# Increase visual difference between private messages and posts

**URL:** <https://meta.discourse.org/t/increase-visual-difference-between-private-messages-and-posts/106821>\
**Category:** Product Support\
**Created:** [1월 17, 2019, 3:46오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/increase-visual-difference-between-private-messages-and-posts/106821 "2019-01-17T15:46:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
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**Author:** ![jtbayly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/jtbayly/32/119510_2.png) [@jtbayly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jtbayly)\
**Post date:** [1월 17, 2019, 3:46오후 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/increase-visual-difference-between-private-messages-and-posts/106821/1 "2019-01-17T15:46:15Z")

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Is it possible to add greater visual distinction between normal posts and private messages?

It’s very easy to assume you are writing a PM and actually be working on a post, or vice-versa. Especially new users don’t get a lot of hints that they are doing something other than writing a normal post. We’ve had users not realize they were responding to a PM and then think moderators had deleted their post when they couldn’t find it again.

I suspect it would only take changing the background color of PMs to give people a clear indication that something was different.

Could this be added to the default themes?

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_[View the full topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/increase-visual-difference-between-private-messages-and-posts/106821)._