Discussions is an experimental feature on Stack Overflow. It is a space for threaded conversations where users engage in deeper dialogue and share perspectives on technical topics.
Any registered user can participate in Discussions by making a post, replying to a post, or voting on a post. Discussions posts and replies will be visible in a user's history. Discussions content and voting does not affect reputation.
Discussion posts must include at least one tag to indicate the topic the conversation will focus on. Review the Discussions guidelines for more details on the types of conversations that are encouraged.
Below are some details about accessing the Discussions feature and the specific actions that are possible in the feature.
Accessing Discussions
To get started and access Discussions, simply navigate to the "Discussions" link on the left navigation under “Labs”, on any page on Stack Overflow. This will take you to the All Discussions page where you can sort and filter existing discussions, and start new ones.
You can also access Discussions directly within select Collectives on the top navigation of the collective.
Create a discussion
When creating a discussion, make sure you give it a clear title that indicates what the post is concerning. Posts can include images or tables if needed. Choose tags that are relevant to the post.
Optionally, the URL of a Stack Overflow question or answer can be entered in a dedicated field when creating a post. This will embed a linked summary of the question or answer at the top of the post. This can facilitate discussions about the nuances of existing questions and answers beyond what is appropriate in comments, but this feature should not be used to simply repost an existing Stack Overflow question into the Discussions space without expanding the conversation. Such Discussion posts will be removed.
Reply to a discussion
Replies have the same formatting options as an initial discussion post, though image upload is not supported in replies. The author of the original post will automatically receive notifications for replies.
Reply to a reply
Replying to a reply will begin an indented sub-thread. The author of the parent reply will receive notifications for all replies on the sub-thread.
Edit or delete your discussion/reply
The author of a post or reply may edit it or delete it at any time. For a post, the deletion option is available when editing, in the upper right. For a reply, the deletion option is found on the overflow menu.
Voting on a discussion/reply
Any user can upvote or downvote a post or a reply. Voting does not affect the reputation of the post/reply author, or of the voter.
Flag a discussion or reply for review
If a discussion or reply violates the Discussions guidelines or the Stack Exchange Code of Conduct, any user with the flag posts privilege can flag the post or reply for moderation. The flagger will see a confirmation message at the top of the screen after successfully flagging. A site moderator, a Discussions moderator, or a Community Manager may edit the post or reply to remove specific content or fully delete it, as needed.
When flagging a post or reply in Discussions, the flagger will be prompted to choose a flag reason and can provide additional context if needed. The flagger will not be informed of the outcome of the flag.
For ongoing or other concerns, please use the Contact form.