Forum upgrades will be rolled out in 2 phases (see https://2u-internal.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PT/pages/94503105/WIP+Discussions+project+overview):
New discussions experience (MFE)
In-context discussions
xblocks will not be visible to learners in courses using in-context discussions (see [Milestone Rollout Plan]: v1.7 In-context discussions). However, the rollout of in-context discussions (v1.7) is at least 6-8 weeks away from today (21st July) and running courses will only be migrated to v1.7 when they create a re-run. For self-paced courses, the new run could take 12 to 18 months.
Discussions xblocks have a UI that is independent of discussions tab (see https://2u-internal.atlassian.net/browse/INF-356).
In this document, we need to evaluate the options and pros/cons of the UI (MFE or legacy) we want to render for xblocks, after MFE rollout.
Keep rendering the legacy UI in xblocks for the foreseeable future
Pros: No dev time and cost will be spent on a feature that we plan to deprecate eventually (~2 years)
Cons: Content created in MFE and interacted with in legacy, and vice versa, may create some incompatibility. Here one that i’m aware of:
Images uploaded in MFE do not show in legacy
More investigation required
Embed sidebar view inside discussion xblock view - sidebar will show inside iframe of xblock
Cons: Will require modifications to sidebar (dev work in range of ~ 60hours)
Render xblock discussion topic in sidebar, when show discussion button is clicked.