Relevant to Moodle 3.4 from September 2018 onwards 

How to:  change email settings for forums 

You will always get emails when a module convenor posts Announcements as you are automatically subscribed and cannot unsubscribe..  Other forums are generally set up so that both staff and students can choose whether or not to receive email alerts when someone posts.  To change whether you receive posts by email or not:

To subscribe to or unsubscribe from forums

To change whether you receive posts by email or not:

• Click into the forum that you wish to change your subscription to.
• Click on the Cogwheel / Actions icon  
•  You will see the type of subscription currently enabled for the forum and your subscription option.
• Click "Unsubscribe from this forum" if you are already subscribed and wish to opt out of email notifications or "Subscribe to this forum" if you wish to start receiving email notifications.
  
  
  
• A message will load to confirm your subscription status before redirecting you back to the module's main page.

To see who is subscribed or not  (Editing Teachers only)

As an Editing Teacher you can also see who is and who isn't subscribed to a forum.

1. Click into the relevant forum.
2. Open the Cogwheel menu (lowards top right of centre column) 
3. Select Show/edit current subscribers.  

A list of students currently subscribed to this forum will show..