Flow/Comparison with LiquidThreads
< Flow
First, read Flow/FAQ#Why not use LiquidThreads?
LiquidThreads organizes posts as separate wiki pages in a Thread namespace, and a LQT page shows these conversations, eg. Extension talk:LiquidThreads.
Flow stores posts in a separate cross-wiki database, you can only view and edit their content through a Flow page (called a "Flow board").
A LQT page can have regular article wikitext on it as well as threads, example, though LQT hides the normal [Edit] tab.
Similarly a Flow board has a Flow board header, as well as showing topics.
Feature comparison table
edit| Feature | Liquid Threads | Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Enable feature | User edits page, adds magic word. | User uses Special:EnableStructuredDiscussions to enable Flow on a page. |
| Watch topic | Link next to thread title, or view thread in isolation and click the skin's Watch star | Click the star icon next to a topic to watch the topic. |
| Watch a part of a topic | View reply in isolation, click its watch star (does this actually work?). |  Not supported
|
| Permalink | Link next to thread title Pops up dialog with choice of URL or wiki link. | Permalink in action menu is a hyperlink to Topic:<UUID>. No wiki link syntax. |
| View single topic | At Thread:Talk page name/Friendly thread title | At Topic:Rri0nmn8j56vbagt. |
| View comment | At /reply_(NN) subpage of Thread: page , example
|
Permalink adds fragment to Topic:<UUID> that scrolls to comment (example Topic:Rri0nmn8j56vbagt#flow-post-rrkm05qne3d1en0s)b, you always see it in context of entire topic conversation. |
| Merge/Split/Refactor posts within topics | The "More" dropdown menu includes "Drag to new location", which enabled one-by-one post rearrangement, anywhere on the visible topic list (20 topics per page) | Not supported
|
| Move topic to another parent location | "Move" link next to thread title, leads to Special:MoveThread interface. | Not supported
|
| Summarize thread | "Summarize" link below thread title. | {"Summarize" link in Action menu. |
| Indent depth | unlimited | Limited number of levels. Flow's reply-indent system that results in less large diagonal threads, whilst still being clear. |
| Table of Contents | 20 topics/threads at a time. |  Supported See Talk:Flow for example.
|
| Topic sort order | 3 options (Newest, Oldest, Last modified) | Currently 2 options (Newest, Last modified). |
| Search | In-page search, and site-search | Not supported
|
| Category support | Categories in page-header, and categories in posts, are supported. | Categories are supported in the header area, and topic summaries, (example); Categories in posts are not supported (phab:T94617). |
| Editing someone else's post | Enabled for all - It displays a plaintext comment in the top-right corner (e.g.) denoting that someone edited it. | By default it's just enabled for the original-author and admins. It is also enabled for all autoconfirmed+ users, at ruwiki, enwiki, and mediawikiwiki, in March, per requests (phab:T92897). |
See also
edit- LiquidThreads 3.0, notes from the cancelled update