# Step 2 - Finding Your Way Around

**URL:** <https://nonsuch.discourse.group/t/step-2-finding-your-way-around/56>\
**Category:** How To Use Discourse\
**Created:** [January 1, 2025, 5:36pm UTC](https://nonsuch.discourse.group/t/step-2-finding-your-way-around/56 "2025-01-01T17:36:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jonlewit](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/nonsuch.discourse.group/jonlewit/32/725_2.png) [@jonlewit](https://nonsuch.discourse.group/u/jonlewit)\
**Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 5:36pm UTC](https://nonsuch.discourse.group/t/step-2-finding-your-way-around/56/1 "2025-01-01T17:36:46Z")

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### Starting with some basics -

Discourse has some slightly different jargon. What was a “Conversation” in Google is called a “Topic” here.

To start a new discussion on this site you start a new topic, by clicking on _ **New Topic** _. This first _ **posting** _ starts a _ **Topic** _ with that title that you select (in Google, it was the subject of your email). All replies become a part of that topic’s “thread”.

This is new - Topics belong to a _ **Category** _. That’s the organization - Categories contain topics, which are a sequential thread of the original posting and its replies.

Back to what the home page looks like - the majority of the screen is taken up with a chronological list of topics. In the line of choices across the top of that list, you’ll see that **Latest** is in a box and highlighted. You’ve got the topics with their category listed underneath, the profile pics of the people who have posted to that topic and a few other topic stats.

 ![home page edited](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/n26_115_233/original/1X/a1b44c2f4f2ced5933a10738f6ec2ab42b22bd09.png)

To see a different view, click on a different choice in that top line - try **Categories**. That will have two columns - a list and description of the different topic categories on the left, and the Latest topic list on the right. Pick one of those categories and the screen will display just the topics in that category. Click back to **Latest** , or **Unread**.

If you ever lose your way, you can click on the INA logo on the top left and it will take you back to the home page. The view via this route will be slightly different - it will sort your unread topics to the top. (If you’re in the middle of reading a post - like now - you will have to scroll towards the top to see the logo)

Running down the left hand side of the screen is box with all of the areas you can go to directly. The Topics screen, particular categories or tagged postings, sending messages to other members - things to try out as you become familiar with the site.

### Your next step - setting up your profile -

> [@Step 3 - Setting up Your Profile](https://nonsuch.discourse.group/t/step-3-setting-up-your-profile/45):
>
> Your user profile tells us who you are and lets you make some choices as to how your want the site to look and act. (At the risk of stating the obvious, this will work best if you have two browser tabs open, both on Discourse - one for reading this posting and the second to perform the steps) You can access your user profile by clicking on the icon in the top upper right (it will initially be the first letter of your username or later on the icon that you uploaded).This opens a drop down list.…