kad: What is a forum, board, and category and how to post a new topic?

In the Discussions Feedback board you'll see this quote:

If your question concerns a hardware or software technical issue, please do not post in this forum — instead, go to the Apple Discussions Homepage, select an appropriate product category and follow the links until you reach the correct forum for your post, then click the Post New Topic link.

It appears that many still miss this advice as they go ahead and ask in the Discussions feedback page how to post a new topic. This advice is as clear as can be, though some may not understand what the terms are in this quote. To clarify Apple Discussions is organized into the following elements:

Apple Discussions Homepage
- Categories of Topics
- - Individual _Topic Forums_
- - - Individual _Topic Threads_

When you enter a Category you will see _Topic Threads_ but no Post New Topic link. The reason for this is that all the threads in each forum are combined beneath the individual Forum links. If you wish to post a new topic in any specific Forum, you have to navigate to the Forum first to post a new topic in that Forum. Don't let the preponderance of views or responders make you think you need to post a "me too". In fact this makes it harder on the original poster to determine what is the cause of their problem. It is better to post your own topic, so you can get more focussed attention, and a wider audience who can help you. If you have a reply that might lead to a solution for the original poster, by all means reply. Otherwise you just contribute to the length of the thread, and don't really help in finding a solution.

An example of a Category: iMac

An example of a Forum: Using your iMac G5

Note also the header of the board says: "Category" or "Forum" to help guide you.

Be sure also to identify your Mac or operating system before posting in specific forums, as some Macs may look similar. If you need help, ask first.