Splitting off break-out topics for tighter focus

Stream: Zulip meta

[Castedo Ellerman]

As a new user to both Zulip and this Lean community, thank you for having this channel!

I try to be methodical in keeping discussion threads focused on specific topics: specific bug, specific question, specific user scenario, specific enhancement, etc... especially when they can be resolved. I like the idea of #Zulip meta > ✔ Resolving topics but I see that as optional. What's important is the focus of the topic, whether participants have been heard, and that there is some kind of closure (in our minds).

I often want to split off "break-out" topics from an initial starting topic. In an issue tracking system I'll do this with new "issues" (or "discussions" in GitHub). These "break-out" topics are no longer of broad interest and do not need to be adverstised or grab attension like the initial starting topic.

So these "break-out" topics are somewhere in between #Zulip meta > ✔ Topic for my own thoughts? and new topics in the general channel. They are topics for a small audience that was already thinking about some background initial topic.

In my particular instance, I am thinking about this topic I started:
#general > Editor-decoupled file-watching proof-state-outputing tool
and I now have multiple related break-out topics.

Any advice on what is the best way to do "break-out" topics in Zulip? or maybe I should be doing "break-out" topics somewhere else like in GitHub as issues? or thinking about this differently?

[Kevin Buzzard]

Just make new threads and link to the old ones, threads are cheap. I think lots of people are in agreement with you about keeping threads focused on one topic (the one in the subject).