You can start one, but only from the main feed at uni.xyz/topic/discussions. The box at the top of that page, Share something you're working on, opens a composer that posts under your name and puts your post at the top of the feed. A topic's own Discussions tab is the exception: it shows the same feed narrowed to one topic and carries no composer, so go to the main feed to post.
What the composer takes
- The post itself, up to 3,000 characters. It is the only part that is required.
- A title, optional, up to 360 characters.
- Topics, picked from the same disciplines that filter the feed. They decide where the post is filed.
- A poll, optional: two to four options of up to 80 characters each, running for anything from one hour to seven days.
Typing @ and a username inside a post notifies that person. See How mentions notify people.
Posts share the feed with activity
Most of what you scroll past was not typed into that box. The feed also reports things that happened elsewhere on UNI, one line each:
- commented on a project
- liked a journal
- saved a publication
- followed a competition
- entered a competition
- rated a project
- published a journal
- won a competition
- joined the team of a project
Under that line sits the work itself, with its cover, title and its like, comment and bookmark counts. Selecting the card takes you to the work, which is where you comment on it. If what you want to say is about somebody's project, say it on the project rather than in a new post.
The tabs choose the feed, the chips narrow it
For You, Following and Latest sit above the feed. Following is built from the people and work you follow, so it asks you to sign in first. Under the tabs runs a row of discipline chips: selecting one narrows the feed to work filed under that discipline, and All puts it back.
Every topic has its own copy of this feed
A topic's sidebar carries a Discussions entry of its own, at uni.xyz/topic/ followed by the topic name and /discussions. It is the same feed narrowed to that one topic, with two differences worth knowing:
- It asks you to sign in. The Discussions tab on a topic is the only tab on a topic that does. About, Competitions, Projects, Journals and Publications are open to anyone.
- It has no composer. You can read and engage there, but a new post is written on the main feed.
"No activity found for this topic" is a real answer rather than a failure. It means nothing has happened under that topic recently.
The other ways to say something
- Comment on the work. Open the project, journal, publication or competition and use its comment box. See Editing and deleting comments.
- Bring someone into it with a mention. Typing @ and a username in a comment notifies that person. See How mentions notify people.
- Message someone privately rather than in public. See Direct messages.
- Ask UNI something. If the thing you wanted to discuss is a question about the platform, contact support instead of looking for a thread to post it in.