you need to disable the Discussion Forums component since this is meant for Groups integration.
That’s not true. You need to either map the Forums component to a page with a slug other than “forums”, or change the base slug in the bbPress settings away from “forums”.
Okay – Paul, I have read what you have said here before, but I could not get sitewide forums to work that way. I set the slug to another page, but no forums showed on that page, even though I had installed them and set up several. Could you give me a bit more of a step by step on the changing of the base slug in the bbPress settings? I want ONLY sitewide forums – have no need for forums within a group. Thanks!
Yes I understand you can map the forum’s component to a different page or change the bbPress settings away from “forums” but that isn’t necessary if you ONLY want site wide forums. It’s just easier to disable the Discussion Forum component in BuddyPress settings since that only affects Group Forums.
@isisathletics if all you want are site wide forums, then first turn off the Discussion Forum component in BuddyPress settings since this option is for group forums, then continue with site wide forum installation.
@filmoreha – I’m slightly confused,
“I think the codex needs to be updated to say that if you’re only using Site Wide Forums, you need to disable the Discussion Forums component since this is meant for Groups integration.”
As @djpaul said, you dont NEED to disable the group forum component… to have both running at the same time you simply need to ensure their not fighting with each other by ensuring that one of the slugs have been changed.
“Yes I understand you can map the forum’s component to a different page or change the bbPress settings away from “forums” but that isn’t necessary if you ONLY want site wide forums. It’s just easier to disable the Discussion Forum component in BuddyPress settings since that only affects Group Forums.”
This is where i’m confused. Before, you mentioned (or implied?) that the forum component is required to be disabled inorder to use the sitewide forum, but now your stating that you disabled it because of simplicity?
Did i get read this thread the wrong way? Could you clarify what you mean, as i think i ended up in the wrong street…
@ChrisClayton — Thanks for pointing that out! Yeah that was just bad wording on my part. Originally I should have wrote:
“you SHOULD disable the Discussion Forums component” vs “you need…”
Sorry for the confusing wording! 
Anyway, yeah I understand you can run both at the same time. I’m just saying if you’re not using Group forums, then it’s less hassle to simply disable that component. And that it should be included in the codex to only tick the Discussion component if you’re going to be using Group forums .
@djpaul I too tried following the same steps you outlined above (i.e. changing the slugs) and site wide forums are still not working for me. Its important for me to have the Component Box enabled as I need it enabled so the forum functions show up for the Achievements plugin. Any suggestions or detailed steps you can provide?
