The main features of the Discussion Column versus the standard Multiple Lines of Text column are:

•Puts Date Stamp and User Name on each entry -- the standard Multiple Lines of Text column does not do this unless “Append Changes to Existing Text” is selected, which requires Versioning to be turned on for the list.

•Does not require Versioning to be turned on for the list -- the standard Multiple Lines of Text column requires Versioning to be turned on to use “Append Changes to Existing Text”, which can result in high data storage needs due to the many versions of each list item that are created.

•Eliminates blank entries -- the standard Multiple Lines of Text column puts in a blank entry every time the item is saved, even if nothing was entered in the box

•Can view entries from List View -- the standard Multiple Lines of Text opens the full item, not just the entries

•Exports all entries to Excel and Access -- the standard Multiple Lines of Text column only allows export of the latest entry

•Users can delete their entries, Admins can delete all entries -- the standard Multiple Lines of Text column does not allow previous entries to be deleted