Here are a few quick tips to get you started:
Reading
To read more, just keep scrolling down!
As new replies or new topics arrive, they will appear automatically – no need to refresh the page.
Navigation
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For search, your user page, or the ☰ menu, use the icon buttons at upper right.
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Selecting a topic title will always take you to your next unread reply in the topic. To enter at the top or bottom instead, select the reply count or last reply date.
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While reading a topic, use the timeline on the right to jump to the top, bottom, or your last read position. On smaller screens, select the progress bar at bottom right to expand it:
You can also press ? on your keyboard for a list of super-speedy keyboard shortcuts.
Replying
To insert a quote, select the text you wish to quote, then press any 
Reply button to open the editor. Repeat for multiple quotes.
You can always continue reading while you compose your reply, and we automatically save drafts as you write.
To notify someone about your reply, mention their name. Type @ to begin selecting a username.
To use standard Emoji, just type : to match by name, or use the traditional smileys ;)
To generate a summary for a link, paste it on a line by itself:
Your reply can be formatted using simple HTML, BBCode, or Markdown:
This is <b>bold</b>.
This is [b]bold[/b].
This is **bold**.
For more formatting tips, try our fun 10 minute interactive tutorial!
Actions
There are action buttons at the bottom of each post:
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To let someone know that you enjoyed and appreciated their post, use the like button. Share the love!
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Grab a copy-pasteable link to any reply or topic via the link button.
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Use the … show more button to reveal more actions. Flag to privately let the author, or our staff, know about a problem. Bookmark to find this post later on your profile page.
Notifications
When someone replies to you, quotes your post, mentions your @username, or even links to your post, a number will immediately appear at the top right of the page. Select it to access your notifications.
Don’t worry about missing a reply – you’ll be emailed any notifications that arrive when you are away.
Preferences
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All topics less than two days old are considered new.
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Any topic you’ve actively participated in (by creating it, replying to it, or reading it for an extended period) will be automatically tracked on your behalf.
You will see the new and unread number indicators next to these topics:
You can change your notifications for any topic via the notification control at the bottom, and right hand side, of each topic.
You can also set notification state per category, if you want to watch or mute every new topic in a specific category.
To change any of these settings, see your user preferences.
Subscribing to categories and topics
Some key definitions to understand are:
- Watching - You will be notified of every new post in the topic. The count of unread and new posts will also appear next to the topic’s listing.
- Tracking - You will be notified only if someone mentions your @name or replies to your post. The count of unread and new posts will also appear next to the topic’s listing.
- Regular - You will be notified only if someone mentions your @name or replies to your post.
- Muted - You will never be notified of anything about this topic, and it will not appear on your unread tab.
To subscribe to a Category (or forum) go to your preferences (via your Profile page) and scroll to the bottom of the page. You can add Categories by beginning to type and then selecting from the dropdown.
To subscribe to a Topic (or thread) go to the topic in question and scroll to the bottom. Just above the Suggested Topics table is a notifications drop-down, from which you select the appropriate option.
Keyboard navigation
The Keyboard Shortcut menu can be accessed by ?
Known keyboard issues
p and = open the Profile and “Hamburger” menus respectively.
The Profile and “Hamburger” drop-down menus can only be navigated by tabbing; j/k and up/down arrow keys do not work.
j/k navigation does not work on the Categories page, or Profile pages (except for Messages).
Smilies / Emoticons / Emoji
Discourse uses the Emoji set of emoticons Hover over the one you want to see its code. Each begins and ends with a colon, with the name between (no spaces). So, for example, if you want to add a smiley face to your post 
, you can just type :smiley: or use the emoji picker in the composer window(as shown below).
Community Trust
It’s great to meet you! As you participate here, over time we’ll get to know you, and your temporary new user limitations will be lifted. Keep participating, and over time you’ll gain new trust levels that include special abilities to help us manage our community together.
We believe in civilized community behavior at all times.
Can I change my username?
