Forum Threads Ordering

*Note I am basing this on the website, I do not use an app so can not confirm this is how the app works as well.

This post explains how threads are listed by My Communities, Popular, Recent, Needs Reply, Last Active, Highlights and Top as well as how to filter by topic. These are grouped in 2 different ways, Community Page and A Specific Community.

Community Page - https://www.7cups.com/community/

Posts on this page apply to all of the forums you have access to.

My Communities

If subscribed to a community, this only shows threads to subscribed communities. If you haven't subscribed to any communities this option doesn't appear. This puts threads with the newest replies at the top.  Original posts are not included for this list, so all threads in this list will have at minimum an original post and one other post. The times on this post also reflect the most recent reply, so the times all appear in the order from the shortest to longest time since a post was made. Threads that were made a long time ago will not appear here, even if there is a recent post to the thread.

Popular

This puts threads with the newest replies at the top. Original posts are not included for this list, so all threads in this list will have at minimum an original post and one other post. A certain amount of engagement within a thread is needed for it to appear here. The times on this post also reflect the most recent reply, so the times all appear in the order from the shortest to longest time since a post was made.

Recent

This puts the most recently created threads at the top. It does not matter if they have a reply or not. So the order here is the by the original posts. The times mentioned in this list are when the most recent post was made, whether it was the original post or a reply. So while the order of these threads is newest thread to oldest, the times posted are not in numerical order. For example a thread could have been made 4 hours ago and it will appear between any threads made less than 4 hours ago and more than 4 hours ago. There may have been a reply to this thread 3 minutes ago and the time will state 3 minutes ago.

Needs Reply

These are threads that have not yet had a reply. They only have the original post. They appear in order of oldest thread to newest thread. This is so that those that have been waiting the longest without a reply will hopefully get a reply soon. The time shows when the original post was made, and will be in order from the longest time to the most resent time since the thread was made.

A Specific Community 

As an example, General Support - https://www.7cups.com/forum/generalsupport/
The below apply to the threads within a community. 3 of the most recently pinned posts for a community always appear at the top of any of the below sorting options. These are not included in the below descriptions, with the exception of highlights.

Last Active

This puts threads with the newest replies at the top. Original posts are not included for this list, so all threads in this list will have at minimum an original post and one other post. The times on this post also reflect the most recent reply, so the times all appear in the order from the shortest to longest time since a post was made.

Highlights

Highlights are threads that a community leader has pinned.  Of these post, they appear in the order of most recent posts, similar to last active.

Recent

Same as for the community page, this puts the most recently created threads at the top. It does not matter if they have a reply or not. So the order here is the by the original posts. The times posted in this list are when the most recent post was made, whether it was the original post or a reply. So while the order of these threads is newest thread to oldest, the times posted are not in numerical order. For example a thread could have been made 4 hours ago and it will appear between any threads made less than 4 hours ago and more than 4 hours ago. There may have been a reply to this thread 3 minutes ago and the time will state 3 minutes ago.

Needs Reply

Same as for the community page, these are threads that have not yet had a reply. They only have the original post. They appear in order of oldest thread to newest thread. This is so that those that have been waiting the longest without a reply will hopefully get a reply soon. The time shows when the original post was made, and will be in order from the longest time to the most resent time since the thread was made.

Top

Top is based on upvotes. Those with the most upvotes appear at the top. The time is the most recent post made to the thread.

Filter by Topic

Topics are groups of threads within a specific community. Previously we used terms like subforums, sections or categories. An example of a topic within the General Support Community is Classifieds - https://www.7cups.com/forum/generalsupport/Classifieds_360/ 

To select a topic, click the filter icon to the right of the forum sorting drop down box. This will bring up the list of topics, selecting one of these results in the 3 pinned threads appearing (similar to other sorting options), followed by threads only within that topic. Once a topic is selected, you may sort within the topic using the dropdown menu as before. To view a different topic, click from the list of topics that now appears on the right (computer) or click the filter icon again to make a selection (mobile browser). To remove the topic filter, click the x beside the topic you selected.

All communities default new threads to a general area within the community. This is not a topic, so unless the original poster selected a topic or a thread was later moved to a topic, it will not appear within a topic. Each thread can only have one topic, although it may be removed from one topic to another by someone with editing capabilities. Even if someone has selected to view by a topic, a new thread defaults to the specific community one was viewing and the general area, a topic must be chosen (underneath the title text box) when making the thread to have this option be applied.

Editing

Editing does not alter any of the above. So if a thread had a post that was made to it a few minutes ago and that reply is moderated 30 seconds ago, it will still appear as the most recent post a few minutes ago. If the reply is deleted, it still appears as the most recent post a few minutes ago. If the entire thread is deleted it will eventually be removed from all the different lists although there can be a delay.

Needs Reply Team

The best method for Needs Reply Team is to use the needs reply list. Sorting by the recent option will also work, especially if you look for threads that have 1 next to the chat bubble as this represents only 1 post ie. the original post. You are welcome to reply to posts in threads that are not original posts, but these do not typically count towards a needs reply quota.

Updated Jan 12, 2024 due to site updates. If any of this information appears to be incorrect feel free to post below. You may tag me @AffyAvo or the current community ambassador to request an update.