Starting threads
Starting a Loomio thread is like writing an email. The subject line of an email is like the thread title, and the text you write in an email is like the context of a thread.
As you add people in the send list of your email, in Loomio you can invite people individually or as a group to the thread - they will receive an email notification with the content of your thread.
People can reply to your thread via email and their comments will appear in the thread.
As with an email, a thread may be a simple question, or a more detailed introduction to a topic with links or files attached for background information.
On this page
New thread
Find the New thread button on your Loomio group page to start a new thread.
You can start a thread within your Loomio group or any subgroup.
You can also start a thread from the sidebar menu.
Set up thread
When you start a new thread, you will see two tabs:
- Content to write content for your thread.
- Settings to configure the thread display.
Content tab
Group
Check the name of the group or subgroup is correct for your thread. Anyone in this group will be able to see the thread. You can also start the thread in another group or as an 'Invite-only' thread (no group).
Tip: If you are not ready to make the thread visible in your group, start the thread as 'Invite-only'. You can move the thread to your Loomio group when ready.
Tags
Add tag(s) to help people find your thread when searching by tag. Admins can create new tags.
Notify
Use notify to send the thread to specific people via email.
See Notifying people for guidance.
Title
Give your thread a relevant title. A thread title is similar to an email subject line.
Context
Use thread context to introduce the topic and frame the conversation or decision to make. Use the formatting tools to emphasize key points. Include background information, attach files, link to online documents and embed a video.
The context will always stay at the top of the thread and you can update it at any time as the discussion progresses. When the discussion ends, update the context with the outcome.
Settings
The Settings tab contains some additional options. These settings change the thread for everyone.
Template
If a particular thread is often repeated, you can mark the thread as a template. Template threads will be included in the list of suggested templates when members of your group start a new thread.
See Thread templates for more information about setting up and using thread templates.
Oldest or Newest first?
Change the order that comments are displayed in the thread. By default the Oldest comments are at the top of the thread, and people scroll down to the most recent comments.
Changing to Newest displays the most recent comments at the top of the thread. This is useful for threads used for reporting information or progress.
For example, at Loomio we have a long thread continously running for customer feedback. As customer feedback is received, the text is copied and posted as a comment in the thread - with the most recent comment at the top. Everyone in the Loomio group can then see the fresh feedback at the top of the thread, ask questions by replying, and easily find earlier feedback for follow up.
How to display replies?
You can choose comments to be displayed as:
Flat list - Comments and all thread activity is displayed chronologically, one after the other.
Nest replies - first reply only - Replies to comments are indented under the original comment.
Two levels of nested replies - Replies to replies are indented at most two times.
Thread privacy
If your group privacy is Closed or Secret then your threads will be private. Private means that only members of the group or guests you have invited are able to view the thread.
If your group is "Open" then the threads in your group will be public, meaning that anyone on the internet can potentially see the thread. Public threads are indexed by search engines such as Google, so people may find the thread in a search.
See Group privacy for more info about privacy settings for your group.
Invite-only thread
An ‘invite-only’ thread is useful when you want to invite particular people to a private discussion. With Invite you control who can see and participate in the thread. Invited people do not need to be a member of your Loomio group.
Invite-only threads have all of the benefits of Loomio threads and are often used in place of subgroups.
Your invite-only threads can be found under Invite-only threads in the sidebar menu.
