Matt

I'll let you know if they show up. 😅

The problem is that too many people want to throw AI at everything. I've seen loads of AI based 'executive summaries' on things like Helpscout, Amazon Reviews, etc that honestly do not offer much value.

We are happy with using signals and a mathematical model for this feature. @Matt Finger has been discussing building a LLM for many things, so it's an area we are interested in.

Whether you have hours to browse a community or are short on time, scrolling through a very long topic can be more than a little frustrating when you want to follow the topic's core journey.
Recently, we discussed another feature designed to help support-based communities find helpful answers quickly, but what about social topics that do not have a simple question-and-answer format?
We've all come to a lengthy topic for the first time and found it a little intimidating to find the most relevant content among hundreds of posts, which don't always further the topic. These off-topic posts are important because they help social cohesion and build relationships between members at the time of posting. Still, those visiting later often want the truth of the topic.
Invision Community 5 brings a topic summary feature designed to make the most of your time.

The topic summary is generated by an algorithm that uses many touch points such as average read times, reactions, number of shares, external linking and more to determine how useful a post is via a numeric ranking.
The summary shows an estimated read time of the entire topic and an estimated read time using the summary, which gives your members a good idea of the time they'll save.
A shorter read time will make longer topics more accessible to a greater audience.

Adjusting the summary
We believe that algorithms should be used to support human decisions but not override them. Those with permission can add posts from the summary if they feel they are more relevant. Likewise, posts can be removed if you think they are irrelevant.

Interactions with Helpful Posts
Invision Community supports a broad range of communities, including support-based and social communities. We are improving our toolset to help both.
You can have helpful post-voting enabled as well as topic summaries enabled. When this is the case, the topic summary will show until the helpful post-voting meets a threshold. Once that threshold is met, the helpful post information will replace it.
Of course, not all communities and not every forum will have the support features enabled, meaning the topic summary will be the only way to reduce the topic complexity.
Less is more
Browsing the summary gives you a concise view of the topic's journey with no distractions, a vital strategy for growth. 
By allowing members to focus on the core journey, you reward the time they spend on your community and make it more accessible for those short on time.
We hope you've enjoyed this feature introduction and would love to hear your thoughts!
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I'll let you know if they show up. 😅

Haha fair enough! I'm not super au fait with the inner workings of Google so I figured it was worth asking the experts! 😄

It's an interesting question but I don't think we'll have that much influence over what Google decides short of 301 redirecting forum content to the CMS content which would be a terrible idea. 😅

We can provide the tools and you can decide how to use them. Google taking forum content seriously after years of "user generated content" being rated down can only be a good thing overall.

We can provide the tools and you can decide how to use them. Google taking forum content seriously after years of "user generated content" being rated down can only be a good thing overall.

We are chatting about this internally and I think we agree that there is now value in letting most profiles be indexed. We still want to avoid 'thin' content pages for members who haven't posted, or perhaps haven't posted in years.

We can provide the tools and you can decide how to use them. Google taking forum content seriously after years of "user generated content" being rated down can only be a good thing overall.

See the links in the original post. Google are making large changes to how forum posts are presented in their search results and they include more data on the author including a link to their profile page.

If you do not want to have profiles indexed, then you can simply adjust the robots.txt via the ACP to exclude them again.
We would still add 'noindex' meta tags to profile without any valuable content to avoid loads of thin pages being indexed and sucking up the crawl budget.

We can provide the tools and you can decide how to use them. Google taking forum content seriously after years of "user generated content" being rated down can only be a good thing overall.

We can provide the tools and you can decide how to use them. Google taking forum content seriously after years of "user generated content" being rated down can only be a good thing overall.

See the links in the original post. Google are making large changes to how forum posts are presented in their search results and they include more data on the author including a link to their profile page.

If you do not want to have profiles indexed, then you can simply adjust the robots.txt via the ACP to exclude them again.
We would still add 'noindex' meta tags to profile without any valuable content to avoid loads of thin pages being indexed and sucking up the crawl budget.

We are chatting about this internally and I think we agree that there is now value in letting most profiles be indexed. We still want to avoid 'thin' content pages for members who haven't posted, or perhaps haven't posted in years.

We can provide the tools and you can decide how to use them. Google taking forum content seriously after years of "user generated content" being rated down can only be a good thing overall.

We can provide the tools and you can decide how to use them. Google taking forum content seriously after years of "user generated content" being rated down can only be a good thing overall.

See the links in the original post. Google are making large changes to how forum posts are presented in their search results and they include more data on the author including a link to their profile page.

If you do not want to have profiles indexed, then you can simply adjust the robots.txt via the ACP to exclude them again.
We would still add 'noindex' meta tags to profile without any valuable content to avoid loads of thin pages being indexed and sucking up the crawl budget.

We are chatting about this internally and I think we agree that there is now value in letting most profiles be indexed. We still want to avoid 'thin' content pages for members who haven't posted, or perhaps haven't posted in years.

See the links in the original post. Google are making large changes to how forum posts are presented in their search results and they include more data on the author including a link to their profile page.

If you do not want to have profiles indexed, then you can simply adjust the robots.txt via the ACP to exclude them again.
We would still add 'noindex' meta tags to profile without any valuable content to avoid loads of thin pages being indexed and sucking up the crawl budget.

We are chatting about this internally and I think we agree that there is now value in letting most profiles be indexed. We still want to avoid 'thin' content pages for members who haven't posted, or perhaps haven't posted in years.

Just six short weeks ago, Ehren hit record on a video that changed everything for Invision Community.
The blog was called "Introducing a fresh new vision for Invision Community 5," and it ripped up the rule book on what forums should look like and revealed a slick new look featuring a new forum home feed view and sidebar navigation.
A lot has been discussed, but we're not even close to done!
Before we bring you news of more features after Thanksgiving, I wanted to take a mid-season break to recap what we've seen so far.
First up was the introduction video, which gave a broad overview of the new UI Invision Community 5 would be sporting. Ehren takes us through many new elements, including the sidebar navigation, forum feed view, simplified post view and more.
 
 
Up next was a focus on dark mode, accessibility and mobile views. Invision Community 5 features the ability to have native dark mode without additional themes or complex variables to set up. Our aim with Invision Community 5 is to hide the complexities and technology and just let you focus on creating a great community experience for your audience.
 
 
Bringing complex theming to everyone was the message in the blog talking about the new theme editor. Now, you can make wide-ranging changes to your theme without the need to edit CSS or manage HTML templates, all driven by a smart and simple interface.
 
 
Next, it was my turn to talk about a new feature. I introduced two new features designed to help those who run support-based communities. Finding the most helpful answers and identifying community experts help your members do more with less time and frustration.
 
 
Last week, Ehren demonstrated our new icon and badge builder, which is an amazingly powerful tool to produce slick and professional badges along with the ability to customize your community further with emojis and icons for menus, reactions and more. Building ways to reduce the barrier to customization has been a strong theme for Invision Community 5.
 
 
Phew!
We can all agree that we've showcased a lot of impressive functionality coming with Invision Community 5 already.
But what does the future hold?
Lots! We have a lot of new functionality that we're putting the finishing touches on, and we can't wait to show you more. These new features further help to reduce noise in topics, make the community feel alive and bring long-needed updates to core components such as the editor. Not to mention, there is a significant update to Pages underway.
We also have a lot of less flashy updates, such as the new consolidated Feature/Our Picks feature, which is now a single feature.
 
Feature-window.mp4
 
An improved Moderators Control Panel brings a more uniform experience across deleted, hidden, and content waiting to be approved.
 

We're still on course for a release of Invision Community in early 2024 and can't wait for you to experience the future of forums.
What has been your favourite feature so far? I'd love to know; drop a comment below!

View full blog entry

Just six short weeks ago, Ehren hit record on a video that changed everything for Invision Community.
The blog was called "Introducing a fresh new vision for Invision Community 5," and it ripped up the rule book on what forums should look like and revealed a slick new look featuring a new forum home feed view and sidebar navigation.
A lot has been discussed, but we're not even close to done!
Before we bring you news of more features after Thanksgiving, I wanted to take a mid-season break to recap what we've seen so far.
First up was the introduction video, which gave a broad overview of the new UI Invision Community 5 would be sporting. Ehren takes us through many new elements, including the sidebar navigation, forum feed view, simplified post view and more.
 
 
Up next was a focus on dark mode, accessibility and mobile views. Invision Community 5 features the ability to have native dark mode without additional themes or complex variables to set up. Our aim with Invision Community 5 is to hide the complexities and technology and just let you focus on creating a great community experience for your audience.
 
 
Bringing complex theming to everyone was the message in the blog talking about the new theme editor. Now, you can make wide-ranging changes to your theme without the need to edit CSS or manage HTML templates, all driven by a smart and simple interface.
 
 
Next, it was my turn to talk about a new feature. I introduced two new features designed to help those who run support-based communities. Finding the most helpful answers and identifying community experts help your members do more with less time and frustration.
 
 
Last week, Ehren demonstrated our new icon and badge builder, which is an amazingly powerful tool to produce slick and professional badges along with the ability to customize your community further with emojis and icons for menus, reactions and more. Building ways to reduce the barrier to customization has been a strong theme for Invision Community 5.
 
 
Phew!
We can all agree that we've showcased a lot of impressive functionality coming with Invision Community 5 already.
But what does the future hold?
Lots! We have a lot of new functionality that we're putting the finishing touches on, and we can't wait to show you more. These new features further help to reduce noise in topics, make the community feel alive and bring long-needed updates to core components such as the editor. Not to mention, there is a significant update to Pages underway.
We also have a lot of less flashy updates, such as the new consolidated Feature/Our Picks feature, which is now a single feature.
 
Feature-window.mp4
 
An improved Moderators Control Panel brings a more uniform experience across deleted, hidden, and content waiting to be approved.
 

We're still on course for a release of Invision Community in early 2024 and can't wait for you to experience the future of forums.
What has been your favourite feature so far? I'd love to know; drop a comment below!

View full blog entry

Just six short weeks ago, Ehren hit record on a video that changed everything for Invision Community.
The blog was called "Introducing a fresh new vision for Invision Community 5," and it ripped up the rule book on what forums should look like and revealed a slick new look featuring a new forum home feed view and sidebar navigation.
A lot has been discussed, but we're not even close to done!
Before we bring you news of more features after Thanksgiving, I wanted to take a mid-season break to recap what we've seen so far.
First up was the introduction video, which gave a broad overview of the new UI Invision Community 5 would be sporting. Ehren takes us through many new elements, including the sidebar navigation, forum feed view, simplified post view and more.
 
 
Up next was a focus on dark mode, accessibility and mobile views. Invision Community 5 features the ability to have native dark mode without additional themes or complex variables to set up. Our aim with Invision Community 5 is to hide the complexities and technology and just let you focus on creating a great community experience for your audience.
 
 
Bringing complex theming to everyone was the message in the blog talking about the new theme editor. Now, you can make wide-ranging changes to your theme without the need to edit CSS or manage HTML templates, all driven by a smart and simple interface.
 
 
Next, it was my turn to talk about a new feature. I introduced two new features designed to help those who run support-based communities. Finding the most helpful answers and identifying community experts help your members do more with less time and frustration.
 
 
Last week, Ehren demonstrated our new icon and badge builder, which is an amazingly powerful tool to produce slick and professional badges along with the ability to customize your community further with emojis and icons for menus, reactions and more. Building ways to reduce the barrier to customization has been a strong theme for Invision Community 5.
 
 
Phew!
We can all agree that we've showcased a lot of impressive functionality coming with Invision Community 5 already.
But what does the future hold?
Lots! We have a lot of new functionality that we're putting the finishing touches on, and we can't wait to show you more. These new features further help to reduce noise in topics, make the community feel alive and bring long-needed updates to core components such as the editor. Not to mention, there is a significant update to Pages underway.
We also have a lot of less flashy updates, such as the new consolidated Feature/Our Picks feature, which is now a single feature.
 
Feature-window.mp4
 
An improved Moderators Control Panel brings a more uniform experience across deleted, hidden, and content waiting to be approved.
 

We're still on course for a release of Invision Community in early 2024 and can't wait for you to experience the future of forums.
What has been your favourite feature so far? I'd love to know; drop a comment below!

View full blog entry

Just six short weeks ago, Ehren hit record on a video that changed everything for Invision Community.
The blog was called "Introducing a fresh new vision for Invision Community 5," and it ripped up the rule book on what forums should look like and revealed a slick new look featuring a new forum home feed view and sidebar navigation.
A lot has been discussed, but we're not even close to done!
Before we bring you news of more features after Thanksgiving, I wanted to take a mid-season break to recap what we've seen so far.
First up was the introduction video, which gave a broad overview of the new UI Invision Community 5 would be sporting. Ehren takes us through many new elements, including the sidebar navigation, forum feed view, simplified post view and more.
 
 
Up next was a focus on dark mode, accessibility and mobile views. Invision Community 5 features the ability to have native dark mode without additional themes or complex variables to set up. Our aim with Invision Community 5 is to hide the complexities and technology and just let you focus on creating a great community experience for your audience.
 
 
Bringing complex theming to everyone was the message in the blog talking about the new theme editor. Now, you can make wide-ranging changes to your theme without the need to edit CSS or manage HTML templates, all driven by a smart and simple interface.
 
 
Next, it was my turn to talk about a new feature. I introduced two new features designed to help those who run support-based communities. Finding the most helpful answers and identifying community experts help your members do more with less time and frustration.
 
 
Last week, Ehren demonstrated our new icon and badge builder, which is an amazingly powerful tool to produce slick and professional badges along with the ability to customize your community further with emojis and icons for menus, reactions and more. Building ways to reduce the barrier to customization has been a strong theme for Invision Community 5.
 
 
Phew!
We can all agree that we've showcased a lot of impressive functionality coming with Invision Community 5 already.
But what does the future hold?
Lots! We have a lot of new functionality that we're putting the finishing touches on, and we can't wait to show you more. These new features further help to reduce noise in topics, make the community feel alive and bring long-needed updates to core components such as the editor. Not to mention, there is a significant update to Pages underway.
We also have a lot of less flashy updates, such as the new consolidated Feature/Our Picks feature, which is now a single feature.
 
Feature-window.mp4
 
An improved Moderators Control Panel brings a more uniform experience across deleted, hidden, and content waiting to be approved.
 

We're still on course for a release of Invision Community in early 2024 and can't wait for you to experience the future of forums.
What has been your favourite feature so far? I'd love to know; drop a comment below!

View full blog entry