Post Discussions & Comments - HL Vanilla Community
<main> <article class="userContent"> <p>Posting user-generated content is how your users interact with one another in your <strong>Higher Logic Vanilla</strong> (<strong>Vanilla</strong>) community. Posted content can be either a:</p><ul><li><strong>Discussion</strong> - how a user starts a new thread about a topic of interest.</li><li><strong>Comment</strong> - any follow-up content (reply) to an established discussion.</li></ul><h3 data-id="notes">Notes</h3><ul><li>Comments can exist <em>only as part of a discussion</em>.</li><li>Each discussion can have an <em>unlimited number of comments</em>.</li></ul><h2 data-id="examples">Examples</h2><p>In the image below, Lila posted a discussion (<strong>Best community software?</strong>) at 4:15; at 4:18 Charlie posted a comment (note the smaller heading called <strong>Comments</strong>).</p><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/83XK4512EO8E/discussion-comment-example.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/83XK4512EO8E/discussion-comment-example.png" alt="discussion_comment_example.png" height="742" width="1721" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h2 data-id="custom-nomenclature">Custom nomenclature</h2><p>How your user-generated content is referred to can differ from our default labels. For example, <em>posts</em>, <em>threads</em>, and <em>topics</em> are three very common ways of referring to this form of "conversation."</p><p>In your Vanilla community, the default labels of <em>discussions</em> and <em>comments</em> can be customized without changing the underlying functionality.</p><div class="blockquote"><div class="blockquote-content"><p class="blockquote-line">If you'd like to customize these labels, contact your CSM.</p></div></div><h2 data-id="discussions"><strong>Discussions</strong></h2><p>There are a range of <strong>discussion types</strong> to help communities adjust the functionality to best suit their needs.</p><p>To create a discussion, click the <strong>New Post</strong> button at the top right on any page. You'll then be able to choose what type of post to create.</p><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/4I2UEH5XSUUY/new-post-btn.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/4I2UEH5XSUUY/new-post-btn.png" alt="new_post_btn.png" height="564" width="846" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <p>The options that display are dependent on which addons are enabled in your community. There can be as many as five options:</p><ul><li>Discussion</li><li><a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/92-ideation" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">Ideas</a></li><li><a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/93-polls" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">Polls</a></li><li><a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/20-questions-answers-q-a" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">Questions</a></li><li><a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/70-groups-and-events#events" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">Events</a></li></ul><p>Select <strong>New Discussion</strong> to navigate to a new page where you can configure your discussion.</p><ul><li>Click <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/8-category-configuration-management#category-selector" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">Select a category</a> to choose which Category to add your discussion to.</li><li>The <strong>Discussion Title</strong> is what will show at the top of the post once it’s been submitted. It will also identify the discussion on the category index.</li><li>The text field is where you type your post. You can use the buttons at the bottom left to insert emojis, images, and media, as well as attach files.</li><li>Admins and Moderators can use the options in the <strong>Announce</strong> section to make their discussion an <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/101-announcements" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">Announcement</a>.</li><li><a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/94-tagging" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">Tags</a> mark a discussion with certain keywords so it's easier to search for within the community. By default, up to five tags can be used on a post.</li><li>Once the post is ready, click <strong>Post Discussion </strong>to publish it. Click <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/199-drafts" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">Save Draft</a> to store the post under the <strong>My Drafts</strong> section of your profile. Preview will show the user what the finished post will look like when published.</li></ul><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/GYIRJAWOXVGC/create-disc-page.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/GYIRJAWOXVGC/create-disc-page.png" alt="create_disc_page.png" height="718" width="858" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h2 data-id="comments"><strong>Comments</strong></h2><p>Once posted, each discussion includes a <strong>comments </strong>section where all users can participate and share their thoughts on the topic.</p><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/t2RTHalE5j0MpzTemREjfeMY6zK8qiXQ8A07Rf1A-mjfNnoX1qDMnwJw24x1k9lbTTjEYxkdLwjwSPHgF636fjaF-uoZ0KoLw77U08kGw4O2XChT5VixDI4cCE3us4aZ7WZ84HYE" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/t2RTHalE5j0MpzTemREjfeMY6zK8qiXQ8A07Rf1A-mjfNnoX1qDMnwJw24x1k9lbTTjEYxkdLwjwSPHgF636fjaF-uoZ0KoLw77U08kGw4O2XChT5VixDI4cCE3us4aZ7WZ84HYE" alt="t2RTHalE5j0MpzTemREjfeMY6zK8qiXQ8A07Rf1A-mjfNnoX1qDMnwJw24x1k9lbTTjEYxkdLwjwSPHgF636fjaF-uoZ0KoLw77U08kGw4O2XChT5VixDI4cCE3us4aZ7WZ84HYE" height="284" width="624" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h2 data-id="rich-editor">Rich Editor</h2><p><strong>Rich Editor</strong> is available on all newer communities by default. It provides an array of tools for your users to use when posting discussions and comments.</p><p>To learn more about the Rich Editor, see:</p><div class="js-embed embedResponsive" data-embedjson="{"body":"Overview The Rich Editor is the default editor on Vanilla. It allows for intuitive styling and formatting to posts and discussions. (Image) It should be noted that older clients of Vanilla may still be using our Advanced Editor, and are allowed to upgrade at any time. To enable this, navigate to your dashboard, then…","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6030677\/uploads\/VWGAXAF5OFCO\/microsoftteams-image.png","url":"https:\/\/success.vanillaforums.com\/kb\/articles\/13-rich-editor","embedType":"link","name":"Rich Editor - Vanilla Success"}"> <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/13-rich-editor" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc"> https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/13-rich-editor </a> </div><h2 data-id="additional-resources">Additional Resources</h2><ul><li><a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/78-emoji" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">Emoji</a></li><li><a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/56-smart-embed" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">Smart Embed</a></li><li><a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/110-deleting-discussions-and-comments" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">Deleting Discussions and Comments</a></li></ul><p>Click the link below to access a video expanding on what you learned in this article.</p><div class="js-embed embedResponsive" data-embedjson="{"body":"For more information, please see:","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6030677\/uploads\/GXW21TRYG1JP\/share-imagevanilla-community.jpg","url":"https:\/\/success.vanillaforums.com\/kb\/articles\/451","embedType":"link","name":"I. Posting [video] - HL Vanilla Community"}"> <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/451" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc"> https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/451 </a> </div><p><br></p> </article> </main>