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Discussions
===========

Updated 2 months ago

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   Drive topic-based discussions in a safe and interactive space, allowing community members and decision-makers to engage with each other in threaded discussions.

For each project, multiple discussion topics can be created. A discussion topic allows participants to start community discussions on this specific topic, and have the community and project team joining the discussions.

Add a discussion topic
----------------------

To add a discussion topic to your project:

![district-engage-discussions-0.png](/storage/articles/9493681417359.png)

1. While logged in, use the top-level menu to navigate to the **Projects** tab.
2. Select the relevant project; this opens your project overview page.
3. In the left-hand menu, under **Participation**, click **Discussions**. This shows all the discussion topics created for this project.
4. To create a new discussion topic, click **+Add discussion**.
5. Give the discussion topic a **Title**. This will be publicly visible on your project page.
6. Describe the question in the **Question** field.
7. Tick **Required** to make responding mandatory.
8. Provide a brief **Description** to help respondents engage in the discussion topic.
9. In the **Text short** box: *These fields are pre-populated and do not need to be updated when creating a new discussion topic, as the default content is suitable for most cases.*

    1. The **Summary** field is the field where the participant can add a title to their contribution to the discussion.
    2. The **Description** is the text that will be displayed below the Summary field to help users fill in this field.
    3. Optional: Add some **Placeholder** text, to help participants understand how to respond to the Summary field.
10. In the **Comment text** box: *These fields are pre-populated and do not need to be updated when creating a new question topic, as the default content is suitable for most cases.*

    1. The **Detail** field is where participants can add the detail of their contribution to the discussion.
    2. The **Description** is the text that will be displayed below the Detail field to help users fill in this field.
    3. Optional: Add some **Placeholder** text, to help participants understand how to respond to the Detail field.
11. On the right-hand side:

    1. Tick **Require account** if you want participants to sign in before providing their responses.
    2. Set an **End date** for your discussion topic, either by typing the date into the field, or clicking the calendar icon on the right and choosing the date from the calendar.
    3. In **Advanced settings**, you can add a customised submission response message to discussion respondents.
    4. Choose whether you want to disable comments, allow comments, or turn off comments (**Comments**).
12. Once you are finished building your discussion topic, click **Save** at the top of the screen. Add a revision message to describe what you have done.
13. You can preview your discussion in the **Preview** tab of your discussion topic overview page.
14. When you are finished, click **Save**.

![district-engage-discussions-1.png](/storage/articles/9493664842895.png)

Edit a discussion
-----------------

To edit an existing poll:

1. While logged in, use the top-level menu to navigate to the **Projects** tab.
2. Select the relevant project; this opens your project overview page.
3. In the left-hand menu, under **Participation**, click **Discussions**. This shows all the discussions created for this project.
4. Click on the ellipsis menu, then click **Edit** to be taken to the edit screen.
5. Alternatively, click on the discussion you want to edit, then from the **Overview** page, click the **Edit** tab.
6. When you are finished, click **Save**.

![district-engage-discussions-2.png](/storage/articles/9493681419919.png)

Delete a discussion
-------------------

You can delete a discussion from a project if it is no longer needed, or was created by mistake. This permanently removes the discussion and all its content and cannot be undone. Proceed with caution!

*Note: you may not have delete permissions as part of your role. If you have any questions about your permissions, contact your Civio Engage administrator.*

To delete a discussion:

1. Navigate to an existing project.
2. In the left-hand menu, under **Content**, click **Discussions**. This shows all the discussions that already exist for this project.
3. Click on the **ellipsis button** to show more options for a discussion. Click **Delete**.
4. Alternatively, click on the discussion you want to edit, then click the **Delete** tab.
5. You will be prompted with a warning to confirm the action. Click **Yes, Delete this Discussion topic.**
6. Your discussion is now deleted.

![district-engage-discussions-3.png](/storage/articles/9493664845583.png)

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