Lock a Topic in Discussions (disable Start a New Thread)
Use case: I want to use a Topic to publish “read‑only” Threads to learners. The Topic shouldn’t show a Start a New Thread button, and learners must be able to view historical threads but not post or reply.
Research: I noticed that setting a future Start Date in Edit Topic > Availability hides participation options, but it also shows a “Starts future_date” banner to learners, which looks odd.
Question: Is there a way to lock a Topic so all Threads are read‑only without changing Start/End dates or altering overall Permissions? I still want learners to participate normally in other Topics/Forums within the same course.
Answers
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Hello Colt, thanks for your question!
This is possible, but as you suggest, the only way is by using a date restriction and visibility setting. My recommendation would be to apply an End Date that is in the past, and then change the 'after end date' setting to 'visible with submission restricted':
Even though it will display the End Date, students will still be fully able to view all posts, but not reply or add a new comment.
Hope that this helps,
~Stephen
