Knowledge Base Article

Aurora: About threaded replies and comments

Inline replies and the threaded display style help organize comments or replies in order to make each reply's context visually clear.

  • You can either comment or reply to the root message or any of the existing comments or replies.
  • When you reply to an existing comment or reply, your reply is shown indented underneath the reply. You can keep the context relevant, and other people can see where your contribution fits into the conversation.
  • You can sort within a thread on Most Liked, Oldest or Newest.

Note: Members must have Reply to discussions and content permission to add replies or comments to the post. 

Check out this example of threaded replies added to a discussion.

1. To reply to the post, scroll down and click Reply.

Step 1 image

2. In the editor, enter your reply.

Step 2 image

3. You can format the text, insert images/links, add attachments, and so on based on your requirements.

Step 3 image

4. Here, you can view the last autosaved date and time of your content.
Your content gets autosaved while replying to the discussion.

Step 4 image

5. After you enter the text, click Reply.

Step 5 image

6. Now, you can see that the reply is posted successfully and in line with the topic.
Replies to the main topic are always displayed inline to it.

Step 6 image

7. To reply to another reply, Click Reply to the respective reply.

Step 7 image

8. In the editor, enter your reply.

Step 8 image

9. Click Reply.

Step 9 image

10. After you post your reply, you can view all the threaded replies indented below the original reply.

Step 10 image

11. Using this option, you can sort the replies by Most Liked, Oldest, and Newest based on your requirements. By default, Most Liked option is displayed.

Step 11 image

12. That's it. You're done.

Step 12 image

** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **

https://www.iorad.com/player/1981200/Replying-in-a-Discussion-with-threaded-inline-replies

 
 
Members with elevated permissions can perform the following actions from the Options menu of a reply:

Replies and Comments sort order

Admins can customize the sort order for replies and comments at both the community and board levels, offering additional control over how discussions are organized and displayed to members. 

To set the sort order:

  1. Open the Account Menu.
  2. Go to Settings > Features > Content Features > Replies and Comments.
  3. From the Default sort order drop-down menu, select your preferred sorting method to organize all replies and comments across your community.

The default sort order does not override member's individual preferences.

 

For example, if a member has chosen to view replies and comments in Oldest to Newest order but the admin has set the default to Most Liked, the member sees them displayed according to their personal preference of oldest to newest. If members choose the Community Default option, the admin's settings apply across all boards for those members.

Also, members can change the order from the community post page containing comments or replies. Changes to the sort order on the post page are saved in member’s preferences.

 

Note: By default, the admin setting is set to order by Most Liked, and for members, it is set to Community Default. 

Learn more about comment and reply options

Updated 8 days ago
Version 13.0
communities aurora
content management
General Tasks
  • Lief's avatar
    Lief
    Champion
    7 months ago

    I *love* threaded replies because of the context 

    BUT... I have to agree with BBZac about "...very hard to follow"

    The sorting (by date, or by likes - which results in such a weird experience when there is some 1likes and some 0 likes) messes things up badly.

    The "ShowMore" feature is also not good enough...I have a post with 18 and one with 43 comments.

    Expand ALL would be great.

    And change the default to time order (rather than like order)
    that's my $.02

  • BBZac's avatar
    BBZac
    Contributor
    7 months ago

    Hi,

    Will you be bringing the "linear format" option in Community Classic to Aurora?

    I can see the benefits of threaded replies, but at the same time it can become very hard to follow when you're many levels deep. Users don't always understand who they're replying to anymore, and threads can become fragmented.

    It suits some communities (and users) more than others. For communities where individual posts are often long and about serious topics, the linear format can be more suitable. It allows for pagination too, which helps users orientate themselves within long threads, and come back to them later to pick up where they left off.

  • MGourlay's avatar
    MGourlay
    Helper
    3 months ago

    Hey all, adding my own pair of pennies here
    I would also prefer to avoid the threaded discussions in the community.
    I am getting feedback from members that it is hard to follow as well, and would prefer the linear approach the same as what was experienced in classic

    If there was the functionality to toggle on or off the ability to 'reply to replies' I feel like this would be enough to solve it

  • LarryI's avatar
    LarryI
    Khoros Expert
    3 months ago

    Hi everyone,

    We are reviewing this feedback actively and plan on addressing this soon in Aurora. I don't have details to share at this time as we are still in the exploratory phase. Our end goal is to provide more options for you to define the topic format defaults for your users and have more options for end users to enhance their experience in your community.

    SahilC FYI - in case you have more to add!

  • Lief's avatar
    Lief
    Champion
    3 months ago

    As I read this again, and thanks for putting this back on the table LarryI , I wonder if there is a less resource-intensive way to "expand all" without losing threaded replies.

    "Have my context and eat it too."

    Like a mini-expand-all to return all (or most?) of the replies in short-form; first 100words, first line, (AI summary? <evil grin>) or whatever that the user may scan to find the best/right place to jump in and do a full expand.

    A google search found this useful (yet old) discussion on exactly this where the researcher provides good language.
    https://elezea.com/2015/09/how-to-display-threaded-discussions-on-the-web/

    Teased, capped, infinitely threaded, etc.

    There may be better tech available now.

    Cheers.