# Topics and posts in reports
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/topics-and-posts-in-reports/338260
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [November 25, 2024, 3:32pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/topics-and-posts-in-reports/338260 "2024-11-25T15:32:38Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@testingsoftware](https://meta.discourse.org/u/testingsoftware)
#### Post date: [November 25, 2024, 3:32pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/topics-and-posts-in-reports/338260/1 "2024-11-25T15:32:38Z")
Just wanted a clarification when counting posts in our community to get our stats right.
Asking because Topics are a series of messages and Post is an individual message and am not sure if one is included in the other.
Are topics and posts counted separately in the reports? so I for a period of time we have 150 topics and 450 posts. Should we consider that we have a total of 600?
- **Topic** : A series of messages grouped together in a meaningful conversation with a title, listed in a category, beginning with an Original Post, and including all replies in chronological order. This is similar to what other platforms might call a “thread.”
- **Post** : An individual message within a topic. Each post can be authored by different users, moved to another topic, or become the start of a new topic.
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### Author:  [@HAWK](https://meta.discourse.org/u/HAWK)
#### Post date: [November 25, 2024, 11:06pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/topics-and-posts-in-reports/338260/2 "2024-11-25T23:06:19Z")
Yes, the first post in a topic is counted both as a **post** and as the start of a **topic** in Discourse. Every topic begins with a single post, and replies to the topic are additional posts.
For clarity:
- A **topic** is a collection of posts.
- The first post in a topic signifies the start of the topic.
- Though the first post is part of the topic, it is also treated as a standalone post when counting totals.
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### Author:  [@testingsoftware](https://meta.discourse.org/u/testingsoftware)
#### Post date: [November 26, 2024, 9:32am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/topics-and-posts-in-reports/338260/3 "2024-11-26T09:32:55Z")
thanks so much for this, Hawk.