Question vs. Discussion

M. David

Hello. With the change of the Community Forums, I am seeing less activity on several of my submissions. Can someone explain the difference between, "Ask a Question" and "Discussion?" I have been submitting issues as "discussions" and am wondering if should do the other.

Thanks.

Genevieve P.

Hi @M. David

That's a great question! The difference is that "Questions" require answers. This means that if you post and no one has commented on it, your post will appear under the Unanswered feed in the menu to the right, on the home page.

"Questions" also provide the ability for the original poster to mark a comment as an "Accepted Answer".

On the other hand, "Discussions" are for, well, discussions! Posting a "Discussion" means that you don't require an answer, but want to start a conversation with other users over certain features or best practices... but you don't require a resolution to an issue.

You can read more about this in our FAQ on posting questions, here:

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/64738/faq-how-do-i-post-a-question-edit-or-delete-my-post

Let me know if I can help clarify anything further.

Cheers,

Genevieve

Genevieve P.

Hi @M. David

Thank you for pointing out this wording!

Yes, any "Question" or "Discussion" that you start will show up under the Discussions section in your Profile. All of your Comments and Answers will be under the Comments section.

You can test this out by checking your profile now, to ensure that this current Question shows up in that section.

Thanks,

Genevieve

Genevieve P.

Hi @M. David

That's a great question! The difference is that "Questions" require answers. This means that if you post and no one has commented on it, your post will appear under the Unanswered feed in the menu to the right, on the home page.

"Questions" also provide the ability for the original poster to mark a comment as an "Accepted Answer".

On the other hand, "Discussions" are for, well, discussions! Posting a "Discussion" means that you don't require an answer, but want to start a conversation with other users over certain features or best practices... but you don't require a resolution to an issue.

You can read more about this in our FAQ on posting questions, here:

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/64738/faq-how-do-i-post-a-question-edit-or-delete-my-post

Let me know if I can help clarify anything further.

Cheers,

Genevieve

M. David

Thanks for the clarification. I will use the Ask Question feature from now on. Just so I know, will the "Ask a Question" submissions still be counted in the "My Discussions" tracker when I click on my account? This is what threw me off. I don't see a location for "My Questions" so I thought I needed to use the "Discussion" submission. Also, I don't see a "Comments" section like you mentioned. Thanks for clarifying this.

Genevieve P.

Hi @M. David

Thank you for pointing out this wording!

Yes, any "Question" or "Discussion" that you start will show up under the Discussions section in your Profile. All of your Comments and Answers will be under the Comments section.

You can test this out by checking your profile now, to ensure that this current Question shows up in that section.

Thanks,

Genevieve