Notifications Overview and Bell States

Track mentions, replies, DMs, and moderation alerts from a single notification center.

4 min read Updated Mar 4, 2026

Before You Start

  • Sign in to your community account.
  • Look at the bell icon in the top bar.

Step 1: Understand Bell States

  • Quiet bell: no unread notifications.
  • Active bell with red badge: you have unread updates.
  • Badge count is capped visually at `99+`.

Step 2: Open Notifications

  1. Click the bell icon.
  2. You will open the `Notifications` page.
Notifications page showing grouped unread and read updates.
Step 2 screen: Notifications list. (Click image to open full size)

Step 3: Read Grouped Updates

  • Notifications are grouped by `Today`, `Yesterday`, or date.
  • You can see updates like likes, replies, mentions, direct messages, and reports.
  • Click any notification row to open the related post, message, or moderation page.

Step 4: Mark Notifications as Read

  1. Open the notifications page.
  2. Unread items are marked read automatically when loaded.
  3. Return to the top bar and confirm the badge count is updated.

Step 5: Load Older Notifications

  1. Scroll to the bottom of the list.
  2. Click `Load more` when available.

Troubleshooting

  • Bell still shows unread: refresh once and reopen notifications.
  • No items visible: you may be fully caught up.
  • Notification link not accessible: you may no longer have permission for that private content.

Expected Result

You can quickly track and open all important activity from the bell and notifications page.