Suppose you want to track data around things like user sentiment, bug reports and content quality, on the level of an individual post (post, here is an individual reply in a topic--including the topic starter)? You can create Post Fields, and enter this extra data as part of your moderation process. Personally, I use Post Fields to track user mindfulness on inSpired - the data reveals that you guys are all pretty laid back!
How To Create A New Post Field
- Go to Control > Settings > Topic > Post Fields
- Click ‘Add post field’.
- For your new field, add a Title, choose its ‘visibility’ (i.e., for which categories should moderators be able to enter data in the field), and choose its input type (plain text, or a multi-/single-select dropdown).
- Click ‘Save changes’ and you’re done.
How To Enter Data In A Post Field
- In Control, go to a post for which you’d like to enter data.
- At the bottom of the post, click ‘Post Fields’ to show all active Post Fields.
- Enter data to your heart’s content - anything you put in will save automatically.
How To Export Post Fields Data
- Go to Control > Analytics > Post Fields Analysis.
- Add Filters to narrow down the scope of your export: you can filter on forums, time range (based on when the post was created), and one more Post Fields that you want to view.
- Click ‘Apply’ to immediately see a visual overview of the results of your export.
- Click ‘Export results’ and then navigate to Control > Analytics > Export to download your export (in CSV format).
Tips, Tricks, & Technical Bits:
On the Post Fields Analysis page, the ‘Percentage overview of filtered post fields’ is not filtered by the selected time range (i.e. it shows a general overview of the Post Fields, not an overview of the Post Fields for that time period).
Want your Post Field to have a specific default entry whenever a post is created? When creating a Post Field, add a placeholder.
Want to disable a Post Field for all posts without losing any of the data you’ve gathered so far? Edit the Post Field and set its visibility to ‘Hidden (invisible in all sub-forums)’. You’ll still be able to export data for this Post Field, but moderators won’t be able to see or add new data to it.
