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Starting a new topic

When to start a new topic

To get the full benefits of Zulip's topic model, when starting a new conversation, you should start a new topic!

Starting a topic is like a lighter weight version of giving your email a subject. Topic names should be brief but specific, e.g.:

  • Good topic names: "question about topics", "welcome Anna Smith!", "issue #1234"
  • Not so good topic names: "question", "hi", "help", "this topic is about a question I have about topics"

Don't overthink naming your topic. The first 2-3 words that come to mind are probably fine!

How to start a new topic

  • From a stream view
  • From other views

  1. Click the New topic button at the bottom of the Zulip window, or type c.

  2. Enter a topic name. Auto-complete will provide suggestions for previously used topics.

  3. Press Tab or click on the compose box to compose your message.

  4. Click Send, or use Enter or Ctrl + Enter (depending on whether the Press Enter to send option is checked).

  1. Click the New topic button at the bottom of the Zulip window, or type c.

  2. Enter a stream name. Auto-complete will provide suggestions for streams you can send to.

  3. Enter a topic name. Auto-complete will provide suggestions for previously used topics.

  4. Press Tab or click on the compose box to compose your message.

  5. Click Send, or use Enter or Ctrl + Enter (depending on whether the Press Enter to send option is checked).

In Zulip, you can compose a message to a different place than the one you are viewing. In this situation, the message feed will fade to indicate what's going on.