Articles help you introduce an idea quickly, then give it enough room to become useful. A concise summary catches attention in a feed, while the full article holds the explanation, media, discussion, and context that readers need.
One Article, Two Connected Surfaces
A standard Visual Space article appears in two closely connected ways. Its feed post is a crafted summary, not an automatic clipping of the opening paragraph. When someone opens that post, the same summary leads into the full article page.
These are not separate pieces of content that an author must keep aligned. They are two views of one article:
The summary deserves its own attention because it has a different job from the body. It should help someone understand the subject or decide whether to open the article. Authors can use concise text, images, a link preview, or a poll as that single focused summary. The body can then develop the idea with rich text, headings, lists, links, tables, and images without overcrowding the feed.
Read Posts and Feeds for a closer look at discovery and feed behavior.
The feed presents the article's focused summary and response controls without crowding the long-form reading experience.
From a Private Draft to Published Work
New articles begin as private drafts. An author can start from a space or activity, while creation from the main feed first asks which joined space should own the article. The destination matters: it determines where the article appears and which access rules apply.
Drafting happens in a page that closely resembles the finished reading experience. The title, summary, and body save as the author works, with visible saving, saved, or retry feedback. A failed save does not silently discard the latest edit. Authors can return to their unfinished work from the draft feed before publishing it.
The body is optional for a short post-style update. When a subject needs more depth, the author can add a body and organize it with headings so readers can scan or jump to the part they need. This lets the same workflow serve both a concise announcement and a developed article without creating two disconnected items.
Publishing is the moment the draft becomes visible according to its destination. Before that happens, Visual Space checks that the article has a title, a usable summary, valid content lengths, and the required publishing access. It also finishes pending saves so locally visible edits are not mistaken for published content. For a standard article, publishing releases the article and its feed post together.
For the authoring choices and publication safeguards, see Authoring and Publishing. When you are ready to work through the complete flow, use Create and Publish an Article.
The Reader Journey
Readers often meet an article in a feed, but the feed is only the beginning. Opening the post moves into the complete reading page without losing the summary that established the subject.
From there, readers can:
This connected journey keeps discovery, understanding, and response close together. The feed stays compact, while detailed reading and substantial discussion have a surface designed for them. Reading Articles explains the reading page in more depth, and Find, Read, and Save Articles follows the complete reader journey.
The Topics index keeps a long article scannable while the complete reading surface stays in view.
Discussion, Appreciation, and Curation
An article can become shared work after publication. Comment topics keep conversations attached to a meaningful summary or body section, rather than collecting every reply in one undifferentiated thread. Authors of a topic or comment can manage their own contribution when access allows.
Each discussion stays connected to the summary or body section that gives it meaning.
Reactions and Awards provide quicker forms of response. Current reactions apply to the article as a whole. Awards are quick item-level appreciation. Readers can view the people who gave each reaction or Award from the article controls. For the boundaries between these choices and focused discussion, see Discussions and Reactions.
Readers can build a personal reading list with View Later. Space-level curation is separate: authorized maintainers can pin a published article to its space, and a space owner can add suitable work to Expo. These actions improve discovery without changing the article's content or its owning space.
Who Can See and Change an Article
Article access follows the area that owns it. Published articles in public areas can be read without joining. Articles and media in protected areas are available only to people who have access to that area. Moving between a feed and the reading page does not relax those boundaries.
Other actions have additional checks:
If a control is absent or an action asks you to sign in, join, or request access, the article may be readable even though that particular contribution is not permitted.
Where Polls Fit
A poll is a summary choice inside an article, not a separate kind of document. An author can use a poll when a small set of answers will produce clearer input than an open comment thread. The poll can appear directly in the feed post and again at the top of the article, where the body can explain the question or provide supporting context.
The Polls area is a browsing shortcut for articles that contain polls. Opening an item there leads to its article, and poll drafts follow the same draft-and-publish lifecycle as other articles. Voting requires the relevant access and reaction permission. Current polls accept one active choice per reader and show results after voting; they are not anonymous.
See Polls for authoring, voting, result, and access details.
Where Q&A Fits
Q&A uses an article as an open question. The title, text introduction, optional body, destination, draft, and publication remain part of the article, while Q&A discussion adds score-ranked answers, upvotes and downvotes, and direct comments beneath the question.
The Q&A app appears immediately after Wiki and filters the current space feed to Q&A posts. It keeps the normal activity and subspace selector, and each card can show question voting plus up to three top answer slices. Open the article for the complete answer list and the direct linear comments attached to the question or an answer.
Choose Q&A from article creation or the draft's media and type selector when you want open-ended, formatted responses. Choose a poll when readers should select from a fixed set of choices, and use standard article comments when the conversation should be organized into section-focused topics.
See Q&A for discovery, authoring, voting, access, and the Quick Help Report issue path.
Common Questions
Is a feed post separate from its article?
No. For a standard article, the post is the feed-facing summary of the same item. Opening it reveals that summary together with any body content and the full reading context.
Does every article need a long body?
No. A focused title and valid summary can serve as a concise post. Add a body when readers need explanation, structure, or supporting media beyond the feed summary.
Who can see an unfinished article?
Drafts stay with their author and are kept out of ordinary published feeds. Publishing applies the visibility of the article's owning area.
Can a public reader interact with every public article?
Not necessarily. Reading, commenting, reacting, awarding, and voting have separate access checks. A public article may be readable even when a contribution requires sign-in, membership, or a specific permission.
Can I save an article without opening it?
Yes. A signed-in reader can add a published article to View Later from its feed post or from the article page. The saved state remains connected between those surfaces.
Why does a poll open as an article?
The poll is the article's focused summary content. The article page supplies its context, permissions, discussion, and publication lifecycle, while the Polls area helps readers find poll-backed articles.
Why does a Q&A question open as an article?
The article is the question. Its reading page supplies the complete context and standard article comments, while the Q&A discussion adds ranked answers, voting, and short direct comments.