Overview


Forums have been redesigned to allow for greater flexibility and convenience. The added functionality makes it easier to communicate both publically and privately within a forum, while customisation tools allow users to keep better track of relevant discussion topics.

Key features include:

  • In-line posts
  • Private replies
  • Starring
  • Sorting
  • Locked discussions
In-line Posts

It's now possible to create a forum post without changing windows or tabs. Posts are now created in-line, so you can still keep your current window open as you type out your subject and message.

Private Replies
Normally when you reply to a comment on a forum post, your reply is visible to everyone that has access to that forum. However, there is now a new Reply privately checkbox that appears when you click Reply. If this is ticked, only the direct recipient of your comment will be able to read what you've written.

Starring

Forum discussions can now be starred. This brings the discussion to the top of the list, although it still sits below any items that have been pinned. Starring is a user-specific action that affects how items appear on an individual level - in other words; an item that you star does not suddenly appear as a starred item for someone else.


Sorting
A long-requested feature of forums has been the option to sort discussions by different criteria. This functionality has now been added, allowing users to sort by number of Replies, Last post (time), and by when the discussion was originally Created. Clicking on the relevant column header will toggle Ascending/Descending order.


Discussion Locking
Teachers now have the option to lock discussions to prevent further comments from being added. Discussions can be locked manually by the teacher, or locked automatically once a set duration of inactivity has been reached.

Locked discussions will be denoted by a padlock symbol on the right-hand side of the relevant discussion item.