This document provides an overview and detailed description of the features available in the new discussions experience, with a specific emphasis on the moderation tools.

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Tabular layout

1. My Posts tab

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1. lists posts

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1. that the current user has authored or has contributed to.

2. All Posts tab

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1. lists all posts in the course.

2. Topics tab shows hierarchy of discussion topics

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1. .

2. Learners tab

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1. lists enrolled

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1. users, count of their forum

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1. contributions and

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1. allows accessing forum

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1. Learners tab is only visible to course teams and forum moderators.

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Aggregated filters and sort

Sorts and filters for threads are now aggregated in one menu.

Filter for post type (Discussion or Question) has been added.

In near future, a filter for Discussion type posts having no response, will be added.

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Endorse a response

Users having moderation privileges can endorse a response, similar to how they would mark a response as answered.

Endorsed responses will appear on top of the list of responses.

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Post close reasons

Users having moderation privileges can specify the reason when closing a post.

1. contributions of each user.

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Filter and sort options for posts

All options are aggregated in one menu, which you can access through the My posts, All posts, and Topics tab, as seen in the screenshot below.

1. You can filter posts based on their type, either as a Discussion or a Question.

2. You can also filter based on their status, such as Unread, Following, Unanswered, Not responded, or Reported (if you have moderator roles).

3. Additionally, you can sort posts based on three criteria:

   1. Recent activity: This shows posts in descending order based on the time they were created or the latest contribution made.

   2. Most activity: This shows posts with the highest number of contributions: responses and comments.

   3. Most likes: This shows posts with the highest number of likes.

4. Lastly, for courses that have forums divided by cohorts, you can filter posts based on the cohort they are visible to.

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Sort options for forum users

In the Learners tab, users are listed and can be sorted according to these criteria:

1. Most activity: Users are listed in descending order based on the number of contributions they have made.

2. Reported activity: Users are listed in descending order based on the number of contributions that have been reported.

3. Recent activity: Users are listed in descending order based on the time of their most recent contribution.

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Sort options for responses and comments

You can sort responses and comments based on their time of creation using the menu shown in the screenshot below. By selecting "Newest first" or "Oldest first", you can arrange the responses and comments in either ascending or descending order. It's worth noting that this menu will sort both responses and comments simultaneously, rather than just one or the other.

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Endorsing a contribution

Users with moderation privileges can endorse a response or mark it as the answer on a discussion-type or question-type post. For question-type posts, the author of the post can also mark a response as the answer. These endorsed or answered responses will be displayed at the top of other responses. On the summary of a question-type post, a check mark will indicate that a response has been marked as the answer.

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Closing a post

When a user with moderation privileges closes a post, they can provide a reason for doing so, as seen below. This reason will be visible to other moderators and to as well as the author of the post author.

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Content editing reasons

Users having moderation privileges can specify the reason when editing other’s content.

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Editing a post

When a user with moderation privileges edits a post, response or comment, they can provide a reason for doing so, as seen below. This reason will be visible to other users having moderation privileges and to the content author.

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Learner stats and sort

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1. Sort menu for learner list. At present, Most activity and Reported activity are available. Sort by Recent activity will be added in near future.

2. Count of posts authored by the learner in this course.

3. Count of total content (posts, response or comments) authored by the learner in this course.

4. Count of content that is currently in reported state.

5. Count of content that was reported in reported state, but was later marked as un-reported.

6. Back button to go back to the list of learners.

7. Name of the selected learner.

8. List of threads that the selected learner has interacted with.

Topic stats

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1. Course-wide discussion topics will be shown on top in the topics list.

2. Content-specific discussion topics will be listed as a 2 level hierarchy: category and subcategories.

3. Count of discussion type posts in the topic.

4. Count of question type posts in the topic.

5. Breadcrumb bar can be used to navigate categories and subcategories.

Upgraded search experience

Same search bar can be used to search content, topics and learners. This will be determined by the tab that has been selected as seen in the gif below.

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Search results are more descriptive.

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Partial usernames can now be searched.

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Content view refactored

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1. Type of thread is now represented alongside avatar; a question mark for a question type thread.

2. Time elapsed since the post/comment/response was created, with following abbreviations:

   1. 1 second: 1s

   2. 1 minute: 1m

   3. 1 hour: 1h

   4. 1 week: 1w

   5. 1 month: 4w

   6. 1 year: 1y

3. Cohort visibility info is moved towards bottom right of the post view. Mouse over on the icon will display cohort that this thread is visible to.

4. Reported info is now shown in a bar on top of the reported post, response or comment.

5. Endorsed or answered info is visible in the bar on top of the reported response.

6. “Vote” has been renamed to “Like”. Functionality is the same.

7. Follow option has been moved towards bottom left of the post view.

8. “Mark as answered” option has been moved inside the actions menu of a response.

9. Comment can now be added on a button

10. Username colour is according to their role. A role icon for staff and TA has been added.

Interactive post summary card

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1. Username of post author is now visible on post summary. Users having course staff, course admin, discussion admin, discussion moderator role will have red text colour and a staff icon next to the username. Users having community TA and group community TA role will have grey text colour and a staff icon next to the username.

2. Number of likes on a post are visible on its summary. The like icon itself can be used to like/unlike the post. In case the current user has liked the post, the icon is filled.

3. The star icon can be used to follow/un-follow a post. If the post if being followed, the icon is filled.

4. A question mark next to the avatar indicates that the thread is of type question.

5. Hovering over the people icon indicates that cohort that this post is visible to.

6. “Reported” indicator appears on a post’s summary if the post itself is reported or any of the responses or comments on the post have been reported.

7. “Answered” indicator appears on a post’s summary if the post was of type question and it has a response that has been marked as answer.

8. Indictor for total number of responses or comments on a post. Icon is filled if a response or comment has been added after the post has been read.

9. Institution icon with “Staff” appears next to post author’s username if the author has course staff, course admin, discussion moderator or discussion admin role. In this case, username text colour is red. Academic cap icon with “TA” appears next to post author’s username if the author has community TA or group community TA role. In this case, username text colour is grey.

10. Pinned indicator is moved to top right of post summary and space is added between pinned posts and other posts.

11. Time elapsed since post creation is now visible on post summary.

12. Unread post is now indicated by white background with bold post title.

Short demo of new discussions experience

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moderators as well as the author of the post.

Forum stats for users

In the Learners tab, users who have made at least one contribution in the course forum are displayed along with the following statistics:

1. Total number of contributions made by the user in the course forum.

2. Total number of posts authored by the user in the course forum.

3. Total number of contributions by the user that are in a reported state (only visible to moderator roles).

4. Total number of contributions by the user that were in a reported state in the past (only visible to moderator roles).

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Forum stats for discussion topics

In the Topics tab, you'll find a list of discussion topics, along with the count of both question and discussion-type posts associated with each topic. This information is readily visible, as shown in the screenshot below. You can click on each topic to view the posts associated with that topic.

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Reporting content

Users have the ability to report content that they believe requires the attention of forum moderators. To report content, users simply need to use the reporting feature, which triggers a confirmation modal similar to the one shown in the screenshot below.

Once a piece of content has been reported, an informational banner will appear over it, stating that the content is currently in a reported state. This banner will only be visible to the reporter and users with moderation privileges. It's worth noting that the identity of the reporter will remain anonymous to everyone.

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Finding reported content

Users with moderation privileges have the ability to view reported content and take necessary actions, such as editing or deleting the content or removing its reported status, using the “Unreport” action, if it's deemed appropriate.

Moderators can find reported content in several ways:

• Check for a "Reported" label on the post summary, which indicates that the post, response, or comment has been reported. They can then open the post and look for the "Reported" banner on the response or comment that has been reported.

• Use the "Reported" filter to display a list of reported posts or posts that have a response or comment that has been reported.

• View reported stats for individual users in the Learners tab and filter their content accordingly. Moderators can also sort users by the number of their contributions that have been reported.

• Enabling email alerts, in discussion settings, for when content is reported.

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Searching for content, topics and users

The search bar can be used to search for content, topics, and learners, depending on the tab that has been selected. The search results will be determined by the active tab, as demonstrated in the gif below.

The search results are now more descriptive, and it's possible to search for partial usernames as well.

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Cohort info

If a post is only visible to a specific cohort, a cohort icon will appear next to it, when viewed by a user with moderation privileges, as shown in the example below. Hovering over this icon will display the name of the cohort that the post is visible to.

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Role indicators

The label “Staff” and red font colour is used to indicate users with Course Admin, Course Staff, Discussion Admin, and Discussion Moderator roles, while the label “TA” is used to indicate users with Community TA and Group Community TA roles.

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Pinning a post

If you have moderation privileges, you can enhance a post's visibility by 'pinning' it, which means placing it at the top of the list of posts in the All posts tab.

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