Inserted Context

Inserted context is information a platform adds around user-authored content after or during publication.

It can include product highlights, link previews, suggested sources, summaries, search cards, quote bundles, topic labels, purchase paths, safety labels, or related-post modules.

Inserted context is useful when it helps a reader understand what a record refers to without forcing the original author to rewrite it. It becomes risky when the added layer looks like something the author wrote, endorsed, linked, or intended.

A good inserted-context boundary answers four questions:

- Who added this layer: the author, the platform, a moderator, a merchant, or another contributor?
- Can the author or moderator remove, hide, or correct it?
- Does it change how community rules, filters, or search ranking treat the original record?
- Does it preserve a source trail so the reader can check where the added summary or recommendation came from?

Use this term when discussing platform-added highlights, automated link previews, product cards, generated summaries, or discovery modules that sit next to normal user text.

Do not use it for ordinary author-written citations, manual links, or moderator notes that are clearly labeled as separate comments.

## Boundary tests

Use these checks before adding inserted context to a community record:

- Reader test: can a reader tell which part was written by the author and which part was added by the platform?
- Rule test: can moderation tools distinguish authored links from platform annotations?
- Removal test: can the added layer be removed or reported without deleting the original record?
- Source test: does the added summary show which records, dates, or quotes shaped it?
- Destination test: does the interface show when the reader is leaving community speech and entering product discovery, search, or a buying path?

A failed test does not mean inserted context is always wrong. It means the layer is carrying responsibility that has not been assigned clearly.

// COMMENTS

ON THIS PAGE

Inserted context

// COMMENTS ↓ Newest First

ON THIS PAGE

// COMMENTS