Flow/Comparison with LiquidThreads

From mediawiki.org

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?). N 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) N Not supported
Move topic to another parent location "Move" link next to thread title, leads to Special:MoveThread interface. N 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. Yes 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 N 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]