.. _Toggle Anonymous Discussion Posts:

Toggle Anonymous Discussion Posts
#########################################

.. tags:: educator, how-to

.. contents::
 :local:
 :depth: 2

Discussion posts can include the option to be posted anonymously so that the poster's identity is not revealed to students in the course. The poster's identity is available to Discussion Admins, Discussion Moderators, Community TAs, and Group Community TAs. 

	.. note::
	
	   "Discussion Admins", "Discussion Moderators", "Community TAs", and "Group Community TAs" are roles that are specific to discussions, with privileges that are separate from Course Staff or Course Admin. If you are troubleshooting a user's ability to view anonymous posts, check to see if they have one of these roles. For instructions on how to assign discussion administration roles, see :ref:`Assign discussion roles`.

=================================================
Toggle "Allow Anonymous Discussion Posts"
=================================================
1. From your course Studio, navigate to **Content** \> **Pages & Resources** and click on the **Settings** gear icon from the Discussions tile.
2. On the Provider Selection page, click 'Next' to leave provider unchanged.
3. On the Settings page, scroll down to the **Allow anonymous discussion posts to peers** toggle.
4. Set "Allow anonymous discussion posts to peers" to true or false in order to enable or disable the functionality.

..  image:: /_images/educator_how_tos/allow_anonymous_posts_on.png
	:alt: A screenshot of the allow anonymous discussion posts toggle set to on.

********************************
Anonymous Discussion Posts
********************************

A student's view of posting anonymously:

..  image:: /_images/educator_how_tos/student_post_anonymously.png
	:alt: A screenshot of a learner posting an anonymous discussion forum message


A student's view of an anonymous post:

..  image:: /_images/educator_how_tos/student_view_anonymous.png
	:alt: A screenshot of a learner viewing an anonymous discussion forum message

A discussion staff's view of an anonymous post

..  image:: /_images/educator_how_tos/staff_view_anonymous.png
	:alt: A screenshot of a staff member viewing an anonymous discussion forum message. They cannot see username.


.. seealso::

  :ref:`About Course Discussions` (concept)

  :ref:`Best Practices for Configuring Course Discussions` (concept)

  :ref:`Configure Open edX Discussions` (how-to)

  :ref:`Configure Open edX Discussions Legacy` (how-to)

  :ref:`Best Practices for Moderating Course Discussions` (concept)

  :ref:`Assign discussion roles` (how-to)

  :ref:`Moderate Discussions` (how-to)

  :ref:`Learner View of the Discussion` (reference)

  :ref:`About Divided Discussions` (concept)

  :ref:`Guide to Managing Divided Discussions` (reference)

  :ref:`Set Up Divided Discussions` (how-to)

  :ref:`Set up Discussions in Cohorted Courses` (how-to)
 


**Maintenance chart**

+--------------+-------------------------------+----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| Review Date  | Working Group Reviewer        |   Release      |Test situation                                               |
+--------------+-------------------------------+----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| 07/04/2025   | John (Curricu.me)             | Sumac          | Pass                                                        |
+--------------+-------------------------------+----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| 03/17/2025   | Leira (Curricu.me)            | Sumac          | Fail (https://github.com/openedx/docs.openedx.org/issues/928|
+--------------+-------------------------------+----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------+