New discussions forum experience

UPDated: 20th April, 2023

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.

Tabular layout

1. My Posts tab lists posts that the current user has authored or has contributed to.

2. All Posts tab lists all posts in the course.

3. Topics tab shows hierarchy of discussion topics.

4. Learners tab lists enrolled users, count of their forum contributions and allows accessing forum contributions of each user.

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Tabs available on the Discussion page

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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Filter and sort menu for posts, when viewed by a user with moderator role

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 list of users when viewed by a user with moderator role

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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Option to sort responses and comments

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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A user with moderator role endorsing a response

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A user with moderator role marking a response as answer

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A green check mark indicates that a response on this post has been marked as answer

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 as well as the author of the post.

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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 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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Stats for a single user when viewed by a user with moderator role

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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Count of discussion and question type posts in each discussion topic in Topics tab.

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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Reporting a content shows a confirmation modal to ensure users understand the purpose

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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Reported label shown on summary of a post where a response on the post has been reported

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Discussion setting for sending email alert to moderators for when content is reported

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Screenshot of an email alert for when the content is reported

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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Search target changes with the selection of the tabs

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Search results describe the number of results or alternate results if search string is not found

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An example of partial username search

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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A post that is only visible to “Cohort B” viewed by a user with moderation privileges

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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Example of labels and icons indicating roles

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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A pinned post will appear on top of the list in the All posts tab, for all users, when no filters have been applied.