Event Engagement encourages members of a track to connect and engage with one another to:
- share ideas and knowledge,
- ask and answer questions, and
- provide advice.
Event Engagement makes this easy through online Discussions. Each track has a dedicated discussion forum to ensure that its "conversations" are specific to its events and sessions.
Watch the videos
Use Track Discussions
Engage with Discussions
Access Discussions
Whether a track has active discussions and how many are indicated on the All Tracks and My Tracks pages (click Tracks in your site's top navigation).
Click a DISCUSSIONS button to access its discussion-thread page where attendees can:
- read and reply to current discussions and
- start a new discussion.
NOTE: You must join a track in order to participate (i.e., reply to and start new) in its discussions. If you haven't joined a track, you can read its discussions on the track's home page, but you cannot participate in or contribute to the discussion.
You can easily join a track by clicking the JOIN button on the All Tracks page or the JOIN TRACK button on the track's home page.
When you click to join a track, you are immediately prompted to choose how you'd like to receive Discussion-related email messages. Make a selection and click YES JOIN THE TRACK. Now you can participate in the track discussions, and even start your own.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Real Time | You receive one email message for each post to a discussion thread, shortly after the post occurs. |
| Daily Digest | You receive one email message per day. The message contains all of the previous day's discussion posts for the track; each discussion's posts are grouped. |
| Plain Text | You receive one plain-text email message for each post to a discussion thread, shortly after the post occurs. The message contains working "reply" and "subscription" hyperlinks, but HTML-based formatting and content do not display. |
| Opt Out | You do not receive discussion-related email message notifications. You can follow discussions by logging in to the track and accessing the Discussions area. |
Let's look at how "joined" attendees can participate (i.e., reply to and start new) in a track's discussions.
Post a new Discussion
This section details posting a new discussion. Refer to Reply to a Discussion, below, to learn how to reply to a discussion thread.
Access the track's home page:
- Navigate to TRACKS > All Tracks (or My Tracks) in the top navigation.
- Click a track name to access its home page.
- Click either the:
- POST TO THIS DISCUSSION button in the LATEST DISCUSSION POSTS widget or
- DISCUSSIONS tab and then the POST TO THIS DISCUSSION button.
- Use the dropdowns, fields, and buttons on the POST A MESSAGE page to set up, write, and format your message, as described in the following table.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| To |
The track you're posting to will display here as the default track. Click to select any other track that you belong to instead of this track. |
| From | The owner of the discussion; your name is automatically selected and cannot be changed. |
| Subject | Type a clear subject so readers know what the discussion is about. |
| Automatically insert content preview for links | If you paste a link to a web page in the editor, the system attempts to capture a relevant image and promotional text for that web page. This is then used by the editor to create a preview for the content in your message. You can:
|
| Message Content |
Type your discussion content here. Use the toolbar options to apply formatting (font, size, color, alignment), and to include links, images, videos, @mentions, and hashtags. |
| Signature |
This field displays your default signature, which will be added to the bottom of your message. Click EDIT YOUR DEFAULT SIGNATURE to open a dialog in which you can customize what personal information (e.g., name, company, phone, URL) is included in your default signature. It will be saved and then automatically applied to future discussion posts. |
| Attachments | You can attach a variety of file types from a variety of sources. For example:
NOTE: These files are automatically added to the track's Resource Library. |
| Other options | After creating your discussion post, you can:
NOTE: As you create your post, your work is automatically saved as a draft whenever you're idle for 10 seconds. |
Reply to a Discussion
You can reply to a discussion in either of two ways.
- Use the reply options on the discussion's page (refer to Reply within the track).
- Click a reply option in the notification email message that you receive (refer to Reply from a Discussions email message).
Reply within the track
There are several paths that can be followed to reply to a discussion; each starts with:
- Navigate to TRACKS > All Tracks (or My Tracks) in the top navigation.
Access the Discussions page:
- Click the DISCUSSIONS button to the right of the track name and then click the discussion name and choose a Reply option.
- Click a track name to access its home page, then click the DISCUSSIONS tab, and then click the discussion name and choose a Reply option.
- Click a track name to access its home page, then click the discussion name in the LATEST DISCUSSION POSTS section and choose a Reply option.
There are two Reply options.
- Click Reply to publicly reply to the discussion thread. Refer to Reply, below.
- Select Reply Privately to privately reply to the author of this post only. Refer to Reply Privately, below.
Reply
This option expands the page to present a basic editor.
- Type your reply here and use the toolbar options to apply formatting (font, size, color, alignment), and to include links, images, videos, @mentions, and hashtags.
- You can send (post) your reply, save it (to your My Contributions page), or schedule (choose a date and time) when to send it.
When you click SEND, the page refreshes and your reply displays in the discussion-thread list.
NOTE: Replies are indented. The level of indentation and where in the list the reply appears depend on which post (the original or a previous reply) is being replied to.
Reply Privately
This option opens the REPLY TO SENDER page with the To and From fields populated and locked.
TIP: Scroll down and click > Original Message to display the original content for quick reference.
- Optionally, specify a different Subject.
- Optionally, toggle OFF the Automatically insert content preview for links option.
- Type your reply in the editor and use the toolbar options to apply formatting (font, size, color, alignment), and to include links, images, videos, @mentions, and hashtags.
TIP: Click the ellipsis (...) button to access additional formatting options.
- Leave your default signature, which will be added to the bottom of your message, or click EDIT YOUR DEFAULT SIGNATURE to open a dialog and customize/update your default signature.
- Click SEND.
Your private reply will be sent in an email message to the author of this post only.
Reply from a Discussions email message
You will receive email message notifications when new discussion posts occur. The messages that you receive and when you receive them are based on what you selected (real time, daily, or plain text) when you joined the track.
NOTE: Plain text notifications, like real-time, are delivered when the posts occur.
To better understand the distinction, assume:
EXAMPLE: On Monday, 19 discussion posts (new and replies) occur.
- Real Time, Plain Text - On Monday you receive 19 email messages, one for each post, as the posts occur.
- Daily Digest - On Tuesday you receive one email message that contains Monday's 19 discussion posts. If the posts are to different discussions, each will be grouped with the respective discussion.
The Discussion email message has numerous engagement options, including two "reply" options that you can use to reply without having to go online. Let's look at a typical Discussion email message and its options.
NOTE: Note the times in the image; the reply appears above the post that it is replying to.
NOTE: If you are not logged in to the track, you'll be prompted to do so by some of these options.
- Track title - At the top of the message, click the track title to open the track in a browser.
- #1 options - Click either of these to reply right in your email client without going online. You can either post a new, standalone message to the Discussion or send a reply to the entire Discussion group.
NOTE: The system uses the email address that is associated with your unique record in Event Engagement. If you forward this message to a different email address and click these options, your message will not post because the system will not recognize the (new) origin email address.
- #2 options - Click either of these to reply to the Discussion online. You can reply to either the author of this post only (REPLY TO SENDER page) or the entire Discussion group (POST REPLY page).
TIP: Use your email client's Reply option as a convenient alternative. Compose your reply in your email client, send it, and it will post to the discussion!
- View Thread - Click this to view and, optionally, reply to the discussion thread.
- Recommend - Click this to view the discussion thread. Your recommendation is automatically added to the RECOMMEND tally on the discussion-title line. Also, you can reply to the discussion thread.
- Forward - Click this to access the FORWARD MESSAGE page where you can send this message to a third party. Specify first and last names and an email address, and type your content into the editor.
- Picture and name - Click either of these to access the contributor's Profile page.
There are also some discussion-management options at the bottom of the message. You can:
- Change your subscriptions in the NOTIFICATION SETTINGS section of your Profile page and
- Unsubscribe from this community discussion.