mirror of https://github.com/zulip/zulip.git
59 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
59 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
|
# Getting started with Zulip
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Welcome to Zulip! Like any new tool, mastering Zulip will take some time,
|
||
|
|
but once you get the hang of it, you'll never want to use another chat
|
||
|
|
service again.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Zulip is designed around a few key ideas:
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
- You spend far more time reading communications than writing them. So
|
||
|
|
Zulip is primarily designed to optimize consuming messages; either reading
|
||
|
|
them, or making an informed decision not to read them.
|
||
|
|
- Messages in Zulip are organized into streams and topics. Streams are
|
||
|
|
similar to chatrooms, IRC channels, and email lists in that they determine
|
||
|
|
who receives the message. Each conversation in a stream also has a topic,
|
||
|
|
which plays the role of the subject line of an email (though topics are
|
||
|
|
usually shorter, e.g. "logo" or "logo design", not "feedback on the new
|
||
|
|
logo design?") in that it organizes messages into threads.
|
||
|
|
- Zulip keeps careful track of which messages and threads you've read, and
|
||
|
|
always places you exactly where you left off.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
## Basic workflows
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
A few basic workflows are useful when getting oriented.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
### For reading
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
- Use the left sidebar (or the `n` key) to review messages thread-by-thread.
|
||
|
|
- Use the down arrow key (`↓`) to move the cursor to the next message.
|
||
|
|
- Use the End key to mark all messages in the current view as read (could be
|
||
|
|
a thread, stream, or anything else).
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
### For writing
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
- When starting a new conversation, remember to start a new topic. Don't
|
||
|
|
overthink it; the first 2-3 words that come to your mind are probably
|
||
|
|
fine. Using topics may take some attention at the beginning, but after a
|
||
|
|
few days of using Zulip it will feel like second nature.
|
||
|
|
- It is totally normal to have 5 conversations happening in a stream at the
|
||
|
|
same time; each on its own topic. So don't worry about interrupting; each
|
||
|
|
conversation has its own space.
|
||
|
|
- If you see a conversation where the last message was sent a few hours (or
|
||
|
|
days!) ago, feel free to reply anyway. It'll be easy for everyone to see
|
||
|
|
your reply in context, regardless of anything else that has happened on
|
||
|
|
the stream in the meantime.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
## Next steps
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Once you've figured out the basics, you'll probably want to:
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
- [Add an avatar](/#settings/your-account)
|
||
|
|
- [Get the mobile and desktop apps](/apps)
|
||
|
|
- [Configure your notifications](/#settings/notifications) to work the way
|
||
|
|
you do.
|
||
|
|
- [Browse the streams](/#streams/all) in your organization and join those of
|
||
|
|
interest.
|
||
|
|
- Master Zulip's [keyboard shortcuts](/help/keyboard-shortcuts). Anything
|
||
|
|
you can do with the mouse, you can do even faster from the keyboard. Start
|
||
|
|
with `n`, `↓`, `c`, and `Enter` (`Return`), and use `?` for help.
|