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