Index: lams_tool_forum/conf/hibernate/mappings/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/persistence/Message.hbm.xml
===================================================================
diff -u -rf88a2a4d76c8b1b50ef5a09a64c0564cc929cf11 -r94d998767055fcfbf1a657b792dd19ce1f7edc0b
--- lams_tool_forum/conf/hibernate/mappings/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/persistence/Message.hbm.xml	(.../Message.hbm.xml)	(revision f88a2a4d76c8b1b50ef5a09a64c0564cc929cf11)
+++ lams_tool_forum/conf/hibernate/mappings/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/persistence/Message.hbm.xml	(.../Message.hbm.xml)	(revision 94d998767055fcfbf1a657b792dd19ce1f7edc0b)
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@
         <many-to-one
             name="createdBy"
             class="org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.ForumUser"
-            cascade="save-update"
+            cascade="none"
             outer-join="auto"
             update="true"
             insert="true"
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@
         <many-to-one
             name="modifiedBy"
             class="org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.ForumUser"
-            cascade="save-update"
+            cascade="none"
             outer-join="auto"
             update="true"
             insert="true"
@@ -93,26 +93,6 @@
             column="is_anonymous"
         />
 
-        <set
-            name="replies"
-            table="MESSAGE"
-            lazy="false"
-            inverse="false"
-            cascade="all-delete-orphan"
-            sort="unsorted"
-        >
-
-            <key
-                column="parent_uid"
-            >
-            </key>
-
-            <one-to-many
-                  class="org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.Message"
-            />
-
-        </set>
-
         <many-to-one
             name="toolSession"
             class="org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.ToolSession"
@@ -123,6 +103,16 @@
             column="forum_session_uid"
         />
 
+        <many-to-one
+            name="parent"
+            class="org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.Message"
+            cascade="none"
+            outer-join="auto"
+            update="true"
+            insert="true"
+            column="parent_uid"
+        />
+
         <set
             name="attachments"
             table="ATTACHMENT"
Index: lams_tool_forum/src/java/forumApplicationContext.xml
===================================================================
diff -u -rf88a2a4d76c8b1b50ef5a09a64c0564cc929cf11 -r94d998767055fcfbf1a657b792dd19ce1f7edc0b
--- lams_tool_forum/src/java/forumApplicationContext.xml	(.../forumApplicationContext.xml)	(revision f88a2a4d76c8b1b50ef5a09a64c0564cc929cf11)
+++ lams_tool_forum/src/java/forumApplicationContext.xml	(.../forumApplicationContext.xml)	(revision 94d998767055fcfbf1a657b792dd19ce1f7edc0b)
@@ -26,8 +26,12 @@
             <ref local="forumSessionFactory"/>
         </property>
     </bean>
+    <bean id="forumUserDao" class="org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.ForumUserDao">
+        <property name="sessionFactory">
+            <ref local="forumSessionFactory"/>
+        </property>
+    </bean>
 
-
    <bean id="attachmentDao" class="org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.AttachmentDao">
         <property name="sessionFactory">
             <ref local="forumSessionFactory"/>
@@ -52,6 +56,9 @@
         <property name="forumDao">
             <ref local="forumDao"/>
         </property>
+        <property name="forumUserDao">
+            <ref local="forumUserDao"/>
+        </property>
         <property name="attachmentDao">
             <ref local="attachmentDao"/>
         </property>
Index: lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/persistence/ForumUser.java
===================================================================
diff -u -rf88a2a4d76c8b1b50ef5a09a64c0564cc929cf11 -r94d998767055fcfbf1a657b792dd19ce1f7edc0b
--- lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/persistence/ForumUser.java	(.../ForumUser.java)	(revision f88a2a4d76c8b1b50ef5a09a64c0564cc929cf11)
+++ lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/persistence/ForumUser.java	(.../ForumUser.java)	(revision 94d998767055fcfbf1a657b792dd19ce1f7edc0b)
@@ -43,6 +43,9 @@
 	private String firstName;
 	private String lastName;
 	
+	public ForumUser(){
+	}
+	
 	public ForumUser(UserDTO user) {
 		this.userId = new Long(user.getUserID().intValue());
 		this.firstName = user.getFirstName();
Index: lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/persistence/ForumUserDao.java
===================================================================
diff -u
--- lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/persistence/ForumUserDao.java	(revision 0)
+++ lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/persistence/ForumUserDao.java	(revision 94d998767055fcfbf1a657b792dd19ce1f7edc0b)
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+/*
+ *Copyright (C) 2005 LAMS Foundation (http://lamsfoundation.org)
+ *
+ *This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ *it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+ *the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
+ *(at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ *This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ *but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ *MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ *GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ *You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ *along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+ *Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307
+ *USA
+ *
+ *http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.txt
+ */
+package org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence;
+
+import java.util.List;
+
+import org.springframework.orm.hibernate3.support.HibernateDaoSupport;
+
+public class ForumUserDao extends HibernateDaoSupport{
+
+	private static final String SQL_QUERY_FIND_BY_USER_ID = "from " + ForumUser.class.getName() + " where user_id=?";
+
+	public List getUserByUserId(Long userId) {
+		return this.getHibernateTemplate().find(SQL_QUERY_FIND_BY_USER_ID, userId);
+	}
+	
+	public void save(ForumUser forumUser){
+		this.getHibernateTemplate().save(forumUser);
+	}
+}
Index: lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/persistence/Message.hbm.xml
===================================================================
diff -u -rf88a2a4d76c8b1b50ef5a09a64c0564cc929cf11 -r94d998767055fcfbf1a657b792dd19ce1f7edc0b
--- lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/persistence/Message.hbm.xml	(.../Message.hbm.xml)	(revision f88a2a4d76c8b1b50ef5a09a64c0564cc929cf11)
+++ lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/persistence/Message.hbm.xml	(.../Message.hbm.xml)	(revision 94d998767055fcfbf1a657b792dd19ce1f7edc0b)
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@
         <many-to-one
             name="createdBy"
             class="org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.ForumUser"
-            cascade="save-update"
+            cascade="none"
             outer-join="auto"
             update="true"
             insert="true"
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@
         <many-to-one
             name="modifiedBy"
             class="org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.ForumUser"
-            cascade="save-update"
+            cascade="none"
             outer-join="auto"
             update="true"
             insert="true"
@@ -93,26 +93,6 @@
             column="is_anonymous"
         />
 
-        <set
-            name="replies"
-            table="MESSAGE"
-            lazy="false"
-            inverse="false"
-            cascade="all-delete-orphan"
-            sort="unsorted"
-        >
-
-            <key
-                column="parent_uid"
-            >
-            </key>
-
-            <one-to-many
-                  class="org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.Message"
-            />
-
-        </set>
-
         <many-to-one
             name="toolSession"
             class="org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.ToolSession"
@@ -123,6 +103,16 @@
             column="forum_session_uid"
         />
 
+        <many-to-one
+            name="parent"
+            class="org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.Message"
+            cascade="none"
+            outer-join="auto"
+            update="true"
+            insert="true"
+            column="parent_uid"
+        />
+
         <set
             name="attachments"
             table="ATTACHMENT"
Index: lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/persistence/Message.java
===================================================================
diff -u -rf88a2a4d76c8b1b50ef5a09a64c0564cc929cf11 -r94d998767055fcfbf1a657b792dd19ce1f7edc0b
--- lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/persistence/Message.java	(.../Message.java)	(revision f88a2a4d76c8b1b50ef5a09a64c0564cc929cf11)
+++ lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/persistence/Message.java	(.../Message.java)	(revision 94d998767055fcfbf1a657b792dd19ce1f7edc0b)
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@
      *
      * @hibernate.many-to-one
      * 		column="create_by"
-     *  	cascade="save-update"
+     *  	cascade="none"
      *
      */
     public ForumUser getCreatedBy() {
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@
     /**
      * @hibernate.many-to-one
      * 		column="modified_by"
-     * 		cascade="save-update"
+     * 		cascade="none"
      * 
      * @return Returns the userid of the user who modified the posting.
      */
Index: lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/service/ForumService.java
===================================================================
diff -u -rf88a2a4d76c8b1b50ef5a09a64c0564cc929cf11 -r94d998767055fcfbf1a657b792dd19ce1f7edc0b
--- lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/service/ForumService.java	(.../ForumService.java)	(revision f88a2a4d76c8b1b50ef5a09a64c0564cc929cf11)
+++ lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/service/ForumService.java	(.../ForumService.java)	(revision 94d998767055fcfbf1a657b792dd19ce1f7edc0b)
@@ -37,6 +37,8 @@
 import org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.Forum;
 import org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.ForumDao;
 import org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.ForumException;
+import org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.ForumUser;
+import org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.ForumUserDao;
 import org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.Message;
 import org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.MessageDao;
 import org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.MessageSeq;
@@ -59,6 +61,7 @@
 	private AttachmentDao attachmentDao;
 	private MessageDao messageDao;
 	private MessageSeqDao messageSeqDao;
+	private ForumUserDao forumUserDao;
 	private ForumToolContentHandler toolContentHandler;
 	private IRepositoryService repositoryService;
 	
@@ -353,4 +356,24 @@
 	public Forum createForum(Long contentId) throws PersistenceException {
 		return null;
 	}
+
+	public ForumUser getUserByUserId(Long userId) {
+		List list =  forumUserDao.getUserByUserId(userId);
+		if(list == null || list.isEmpty())
+			return null;
+		
+		return (ForumUser) list.get(0);
+	}
+
+	public void createUser(ForumUser forumUser) {
+		forumUserDao.save(forumUser);
+	}
+
+	public ForumUserDao getForumUserDao() {
+		return forumUserDao;
+	}
+
+	public void setForumUserDao(ForumUserDao forumUserDao) {
+		this.forumUserDao = forumUserDao;
+	}
 }
Index: lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/service/IForumService.java
===================================================================
diff -u -rf88a2a4d76c8b1b50ef5a09a64c0564cc929cf11 -r94d998767055fcfbf1a657b792dd19ce1f7edc0b
--- lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/service/IForumService.java	(.../IForumService.java)	(revision f88a2a4d76c8b1b50ef5a09a64c0564cc929cf11)
+++ lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/service/IForumService.java	(.../IForumService.java)	(revision 94d998767055fcfbf1a657b792dd19ce1f7edc0b)
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 import org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.core.PersistenceException;
 import org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.Attachment;
 import org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.Forum;
+import org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.ForumUser;
 import org.lamsfoundation.lams.tool.forum.persistence.Message;
 
 /**
@@ -47,4 +48,6 @@
 
 	public List getTopicThread(Long rootTopicId);
 	public List getRootTopics(Long forumId);
+	public ForumUser getUserByUserId(Long userId);
+	public void createUser(ForumUser forumUser);
 }
Index: lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/web/actions/AuthoringAction.java
===================================================================
diff -u -rf88a2a4d76c8b1b50ef5a09a64c0564cc929cf11 -r94d998767055fcfbf1a657b792dd19ce1f7edc0b
--- lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/web/actions/AuthoringAction.java	(.../AuthoringAction.java)	(revision f88a2a4d76c8b1b50ef5a09a64c0564cc929cf11)
+++ lams_tool_forum/src/java/org/lamsfoundation/lams/tool/forum/web/actions/AuthoringAction.java	(.../AuthoringAction.java)	(revision 94d998767055fcfbf1a657b792dd19ce1f7edc0b)
@@ -193,8 +193,16 @@
 			attSet.add(att);
 		}
 		message.setAttachments(attSet);
-		message.setCreatedBy(new ForumUser(user));
-		
+		//check whether this user exist or not
+		ForumUser forumUser = forumService.getUserByUserId(new Long(user.getUserID().intValue()));
+		if(forumUser == null){
+			//if user not exist, create new one in database
+			forumUser = new ForumUser(user);
+			forumService.createUser(forumUser);
+		}
+		message.setCreatedBy(forumUser);
+		//same person with create at first time
+		message.setModifiedBy(forumUser);
 		if (topics == null) {
 			topics = new ArrayList();
 		}