Social Features

inspir provides powerful social features to help you connect with other students, collaborate on learning, and share knowledge.

Student Forum

A Stack Overflow-style Q&A forum where students can ask questions, provide answers, and build their reputation.

Asking Questions

Post questions about any subject and get help from the community.

// Create a new question
POST /api/forum/questions
{
  title: "How do I solve quadratic equations?",
  details: "I'm struggling with understanding the quadratic formula...",
  tags: ["mathematics", "algebra", "equations"]
}

Rich Formatting

Use markdown to format questions with code, formulas, and lists

Tag System

Categorize questions with relevant tags for easy discovery

Edit & Update

Update your questions anytime to add clarity or context

Public Viewing

All questions are publicly viewable by the community

Database Schema

CREATE TABLE forum_questions (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY,
  user_id UUID REFERENCES users(id),
  title TEXT NOT NULL,
  details TEXT NOT NULL,
  tags TEXT[] DEFAULT '{}',
  created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW(),
  updated_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW()
);

Browsing Questions

// Get all questions
GET /api/forum/questions

// Get specific question with answers
GET /api/forum/questions/:id

Answering Questions

Help other students by providing detailed answers to their questions.

Posting Answers

POST /api/forum/questions/:questionId/answers
{
  text: "The quadratic formula is: x = (-b ± √(b²-4ac)) / 2a..."
}

You earn +2 reputation points for every answer you post!

Answer Schema

CREATE TABLE forum_answers (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY,
  question_id UUID REFERENCES forum_questions(id),
  user_id UUID REFERENCES users(id),
  text TEXT NOT NULL,
  created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW(),
  updated_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW()
);

Upvoting System

Recognize helpful answers by upvoting them. The best answers rise to the top!

How Upvoting Works

// Upvote an answer
POST /api/forum/answers/:answerId/upvote

// Remove upvote
DELETE /api/forum/answers/:answerId/upvote

Reputation System:

Author receives +10 reputation when their answer is upvoted
Author loses -10 reputation when upvote is removed
One vote per user per answer (enforced by database constraint)

Votes Schema

CREATE TABLE forum_votes (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY,
  answer_id UUID REFERENCES forum_answers(id),
  user_id UUID REFERENCES users(id),
  created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW(),
  UNIQUE(answer_id, user_id)
);

Automatic Reputation Updates

Reputation is automatically calculated using database triggers:

-- Triggered when answer gets upvoted
CREATE FUNCTION update_reputation_on_vote() RETURNS TRIGGER AS $$
BEGIN
  INSERT INTO user_reputation (user_id, reputation)
  SELECT user_id, 10
  FROM forum_answers WHERE id = NEW.answer_id
  ON CONFLICT (user_id)
  DO UPDATE SET reputation = user_reputation.reputation + 10;
  RETURN NEW;
END;
$$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;

Reputation & Leaderboard

Build your reputation by contributing quality answers and earning upvotes.

Viewing Reputation

// Get your reputation
GET /api/forum/reputation

// View forum leaderboard
GET /api/forum/leaderboard

// Get forum statistics
GET /api/forum/stats

Reputation Schema

CREATE TABLE user_reputation (
  user_id UUID PRIMARY KEY,
  reputation INTEGER DEFAULT 0,
  updated_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW()
);

High reputation unlocks additional privileges and showcases your expertise to the community!

Study Groups

Create or join study groups to collaborate with classmates and study together.

Creating a Study Group

POST /api/social/groups
{
  name: "AP Physics Study Group",
  description: "Preparing for the AP Physics exam together",
  is_private: false
}

Features:

Join Codes: Unique 6-character codes for easy joining
Private Groups: Restrict access to invited members only
Member Roles: Owner and member roles with different permissions
Group Resources: Share materials within the group

Joining Groups

// Join using a join code
POST /api/social/groups/join/:joinCode

// Example: POST /api/social/groups/join/ABC123

Group Schema

CREATE TABLE study_groups (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY,
  owner_user_id UUID NOT NULL,
  join_code VARCHAR(6) UNIQUE NOT NULL,
  name TEXT NOT NULL,
  description TEXT,
  is_private BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE,
  created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW()
);

CREATE TABLE study_group_memberships (
  group_id UUID,
  user_id UUID,
  role TEXT DEFAULT 'member',  -- 'owner' or 'member'
  joined_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW(),
  PRIMARY KEY (group_id, user_id)
);

Managing Groups

View Your Groups

See all groups you’ve created or joined

Group Details

View members, resources, and group information

Member Management

Invite members via join code

Resource Sharing

Share study materials with group members

// List your groups
GET /api/social/groups

// Get group details
GET /api/social/groups/:id

Share helpful study materials, websites, and documents with the community or specific study groups.

POST /api/social/resources
{
  title: "Khan Academy - Calculus",
  url: "https://www.khanacademy.org/math/calculus",
  description: "Excellent video tutorials on calculus fundamentals",
  tags: ["calculus", "mathematics", "videos"],
  group_id: "optional-group-id"  // Share with specific group
}

Resource Features

Public or Group-Specific: Share globally or within a study group
Tagging: Organize resources with tags
URL Validation: Must be valid HTTP/HTTPS links
User Attribution: See who shared each resource

Resource Schema

CREATE TABLE shared_resources (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY,
  user_id UUID NOT NULL,
  group_id UUID,  -- NULL for public resources
  title TEXT NOT NULL,
  url TEXT NOT NULL,
  description TEXT,
  tags TEXT[],
  created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW()
);

Browsing Resources

// View all public resources
GET /api/social/resources?limit=50

// Filter by study group
GET /api/social/resources?group_id=abc-123

Resources shared within private study groups are only visible to group members.

Community Guidelines

Forum Etiquette

Be Respectful

Treat all community members with respect. No harassment, bullying, or discriminatory language.

Stay On Topic

Keep questions and answers focused on educational content and study-related topics.

Provide Quality Answers

Take time to write clear, helpful answers. Include explanations, not just solutions.

Give Credit

When sharing resources or solutions from other sources, provide proper attribution.

No Plagiarism

Don’t copy homework or exam answers. Focus on understanding concepts.

Content Moderation

Users can edit or delete their own questions and answers
Inappropriate content should be reported
Maintain academic integrity
Help create a positive learning environment

Privacy & Permissions

Row Level Security (RLS)

All social features use database-level security:

-- Users can view all questions (public)
CREATE POLICY "Anyone can view questions"
  ON forum_questions FOR SELECT
  USING (true);

-- Users can only edit their own content
CREATE POLICY "Users can update their own questions"
  ON forum_questions FOR UPDATE
  USING (auth.uid() = user_id);

-- Group members can view group resources
CREATE POLICY "Members can view group resources"
  ON shared_resources FOR SELECT
  USING (
    group_id IS NULL OR
    EXISTS (
      SELECT 1 FROM study_group_memberships
      WHERE group_id = shared_resources.group_id
      AND user_id = auth.uid()
    )
  );

All your forum posts, answers, and shared resources are associated with your username. Choose a username you’re comfortable sharing publicly!

Integration with Other Features

Social features work seamlessly with inspir’s other tools:

Share Quiz Links: Post quizzes in study groups
Share Doubt Solutions: Link to solved problems in forum answers
Group Challenges: Create challenges for study group members
Reputation & XP: Forum activity contributes to your overall XP

API Reference

Forum Endpoints

GET    /api/forum/questions           // List all questions
GET    /api/forum/questions/:id       // Get question details
POST   /api/forum/questions           // Create question (auth required)
POST   /api/forum/questions/:id/answers  // Answer question (auth required)
POST   /api/forum/answers/:id/upvote     // Upvote answer (auth required)
DELETE /api/forum/answers/:id/upvote     // Remove upvote (auth required)
GET    /api/forum/leaderboard            // View reputation leaderboard
GET    /api/forum/reputation              // Get your reputation (auth required)

Study Group Endpoints

GET  /api/social/groups              // List your groups (auth required)
POST /api/social/groups              // Create group (auth required)
POST /api/social/groups/join/:code  // Join group (auth required)
GET  /api/social/groups/:id          // Get group details (auth required)

Resource Endpoints

GET  /api/social/resources           // List resources
POST /api/social/resources           // Share resource (auth required)

Get Started

Study Tools

Features

Deployment

​Student Forum

​Asking Questions

Rich Formatting

Tag System

Edit & Update

Public Viewing

​Database Schema

​Browsing Questions

​Answering Questions

​Posting Answers

​Answer Schema

​Upvoting System

​How Upvoting Works

​Votes Schema

​Automatic Reputation Updates

​Reputation & Leaderboard

​Viewing Reputation

​Reputation Schema

​Study Groups

​Creating a Study Group

​Joining Groups

​Group Schema

​Managing Groups

View Your Groups

Group Details

Member Management

Resource Sharing

​Resource Sharing

​Sharing Resources

​Resource Features

​Resource Schema

​Browsing Resources

​Community Guidelines

​Forum Etiquette

Be Respectful

Stay On Topic

Provide Quality Answers

Give Credit

No Plagiarism

​Content Moderation

​Privacy & Permissions

​Row Level Security (RLS)

​Integration with Other Features

​API Reference

​Forum Endpoints

​Study Group Endpoints

​Resource Endpoints

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Student Forum

Asking Questions

Database Schema

Browsing Questions

Answering Questions

Posting Answers

Answer Schema

Upvoting System

How Upvoting Works

Votes Schema

Automatic Reputation Updates

Reputation & Leaderboard

Viewing Reputation

Reputation Schema

Study Groups

Creating a Study Group

Joining Groups

Group Schema

Managing Groups

Resource Sharing

Sharing Resources

Resource Features

Resource Schema

Browsing Resources

Community Guidelines

Forum Etiquette

Content Moderation

Privacy & Permissions

Row Level Security (RLS)

Integration with Other Features

API Reference

Forum Endpoints

Study Group Endpoints

Resource Endpoints