What will I learn to do?
The web is not just a space for publication; it is also a place where ideas can be exchanged and where discussions can be held. Forums are the most commonly used tool for this type of communication.
In SPIP, two different forums can be added to any article:
a private forum for the editorial team to exchange about the article
a public forum where readers can react on the site, after the article has been published
In the private area, there is also an internal forum which isn’t linked to any particular article and can be used by the team to discuss general topics, such as the organization. It can be accessed by clicking on the related top main icon Forum. This internal forum is not addressed in this lesson.
In this lesson you will learn:
The site administrators may decide to deactivate a public forum associated with an article; in such a case, the option to comment the article will not be available.
What private forums of the articles are for and how to use them
What happens on the public forums
Why is there a private forum for each article?
Articles can sometimes be controversial; the private forum will be where the potential differences of opinion in the editorial team can be debated and resolved before articles are published on the site.
The private forum is therefore useful for the author to get the views of his or her peers, and for the administrator to communicate directly with the author. For example, the administrator may use the private forum to point out a new source of information which might bring value to the article.
In addition, the private forum keeps track of the communications between administrators and editors.
Reading the debates which take place before the article is published can sometimes be just as interesting as reading the article itself!
Do not mix the private forum linked to a specific article with the other tools of internal communication available in SPIP, such as messages or the internal forum. These are usually used to discuss topics that are not specifically related to an article, such as the organisation of the team, or the editorial schedule.
