Admin/mods custom post metadata

Support
1

Hi all,

I need a way for my administrators/moderators to add private metadata to posts and topics. For instance, a custom field note, Moderator adds a note to a post “This post may be controversial”

  • administrators can see/edit note
  • users can’t see

Is there any plugin for this? Or one simple that I could extend?

2

I think that should help:

Whispers in Discourse: Use and Best Practices AI

satonotdead:

introduce whispers and their optimal application on Discourse basic workflow

DiscourseHelper:

What are Whispers in Discourse?

Whispers are special posts within a topic or private message that are only visible to staff and any groups you grant whisper permissions to. Regular users cannot see these posts. Whispers are commonly used by staff and moderators to have private, behind-the-scenes discussions directly in public topics or private messages.

How to Enable and Use Whispers

1. Enable Whispers:

  • Go to your site settings.
  • Search for the setting: whispers allowed groups.
  • Add the groups (e.g., staff, moderators) that you want to allow whispering.

2. Creating a Whisper:

  • When composing a post or reply, click the gear icon or reply toggle menu in the post composer.
  • Select “Toggle Whisper”.
  • You’ll see indicators like an eye-slash icon and a “Whisper” button.

Note: Whispers cannot be converted to regular posts (or vice versa) after posting (unless you install an extra theme component). If you need to change a whisper to a normal post, you must delete and re-post it.

Optimal Applications in Basic Workflow

Best Use Cases:

  • Moderator Discussion: Use whispers to discuss moderation actions, clarify rules, or coordinate responses on sensitive topics without interrupting the public flow.
  • Internal Notes: Add private context about specific users, topics, or actions for other staff to see later.
  • Coordinated Support: In support topics, staff can use whispers to share troubleshooting steps, escalate issues privately, or record why a decision was made.
  • Training: New moderators can shadow others’ decisions via whispers, getting context without exposing details to regular users.

Permissions:

  • Only allowed groups (as set in whispers allowed groups) may create or view whispers. By default, this is usually just staff, but you can add others as needed.

Tips

  • Replies to a whisper are also whispers by default, maintaining privacy in staff discussions.
  • Whispers are not shown to regular users, and are invisible except to staff and permitted groups.
  • Use whispers for information that needs to remain confidential within your staff group.

References

If you have more specific workflow scenarios, just ask!

3

Thanks, but metadata that I want needs to be associated to a user post, so I don’t think that works.

4

Staff aka Mods and admins can see/create notes but user cannot see them. You can restrict moderators from deleting notes too.

5

Like @ondrej said as I was writing this, there is Discourse User Notes, but that attaches notes to users, not posts.

If you want staff notes to be added to a post, I think you’ll need another plugin.

1 Like
6

I was thinking about adding the note to the post as opposed to the user as when you add a note to a post, it shows the the post the note was added on. But then again you are indeed correct… it is a user note plugin.

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If the user notes plugin works for you great! If not listen to Jay not me :laughing:

1 Like
7

Thanks all, I think I’ll modify this plugin to my needs as I can’t find any doing what I need :slightly_smiling_face:

1 Like
8

I understand. For me, it was a workaround, and then I continued using it.

The workflow is completely different, so maybe you want to post it as Feature or to develop on Marketplace.