I'm sure this is obvious to smarter people than it is to me and probably explained somewhere but I am unable to work it out. I think I understand the general hierarchy but what is a Post and what is a Topic? The exact same items are listed under both Post and under Topic on the right hand side of the page and it seems to take up space for no apparent benefit that I can comprehend [see image attached].
All I can think is that the first Post (or OP, elsewhere) is also a Topic within the forum but every subsequent Post is only a Post under that Topic. But if that were correct, why not show the first Post under Topic and subsequent Posts under Post? In the overview page why is Post listed first and not second? And why not explain the complete hierarchy
on the Forums page in the Dashboard? ...there is a very handy and clear explanation of Boards / Categories / Forums under Important Tips; it seems a perfect place to complete the hierarchy.
@strategia talking in general, any given topic is made up of multiple posts. The very first post is what defines the topic itself.
Of course, the very first post of a topic is also a post in its own right.
Topic is the name of grouped posts.
- Category
- --- Forums
- ------- Topics
- ------------ Post 1 (this one has the topic title and this is the base of the topic)
- ------------ Post 2 (just a reply)
- ------------ Post 3 (just a reply)
- ------------ etc...
So, in the forums, you can see a list of topics. When you click a topic, you see the posts in that topic. Topic is just another way to categorize posts in a one discussion thread.