From e6f61625a18ade085171a3032bb366dad548ca0f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Cynthia Lin Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2016 14:26:11 -0800 Subject: [PATCH] docs: Add user guide for *About streams and topics* feature --- templates/zerver/help/about-stream-topic.md | 61 +++++++++++++++++++++ templates/zerver/help/index.md | 2 +- 2 files changed, 62 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) create mode 100644 templates/zerver/help/about-stream-topic.md diff --git a/templates/zerver/help/about-stream-topic.md b/templates/zerver/help/about-stream-topic.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..a63eae2289 --- /dev/null +++ b/templates/zerver/help/about-stream-topic.md @@ -0,0 +1,61 @@ +# About streams and topics + +In Zulip, conversations are organized by conversation **streams** and +**topics**. + +## About streams +On Zulip, users communicate with each other in group chats by sending messages +to streams, which are similar to conversation threads. + +Streams are either: + +* **Public** - Public streams are for open discussions. All users can subscribe +to public streams and discuss topics there. Any Zulip user can join any public +stream in the realm, and they can view the complete message history of any +public stream without joining the stream. +* **Private** - Private streams are for confidential discussions and are only +visible to users who've been invited to subscribe to them. Users who are not +members of a private stream cannot subscribe to the stream, and they also cannot +read or send messages to the stream. + +Users are subscribed to specific streams in the realm by default, such as the +[#announce](announce-stream) stream. Users can easily +[view messages](/help/viewing-messages-from-stream) from a specific stream; in +addition, they can [browse](/help/browse-and-join-streams#browse-streams) their +stream subscriptions using the Zulip stream browser. + +If they wish to read messages from a stream that they're not subscribed to, +users can choose to [join](/help/browse-and-join-streams#subscribing-to-streams) +a stream. Similarly, if they are not interested in the topics being discussed in +a stream, users can choose to [unsubscribe](/help/unsubscribe-stream) from a +stream. + +Users can also customize their stream settings; they can +[pin](/help/pin-a-stream) or star important streams, +[change the colors](/help/change-stream-color) of streams, and enable desktop +notifications or muting for streams in order to create a better Zulip +environment. + +If enabled by the realm administrators, users can +[create](/help/create-a-stream) streams and [invite](/help/add-invite-stream) +other users to a stream. + +Only realm administrators can make edits to a stream, such as +[renaming](/help/rename-stream), [deleting](help/delete-a-stream), changing the +description of a stream, [removing users](/help/remove-from-stream) from a +stream, or changing the accessibility of a stream. + +## About topics +In each stream, messages are sorted by topics. Topics are +specific, fine-grained subjects that fit with the overall subject of the +stream that they're sent to. Topics ensure sequential messages +about the same thing are threaded together, allowing for better consumption +by users. + +The best stream topics are short and specific. For example, for a bug tracker +integration, a good topic would be the bug number; for an integration like +Nagios, the service would serve as a good topic. + +Users can easily [change the topics](/help/change-topic) of the sent messages if +they sent the message to the wrong topic or if some messages in a topic have +gone off-topic. diff --git a/templates/zerver/help/index.md b/templates/zerver/help/index.md index 3b7f8ace16..ea961abd00 100644 --- a/templates/zerver/help/index.md +++ b/templates/zerver/help/index.md @@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ as a “**realm**”. * Send a group of people a private message ## Streams & Topics -* About streams and topics +* [About streams and topics](/help/about-stream-topic) * [Browse and join streams](/help/browse-and-join-streams) * [Create a stream](/help/create-a-stream) * [View your current stream subscriptions](/help/browse-and-join-streams#browse-streams)