View source for Structured Discussions

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{{Structured Discussions Navigation}}
{{:Structured Discussions/Project information}}
:''<translate><!--T:1--> For information on how to install and use the Structured Discussions extension, see <tvar name=1>{{ll|Extension:StructuredDiscussions}}</tvar>.</translate>''
{{ObsoleteExtension|DiscussionTools}}
{{mbox
|type  = content
|text = <translate><!--T:76--> Structured Discussions is no longer in feature development, and new deployments have been suspended.</translate> <translate><!--T:78--> See [[<tvar name=1>Special:MyLanguage/Extension:StructuredDiscussions</tvar>|more information here]] and in the [<tvar name=url>https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikitech-l/2015-September/082993.html</tvar> Wikitech mailing list].</translate>

<translate><!--T:82--> Starting November 2023, communities are progressively encouraged to {{<tvar name=1>ll|Structured Discussions/Deprecation</tvar>|archive existing Structured Discussions pages}}.</translate>
}}

<translate><!--T:2--> '''Structured Discussions''' (previously known as “'''Flow'''”) was a project of the now-defunct [[<tvar name=1>Special:MyLanguage/Collaboration</tvar>|Global Collaboration]] team at the Wikimedia Foundation to build another discussion system for Wikimedia projects.</translate>
<translate><!--T:50--> Structured Discussions aimed to provide features that are present on some other popular websites, but were believed to be impossible to implement in [[<tvar name=1>Special:MyLanguage/wikitext</tvar>|wikitext]].</translate>
<translate><!--T:51--> For example, Structured Discussions shows readable threads on both mobile and desktop, automatically signs posts, threads replies (with an in-database relation between each), and permits per-topic [[<tvar name=1>Special:MyLanguage/notifications</tvar>|notifications]].</translate>

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The main goals for the Structured Discussions project were:

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* to make the wiki discussion system more accessible for new users</translate>
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* to make the wiki discussion system more efficient for experienced users</translate>
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* to encourage meaningful conversations that support collaboration
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<translate><!--T:7--> Structured Discussions was deployed on user talk and wiki-wide discussion pages on various languages in the Wikimedia content projects, as well as on MediaWiki.org – see [[Structured Discussions/Wikis]].</translate>
<translate><!--T:52--> On some wikis, including main ones like French Wikipedia, Chinese Wikipedia and Wikidata, it was available as an opt-in Beta feature, based on community decisions, allowing users to turn on Structured Discussions for their own user talk page.</translate>

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Structured Discussions was formerly known as “'''Flow'''”. Flow was a bigger project that has been re-scoped to focus on user-to-user discussions. The software has been renamed to reflect this change.

== History == <!--T:9-->
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<translate><!--T:10--> After the initial development round, StructuredDiscussions was in active maintenance mode, with no major development since mid-2015; no significant new features have been added since then (other than a rename from "Flow" to "StructuredDiscussions" in 2017).</translate>
<translate><!--T:56--> The team continued to support the product and fix bugs and to make sure that people who are using StructuredDiscussions continue to have a good experience.<ref name=":12">Based on James Forrester's [[<tvar name=1>mailarchive:wikimedia-l/2016-September/085114.html</tvar>|message on wikimedia-l mailing-list]], September 2016</ref></translate>

<translate><!--T:11--> The Collaboration Team remained interested in the project and in providing an improved system for structured discussions.</translate><ref name=":12" />
<translate><!--T:57--> Communities also expressed interest by requesting StructuredDiscussions for testing or for real usage.</translate>
<translate><!--T:58--> To help decide about future development,<ref name=":02">Based on James Forrester's [[<tvar name=1>mailarchive:wikimedia-l/2016-June/084560.html</tvar>|message on wikimedia-l mailing-list]], June 2016</ref> a [[<tvar name=2>m:Collaboration/Flow satisfaction survey</tvar>|survey]] was sent to many Flow users in September 2016;<ref name=":12" /> the [[<tvar name=3>m:Special:MyLanguage/Collaboration/Flow satisfaction survey/Report</tvar>|results]] were published in February 2017.</translate>
<translate><!--T:59--> Those results were used in planning.</translate>

<translate><!--T:12--> StructuredDiscussions improvements were a goal of the [[<tvar name=1>m:Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan/2017-2018/Final/Programs/Product#Program 5: Increase current editor retention and engagement</tvar>|2017-2018 Fiscal Year]] development plan, focusing on search and interactions between topics.</translate>
<translate><!--T:60--> Discussions around those improvements led to the [[<tvar name=1>Special:MyLanguage/Talk pages consultation 2019</tvar>|Talk pages consultation 2019]], where talk pages usages and culture were discussed broadly across the wikis.</translate>
<translate><!--T:79--> The result of the Talk pages consultation 2019 was to develop the <tvar name=1>{{ll|Extension:DiscussionTools|nsp=1}}</tvar> extension, implementing many of the same features as Structured Discussions on top of a wikitext backend.</translate>

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== Components of the discussion system == <!--T:17-->

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You can have a look at [[<tvar name=1>Special:MyLanguage/Help:Structured Discussions/Quick tour</tvar>|the quick tour]] to discover the most important features.

=== Overall design === <!--T:19-->

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* Design density: readability is improved and eye-fatigue is diminished by a more airy design</translate>
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* Topic order: topics are displayed from last-added to first-added, like it is on most discussion systems on the Web.</translate>
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* Message separation: different messages in the same thread will be visually distinguished through design cues.</translate>
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* Navigation and archiving: the software features infinite scrolling on a Structured Discussions board, with all of the discussions accessible on the same page.</translate> <translate><!--T:63--> A Table of Contents in the side rail to help users navigate quickly between topics on a board.</translate>

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=== Notifications and interactions === <!--T:24-->

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* Topic namespace and links to replies: each topic is a separate page and every message has its own link to ease quoting.</translate>
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* Notifications: a set of notifications ease topic watching.</translate> <translate><!--T:64--> Users are notified when a new message is created on a page they watch, or if a reply is posted on a topic they watch.</translate> <translate><!--T:65--> Notifications link directly to the messages.</translate>

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=== Add or edit messages === <!--T:27-->

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* Input method: the visual editor and wikitext editors are equal input methods, users can switch back and forth at anytime.</translate>
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* Threading: Messages are posted below the oldest one and don’t require editing a whole section.</translate> <translate><!--T:66--> There is no need to know the threading system using wikitext, reply buttons provide two sets of indentations for digressions.</translate>
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* Auto signature: each message is automatically signed and timestamped.</translate>
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* Editing messages: each message can be edited (depending on user’s rights) without editing the whole section of messages.</translate> <translate><!--T:67--> If someone other than the original author edits a comment, that fact is highlighted.</translate>
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* Mention users: mentioning is eased by a mini-search system.

=== Message moderation === <!--T:33-->

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* "Hide", "Delete" and "Suppress" - analogous to revert, revision-deletion and oversight - are available on Structured Discussion.</translate> <translate><!--T:81--> Users can perform these moderation actions on both individual posts and entire topics.</translate>
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* User links automatically include links to their contributions and block links, to help sysops deal with disruption quickly and effectively.

== Release and features FAQ == <!--T:40-->
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[[Structured Discussions/FAQ|<translate><!--T:41--> See the detailed page.</translate>]]

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== Contact and links == <!--T:44-->
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* <translate><!--T:45--> IRC channel: {{channel|wikimedia-collaboration}}</translate>
* <translate><!--T:46--> Phabricator:</translate>
** <translate><!--T:48--> Structured Discussions: [[<tvar name=2>phab:project/board/657/</tvar>|open tasks]], [[<tvar name=3>phab:project/board/657/query/all/</tvar>|all tasks]], [<tvar name=1>https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/maniphest/task/create/?projects=PHID-PROJ-ntg6sf6mfl2qm2e4qgxc</tvar> submit new task]</translate>

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== Notes == <!--T:49-->
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<references/>

[[Category:Structured Discussions{{#translation:}}|*]]
[[Category:Discussion and forum extensions{{#translation:}}]]