Author Topic: How To Start A New Thread/Topic  (Read 2505 times)

Offline QuantumG

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How To Start A New Thread/Topic
« on: 11/06/2017 06:16 am »
This is a little tutorial that explains how to start a new thread and when you should do so.

1. Select a section. Up the top left corner of the page you will see "Home", if you click on that you will be presented with all the sections of the forum, pick the most appropriate one. If you are already in some other thread you may wish to create a splinter thread, this makes it even easier as it will almost certainly go in the same section (but not necessarily), so just use the breadcrumbs under the forum navigation bar to select the section. e.g., General Discussion.

2. Press the New Topic button.

3. Fill in the Subject field. This will become the title of your thread, so choose it carefully. Later we'll talk about editing the title (which is possible) but there will always be some remnants of the title you choose right now, so don't rush it.

4. Fill in the first message. This is the big empty box. Presumably you have something you want to say, so stick it in there. Try to say what you want to talk about, but don't be bossy - members will talk about whatever they want to talk about. This is your big opportunity to steer the discussion in a starting direction.

5. Hit Preview. Make sure you didn't make any silly mistakes and that you said everything you wanted to say. When you're happy, hit Post.

There ya go, you've created a new topic of discussion. Other members will see it soon and discuss it! Try to come back and join the discussion but remember that just because you started the thread doesn't mean everyone is talking to you - quite the opposite - neither does it mean that you "own" the thread. Hopefully you've chosen an interesting topic of discussion and everyone will enjoy it.

When should you create a thread?

The most important thing to do before starting a new thread is to have a quick look around the section you have chosen and see if anyone else has already started a thread like that. This can be difficult - there's a lot of threads already! - so don't worry too much about it.

Perhaps you've already found some interesting threads and you're having some interesting discussions but you've thought of something you'd like to say that is off topic, what do you do? You could post on that topic and attract the attention of a helpful moderator, who may end up deleting your post, or you could create your own splinter thread! It's easy to create one and then the conversation can continue for much longer than the brief interlude tolerated for off-topic discussion. Your post is important, don't risk losing it!

Human spaceflight is basically just LARPing now.

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