# Terminology: topics vs threads
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/terminology-topics-vs-threads/63390
**Category:** UX
**Created:** [May 25, 2017, 9:00pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/terminology-topics-vs-threads/63390 "2017-05-25T21:00:52Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@tophee](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tophee)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2017, 9:00pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/terminology-topics-vs-threads/63390/1 "2017-05-25T21:00:52Z")
I was curious to see a discussion about why topics are called topics and not threads (the more common term in online forums, according to my experience) but so far I have not been able to find any. Has this really not been discussed previously?
Personally, I have gotten used to the discourse terminology but I find it somewhat of a pain when trying to explain things to new users, as “topic” is not intuitively understood while thread is well known from email and other online forums. Yet, I am reluctant to customize the terminology assuming that the default terminology was a very conscious choice by the discourse team…
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### Author:  [@dax](https://meta.discourse.org/u/dax)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2017, 9:24pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/terminology-topics-vs-threads/63390/2 "2017-05-25T21:24:26Z")
_From a non-english point of view_, I think that “thread” is a terminology related to the forum technology (as “the string of all posts”), while “topic” is related to discussions (as the “subject under discussion”). So if this is a platform for discussions I think “topic” is the right term.
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2017, 9:40pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/terminology-topics-vs-threads/63390/3 "2017-05-25T21:40:37Z")
Thread is a technical computer geek term, also it implies threading. So worth avoiding for both of those reasons.
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### Author:  [@Remah](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Remah)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2017, 10:25pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/terminology-topics-vs-threads/63390/4 "2017-05-25T22:25:10Z")
Topic is perfectly appropriate in ways that thread never can be:
- A topic describes content. As others have already pointed out, a thread describes the mode of operation where messages are connected in threads.
> [@codinghorror](#):
>
> Thread is a technical computer geek term, also it implies threading. So worth avoiding for both of those reasons.
- Thread is also a literary term but a topic describes focus at a higher level than a thread which, in literary terms, always runs through a larger body of text.
- A thread is interior to a topic. One topic can have many threads. New topics become new threads.
> **[Urban Dictionary: thread](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=thread)**
>
> thread: On a message board, the inside of a topic revealing all the messages.
- A topic is more focussed than a thread. Topics are major parts whereas threads are minor parts in the main discussion.
- Technically, you do not have a thread until there is at least a message in response/reply.
- Likewise, in computer systems threads don’t normally exist independently. They normally execute from a process. However, there are exceptions which is another reason for avoiding the technical computing term where threads are concerned.
> **[Thread (computing)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thread_(computing)#Threads_vs._processes)**
>
> In computer science, a thread of execution is the smallest sequence of programmed instructions that can be managed independently by a scheduler, which is typically a part of the operating system. In many cases, a thread is a component of a process.
> The multiple threads of a given process may be executed concurrently (via multithreading capabilities), sharing resources such as memory, while different processes do not share these resources. In particular, the threads of a process share its execut...
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### Author:  [@Stephen](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Stephen)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2018, 10:02pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/terminology-topics-vs-threads/63390/5 "2018-03-29T22:02:45Z")
> [@codinghorror](#):
>
> T h r e a d is a technical computer geek term, also it implies threading. So worth avoiding for both of those reasons.
Sure, but isn’t banning the word going a little too far? It prevented me from quoting the above.
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/terminology-topics-vs-threads/63390/6 "2018-03-29T22:03:19Z")
Not from my perspective, it isn’t.
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### Author:  [@tophee](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tophee)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2018, 10:05pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/terminology-topics-vs-threads/63390/7 "2018-03-29T22:05:09Z")
> [@steve\_pd](#):
>
> prevented me from quoting the above
Hm, never mind the banning of whichever word, but maybe quotes should be excluded?
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### Author:  [@BlackKnob](https://meta.discourse.org/u/BlackKnob)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2018, 8:21pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/terminology-topics-vs-threads/63390/8 "2018-04-09T20:21:39Z")
why is “t h r e a d” a banned word?
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### Author:  [@david](https://meta.discourse.org/u/david)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2018, 8:24pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/terminology-topics-vs-threads/63390/9 "2018-04-09T20:24:38Z")
See here:
> [@Why is the word "thread" not allowed on Meta?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/82156):
>
> Why is the word, “threa.d” not allowed? I’m curious. Just tried to use it in a private message. And, lol the F bomb just auto corrected into a PM I was writing. Oops.
(^^Onebox is not working because I had to remove the word t h r e a d from the URL 🙄)
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### Author:  [@tophee](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tophee)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2018, 8:26pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/terminology-topics-vs-threads/63390/10 "2018-04-09T20:26:59Z")
> [@david](#):
>
> (^^Onebox is not working because I had to remove the word t h r e a d from the URL
Haha, there is a way:
> [@Why is the word "thread" not allowed on Meta?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/blah/82156):
>
> Why is the word, “threa.d” not allowed? I’m curious. Just tried to use it in a private message. And, lol the F bomb just auto corrected into a PM I was writing. Oops.
Now what do you say? 🕶
> [@BlackKnob](#):
>
> why is “t h r e a d” a banned word?
I’d say this one is the crucial post:
> [@Why is the word "thread" not allowed on Meta?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/why-is-the-word-thread-not-allowed-on-meta/82156/9):
>
> This is also a bit of a dogfooding experiment, not a lifelong policy to be forever engraved in a stone monument on a mountaintop.
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### Author:  [@BKerr](https://meta.discourse.org/u/BKerr)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2018, 8:44pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/terminology-topics-vs-threads/63390/11 "2018-04-09T20:44:21Z")
Oy! I just asked this same question to a Discourse Team member I am working about a data migration. I was trying to describe an issue and Discourse wouldn’t let me use the “bad word”. Really? I’d understand if it was the F-word or something like that, but…
As a result, I had to stop what I was doing to post screenshot like Steve did above. The whole thing slowed me down in trying to communicate.
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### Author:  [@HAWK](https://meta.discourse.org/u/HAWK)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2018, 8:47pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/terminology-topics-vs-threads/63390/12 "2018-04-09T20:47:07Z")
Hi Barbara,
See: [Why is the word "thread" not allowed on Meta? - #9 by codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/t/why-is-the-word-thread-not-allowed-on-meta/82156/9) for more details .
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### Author:  [@BKerr](https://meta.discourse.org/u/BKerr)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2018, 8:53pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/terminology-topics-vs-threads/63390/13 "2018-04-09T20:53:16Z")
Hi Hawk,
Yes, I saw Jeff’s posting. I understand you may not want it on Meta, but this was my own Discourse instance, following a data migration where a “string” (allowed?) of continuous posts was broken up into 5 separate ones ("bad words:). I’m in communication with your Team member and he’ll resolve my separate question. Thanks.
B.
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### Author:  [@HAWK](https://meta.discourse.org/u/HAWK)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2018, 8:56pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/terminology-topics-vs-threads/63390/14 "2018-04-09T20:56:17Z")
> [@BKerr](#):
>
> but this was my own Discourse instance
It was actually Meta that threw the error – your emails go straight into our team PM inbox.
It is unrelated to the issue on your site.