March 2025 Release Overview

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This post provides a summary of the upcoming changes including those features which we have highlighted due to their impact. This release is subject to change and we will do our best to keep the information up to date before the release to live on the evening of Thursday the 6th March 2025. For more in depth technical detail additional details are available on the release page.

Anonymous Discussions: New privilege to reveal author

System administrators or other users with the assigned system role privilege can now reveal the identity of the author of an anonymous discussion post or reply. This enhancement addresses instances where the anonymous feature is misused, such as bullying or other inappropriate behavior. This new feature will allow any cases of misuse in anonymous discussions to be quickly resolved.

There’s now a warning that informs users that their identity can be revealed by an authorised user.

Image 1. The new warning is associated with the Post anonymously option.

A discussion post, with a warning below the Post anonymously option that says, "To ensure safety and compliance, authorized users have the ability to identify anonymous authors."

System administrators or other users with the assigned system role privilege can reveal the author of an anonymous discussion post or reply. Select the More options menu for a post, then select Reveal author. Administrators or other users with the assigned system role privilege must provide a reason for the anonymous reveal. There’s no indication for other readers of the discussion that the administrator revealed the author’s user details.

Due to the sensitive nature of this action, the administrator’s user details are recorded in the system log with the reason. The information in the system log includes:

Date of reveal
Time of reveal
Username of user requesting
Course Name of revealed post/posts
Discussion Name of revealed post/posts
Reason given

If the administrator refreshes the page, the user is once again anonymous.

Image 2. From the administrator’s view, the user’s name is included with text that reads “Revealed.”

A discussion post, with "Revealed" beside a student's user name

Usability improvements for Discussions

Several changes have been made to enhance the overall usability and efficiency of discussions, which will benefit both instructors and students.

For Instructors and Students:

Improved visibility: Posts now have a grey background to stand out better against the page.
Full post display: Long discussion posts are now fully visible without the need for scrolling, enhancing readability.

Image 1. A long discussion post displayed in its entirety with a grey background.

A long discussion post displayed in its entirety with a gray background. There's no option to scroll.

The accessibility of key features on the discussion home page has been enhanced:

Participation metrics: The number of posts and replies is now listed directly on the discussion home page, replacing the total response counter. This change makes important information more immediately available.
Direct edit option: The Edit button is now directly accessible from the post, saving instructors time.

Image 2. The changes made to the discussion home page included the addition of an Edit button and a count of posts and replies.