Hi Jim,
As Vincent said, in simple language,
'Topic' is the
'Subject' - that you see in the forum index.
'Post' is the
reply by individual forum member like you and me.
'Thread' is a collection of one or more than one posts. Like Vincent said, some forums use to word 'Post New Topic' or sometimes ' New Post' or 'Create New Thread', all are used interchangeably.
Creating a new thread means you are starting a new fresh Topic. i.e. your post will be the first post. 'New Post' or 'New Reply' or 'Post Reply' does not mean that you are starting a fresh new topic. I feel, 'New Topic' as in Mint forums is correct word then 'New Post'
May I add a few more info
Alternatively, while creating a new Thread i.e. starting a new topic, you can create a Poll like
this one. there are some options available, while creating poll. You need to explore them.
Note: While creating a hyperlink, there is an extra step that you need to do after highlighting the test, you want to have linked. After selecting URL from the text editor, you need to add an
'equal to i.e. =' sign in-between the word
URL and the closing bracket ]. just hover over URL and you will get tool tip.
Quote Button.
If you want to reply to a particular post, there is
'Quote' button inside the post on the top right corner, before your screen name and avatar (small thumbnail sized photo), like I have (which is optional).
If you hit 'Quote' button, you will be taken to a rich text editor, which contains a name stamp e.g.
xenopeek wrote:Topic and thread can be used interchangeable ...
You can remove unwanted text that you do not want to reply to and continue to type your thoughts. After you finish typing, you can either preview to heck spelling mistakes (typos) or if you are confident, hit the 'Submit' button. You can see your reply as the last post of the thread.
there is another button,
'Inverted Triangle', before the 'quote' button.
This button is called 'flag' or 'report' button. If you find any spam comment or accidentally you have double posted same post, or posted in wrong section i.e. newbie or on topic, you can hit the report button , select the appropriate option from the drop down box and type whatever you want to inform to a mod.
This post goes to a mod, who will take appropriate action and you will get an email message (not in case of reporting spam), if you have selected option to notify you when the action is been taken.
---
You want to refer to older replies, simply scroll down to see the replies arranged in descending order.
---
for your last post, you will also find 'Delete' button, which is self explanatory.
Hope you enjoy Linux Mint and Linux in general.
Hey Jim, Did I sound rude?
, I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised. We understand, everybody starts some day, even I did, but I used to mention that I am a total newbie. that helps to get a polite and better reply. Generally Mints forums are very polite, so needless to say this.
Do not hesitate to ask anything (civil - related to Linux Mint
), which does not offend the Forum code.
Enjoy Mint and the company of Minters (mint users)
Cheers