Making a place on the internet to share comments and files

 What I want is a clear simple intuitive system for allowing groups to share comments and documents.

Sounds simple until I started using some of the candidates.

Facebook:

• Facebook allows upload of files into Groups, and the viewing of selected groups of files as "Guides" (Guides are not visible in facebook by default.  Go to your Group in Facebook. On the left scroll to down to see "Add Features" and then, on the right, there should be Learning - Guides.  Guides allow you to group links to imprtant or current files - like a subfolder.)
• It also has excellent discussion features.
• Replacement of updated files requires deletion of the old version, upload of the new version and linking the new version from a guide. 

Email:

• Every comment or response creates a new email in everyones account contining the previous responses.  
• Emails quickly become a deluge and which version to keep becomes a problem (e.g. every time a participant "Replies" the attachments are lost.  
• To keep a record, you need to check each email for important attachments before deleting them. 
• People with embedded images in their signature are a real pain as every email with this signature is considered to have an attachment !

Microsoft Teams:

• The version of "Teams" that comes with Microsoft 365 does not allow the creation of Teams (!!!).  It allows creation of Communities and within communities, I can create "Chanel" 's.  
• Communities have fewer options than Teams e.g. there is no files tab in communities.  
• All posted files are dumped into the OneDrive folder on the creator's account quickly leading to file chaos.  
• Teams on the other hand has a folder view and the ability to create sub-folders to keep the system organised (e.g. collecting current versions in a folder away from all the drafts and other images uploaded by members.
• Teams versions for mobile, mobile web, desktop app, desktop app have different functionality. 
• Teams mobile does not allow upload of documents into posts - only images etc.
• Archiving of Teams: No idea how to do this .......

Microsoft OneDrive

• This option loses the ability to communicate through posts.
• One partial response is to create an editable word document with tracked changes which holds the discussion
• This option is best for working on versions of a final document.  The same functionality is available if you access documents through Teams BUT without the ability to view folders or sub-folders !!!
• Note there is no search capability in OneDrive shared folders

Google Docs

• Google Docs is nearly as good as OneDrive with one huge difference.
• Google Doc "files" are not files but links to file content stored outside your Goole Drive folder !!! Weird !
• If you send the Google Docs file to someone or move it outside the Google Drive, it will be unreadable.  And if you did not leave a copy behind in Google Drive, you may have lost your content forever !
• Therefore, I always use the Word and Excel versions of file on Google Drive as they create "normal" files that contain all content.  BUT you lose the tracked changes and automatic ability to review previous versions over the last 30 days.
• Google Docs has search within shared folders

DropBox

• Note there is no search capability in DropBox shared folders

Isn't it amazing that with all their power, all systems only deliver this functionality with a lot of holes.

On balance as at May 2024, I am going with a Google Docs shared folder with edit permissions using doc and excel format files for any attachments worth keeping, combined with eMail (not because it is the best, but because everyone has it !).