help: Rework Navigation and unread counts content.

templates/zerver/help/include/sidebar_index.md

@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
 * [Message a stream by email](/help/message-a-stream-by-email)
 
 ## Reading messages
-* [Navigation and unread counts](/help/unread-counter-and-pointer)
+* [Reading strategies](/help/reading-strategies)
 * [View the Markdown source of a message](/help/view-the-markdown-source-of-a-message)
 * [View the exact time a message was sent](/help/view-the-exact-time-a-message-was-sent)
 * [View an image at full size](/help/viewing-images)
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@
 * [Collapse a message](/help/collapse-a-message)
 * [Star a message](/help/star-a-message)
 * [Emoji reactions](/help/emoji-reactions)
+* [Marking messages as read](/help/marking-messages-as-read)
 * [Link to a message or conversation](/help/link-to-a-message-or-conversation)
 * [Advanced search](/help/search-for-messages)
 * [View a message's edit history](/help/view-a-messages-edit-history)

templates/zerver/help/marking-messages-as-read.md

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# Marking messages as read
+
+Zulip automatically keeps track of which messages you have and haven't
+read. Unread messages have a dark line along their left side, which fade as
+the message gets marked as read.
+
+There are two situations in which messages automatically get marked as read.
+
+* **End of feed**: When you get to the bottom of a view, Zulip marks all
+  messages in that view as read.
+
+* **Blue box**: Messages are marked as read when the blue box passes over
+  them.
+
+You can move the blue box either with the keyboard (arrow keys, `End`, etc.)
+or by scrolling the feed with your mouse.
+
+You can also manually mark all messages as read, or mark all messages in a
+stream or topic as read.
+
+{start_tabs}
+
+1. Hover over a stream, topic, or All messages in the left sidebar.
+
+1. Click the down chevron (<i class="fa fa-chevron-down"></i>) to the right.
+
+1. Click **Mark all messages as read**.
+
+{end_tabs}

templates/zerver/help/reading-strategies.md

@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+# Reading strategies
+
+Zulip works a little bit differently than other chat platforms. Read
+[streams and topics](/help/about-streams-and-topics) if you're not yet
+familiar with Zulip's topics, and [why Zulip](/why-zulip) if you're
+curious why we built Zulip the way we did.
+
+We've outlined a few ways users process messages in Zulip.
+
+## Topic by topic
+
+This is the recommended way to read new messages, for most users. If you're
+only going to learn one way to do it, this is the one.
+
+* Use the keyboard shortcut `n` (next unread topic) to jump from topic to
+  topic. You can use the arrow keys, page up/down, and Home/End to navigate
+  within a topic.
+
+* Use `p` (next unread PM) to jump from PM to PM.
+
+* Use `r` (reply) to reply to a topic or PM.
+
+* Use `c` (compose stream message) or `x` (compose PM) to start new
+  conversations.
+
+* Use up arrow or `Esc` to exit out of the compose box.
+
+## Stream view
+
+Sometimes it's useful to scroll through all the messages in a stream,
+especially in situations where you just want a general idea of what's going
+on.
+
+* Click on a stream name in the left sidebar, and scroll using your mouse,
+  the arrow keys, `End`, or page up/down.
+
+* Click on a topic to narrow to messages from that topic.
+
+You can also get to a stream with `q` (stream search), by clicking on the
+magnifying glass next to `STREAMS`, or by using the autocomplete in
+[search](/help/search-for-messages).
+
+## All messages
+
+If you're all caught up, it can be useful to have a single place to keep
+track of all messages coming in.
+
+* Click on **All messages** in the upper left, or hit `Esc`.
+
+* You can use `s` (narrow to stream) or `S` (narrow to topic) to zoom in,
+  and `Esc` to get back to All messages.
+
+## Starring messages for later
+
+You can [star messages](/help/star-a-message) that you've seen and would
+like to reply to later.
+
+## Related articles
+
+* [Search](/help/search-for-messages) for streams, topics, or messages.
+
+* Unread counts

templates/zerver/help/unread-counter-and-pointer.md

@@ -1,72 +0,0 @@
-# Navigation and unread counts
-
-## Unread messages
-
-Zulip is carefully designed to automatically track which messages
-you've read to produce the ideal reading experience, where you can
-always start reading where you left off:
-
-* Messages are automatically marked as read only when you're likely to
-have actually read them.
-
-* When you open a view in Zulip, it takes you to the first unread
-message in that view, if any.
-
-These goals are achieved through the following behaviors:
-
-* Unread counts will be displayed on the left sidebar, next to the
-stream/topic name. In the main view, unread messages will have a
-dark line along their left side, which will fade as the message
-gets marked as read.
-
-* Essentially, Zulip will consider a message read when the message is
-selected (the blue cursor box passes over it). Any message which is
-selected or above a message which is selected will be marked as read.
-
-* Whenever you're in a view where the whitespace at the bottom of that
-view is visible, Zulip marks all the messages in that view as read.
-    * If you're in a longer view where the bottom whitespace isn't
-    visible, Zulip marks messages as read as you scroll past them.
-    * If you're navigating with the keyboard, a message is marked as
-    read when the blue cursor box that you are controlling passes over
-    it.
-    * If you're navigating with the mouse, Zulip automatically advances
-    the blue cursor box to the next message as you approach the top of
-    the screen when you're scrolling through the feed. This results in
-    messages being marked as read as they disappear from your view while
-    scrolling.
-
-* When a user has been off Zulip for several days and has hundreds of
-unread messages, they will be prompted for whether they want to mark
-all their unread messages as read.
-
-## Navigation
-
-Zulip will always take you to the place you left off (your first
-unread message) to make it more easy for you to catch up with all the
-discussions that happened while you were away from your computer.
-
-Here is a more detailed overview of the navigation behavior:
-
-* When you click on a topic's name or the recipient list at the top of
-a group of messages, Zulip will narrow you to that conversation and
-Zulip will select the message you were previously focused on in that
-conversation.
-
-* If you narrow into a conversation by using the left sidebar or the
-search box, Zulip will instead select the first unread message
-matching that narrow, or if there are none, the most recent message
-matching that narrow.
-
-* When you narrow to the All messages view, you will automatically be
-taken to the same message that was selected in that view before
-you narrowed. If you read new messages in your previous narrow, you
-will be fast-forwarded to the first unread message in the All messages view.
-
-* When you open a new browser window or tab to the All messages view, Zulip
-will select the lowest message in that view, which is usually
-just before the first unread message.
-
-* When you load a new browser tab or window to a narrowed view, Zulip
-will exhibit behavior similar to when you narrow to that view after
-loading the browser window to your All messages view.