Discuss

Back in Pack's built-in forum is where hikers ask questions, swap advice and talk about gear and trails. Look for Discuss: the bottom navigation item, the screen title and the settings section all use that name.

Everything is organised as Groups > Topics > Threads > Posts. Moderators create the groups and topics, so what you see depends on what has been set up.

This page works through what you need before you can join in, the tabs you browse with, reading and following threads, starting threads and writing posts, how moderation works, language, push notifications, the editor tools and what your tier affects.

Before You Can Join In

Three things have to be true before Discuss will show you anything.

You need to be online. Offline you get "You need to be online to view discussions."
You need a display name. If yours is still "Anonymous", the whole of Discuss is replaced by "Please set your user name in your profile settings to participate in discussions." Set it in Profile & Account.
You need to accept the Community Guidelines.

Community Guidelines

The first time you open Discuss with a display name set, a Community Guidelines dialog appears. It covers respectful language, keeping discussion to outdoor topics, and the fact that your post history is kept if your account is removed. Tap I Agree to continue, or I Don't Agree to decline.

You only see the dialog once, unless the guidelines change.

Decline and Discuss shows an empty screen with a View Guidelines action. Nothing else is reachable until you bring the dialog back and accept.

The Tabs

Tab	What it shows
Recent	The most recently active threads across every group
Forums	Browse by group and topic
Following	Threads you have bookmarked
Moderate	The moderation queue. Only visible if you have the Moderator role

Recent

A list of threads, not individual posts, sorted by most recent activity. Each card shows the thread title, the group and topic it sits in, who posted last and when.

The list loads 50 threads at a time as you scroll and stops at 200. Pull down to refresh.

Forums

Tap a group to expand it and reveal its topics underneath, then tap a topic to open its thread list. Only one group is expanded at a time.

Thread lists are grouped under month headings based on the date of the last post. Each row shows the title, who started the thread, a post count badge, and the name and date of the most recent reply. Threads also load 50 at a time, with pull to refresh.

Following

Threads you have bookmarked. Each card shows the thread title, who created it, a post count badge, and the author and date of the latest reply.

There is no unread badge. The post count is a running total, not a count of new replies.

Reading a Thread

The original post sits at the top, tinted and marked with a coloured stripe down its left edge.
Replies follow underneath, with a replies count above them.
Each post shows the author's profile picture, or their initial if they have not set one.
Posts in the list are cut to five lines, and images only appear in the full post view.

Tapping a post does one of two things:

Your own post opens the post editor so you can change it.
Someone else's post opens a read-only detail view with the full text, any images, and Report and Reply buttons.

There is no edit pencil. Tapping is the only way in.

Posts still being checked cannot be opened, and show a line of text instead:

In-list message	Meaning
Awaiting moderation	The post is still being checked
Blocked by moderators	The post was rejected and will not appear

Following a Thread

Open the thread and tap the bookmark icon at the top of the screen. The icon fills in once the thread is followed, and you get a Thread followed or Thread unfollowed confirmation. The tooltips read Follow thread and Unfollow thread.

There is no follow control on the thread list rows, so open the thread first.

Creating a Thread

Open the topic where the thread belongs.
Tap the + button.
The New Thread dialog asks for a Thread Title and nothing else. It must be at least three characters, or you get "Name must have at least 3 characters".
Tap Save.
The post editor opens so you can write the body of the first post. Tap the tick to publish.

Cancelling at the editor stage means no thread is created. There is no description field anywhere in this flow.

Writing Posts

Posts are written in Markdown. The editor shows a Markdown supported hint and the placeholder "Write your post using markdown...".

Tap the preview icon at the top of the screen to see the rendered result, and the edit icon to go back to the text.
Tap the tick to save. An empty post gives "Content must not be empty".
To reply to the thread in general, tap the reply button at the bottom right of the thread.
To reply to a particular person, open their post and tap Reply. Their name and an excerpt of their post are quoted at the top of your editor.
To edit one of your own posts, tap it in the thread. The editor opens with the title Edit Post.

Attaching Images

Requires: Section Hiker or Thru Hiker

A second, smaller button next to the save button lets you attach a photo. It only appears if you are on a paid tier and online. Choose Photo Library, or Camera on mobile. The image is resized, uploaded and inserted into your post as markdown at the cursor.

Day Hiker accounts do not see the button at all.

Moderation

Every post is checked before anyone else can see it, including the first post of a new thread. The check looks for offensive, abusive or explicit language, and for religious or political content. Most posts clear within seconds and appear straight away.

A post that needs a closer look waits for a moderator to read it by hand. While it waits you still see it in the thread, marked Awaiting moderation, and nobody else does. A post that is turned down reads Blocked by moderators.

Editing a post sends it back to be checked again. Your edit is not visible to anyone else until it clears.

Reporting a Post

Open someone else's post and tap Report, the flag button at the bottom of the detail view. A Report post dialog confirms it, a moderator is asked to look at the post, and you get "Post reported to moderators".

The post stays visible while it is being looked at. You cannot report your own posts.

Language and Translation

Discuss works in English, French, German and Spanish. Posts appear in your app language whoever wrote them, with no waiting and no button to press.

A post you are reading in translation carries a small translate badge next to the author's name. Open the post to read the writer's own words, under a heading marked Original below the translation.

Push Notifications

Requires: Thru Hiker. Not available on web.

Tap the bell icon at the top of the Discuss screen to turn notifications on and off. You get a confirmation of "Notifications on for followed threads" or "Notifications paused for followed threads", and the icon changes to match.

When it is on, you get a push notification whenever someone else posts in a thread you follow. The notification is titled with the thread name and says who replied.

The bell is not shown on Day Hiker or Section Hiker accounts, or on the web app. It is the only place this setting lives, so do not go looking for it in Appearance & Preferences.

Moderator Tools

Moderator is an invite-only role, not something you can buy. No tier includes it. Being made a moderator adds the Moderate tab to Discuss, along with tools for managing threads, groups and topics. See Profile & Account for the full list of roles.

Reviewing the Queue

The Moderation Queue groups waiting posts under their topic name. Each card shows the thread, the author, why the post was held back and the date.

Tap one to open Review Post, which shows the full post and a Reason flagged panel. The reason is either why the post was held back when it was checked, or the note recorded when a reader reported it. Readers do not type their own reason.

Two buttons finish the job:

Approve makes the post visible and clears the reason.
Block hides the post behind "Blocked by moderators".

Neither asks you for a reason, and both clear the post from the queue.

Moderators with notifications on also get a "Post needs review" push when a post is held back.

Managing Threads

In any thread list, moderators get a select icon at the top of the screen, and a long press on a thread also starts selection mode. Tick the threads you want, then use the actions that appear at the top:

Action	What it does
Merge	Moves the posts from the selected threads into one base thread you choose, then deletes the sources. Needs at least two threads selected
Move to topic	Moves the selected threads to another topic, picked from a group and topic browser
Delete	Permanently deletes the threads and all their posts, after a confirmation
Archive	Archives the threads so they drop out of the normal list

A show or hide archived toggle at the top of the screen brings archived threads back into view.

Merging and moving count as an editorial decision, so any posts still waiting to be checked are approved along the way.

Managing Groups and Topics

On the Forums tab, moderators get a + button. With no group expanded it creates a group; with a group expanded it creates a topic inside it. Existing groups and topics can be edited from the same screen.

Groups take an icon, a Group Name and a Description.
Topics take an icon, a Topic Name, a Description, and the Restrict posting to moderators switch.

Names must be at least three characters long.

When a topic is restricted, ordinary users can read it but the + button and the reply button are hidden for them.

What Your Tier Affects

Almost all of Discuss is free. On a Day Hiker account you can still read everything, create threads and posts, follow threads, report posts, and read translated posts.

Feature	Tier needed
Reading, posting, creating threads	Day Hiker
Following threads, reporting posts	Day Hiker
Translation of posts	Day Hiker
Browsing and copying from the Community Gear catalogue	Day Hiker
Attaching images to a post	Section Hiker
Push notifications for followed threads	Thru Hiker
Moderation and management tools	Moderator role, invite only

The Community Gear catalogue is a separate feature that lives in the Gear Locker, not in Discuss, despite the shared name.

Tip: If your post sits on "Awaiting moderation" for more than a moment, a moderator has been asked to read it. Leave it alone and wait, because editing it sends the post back to be checked from the start.