def METHOD_NAME(request, author, forum, title, subtitle, text, tags="", related_publishable_content=None):
    """create topic in forum"""
    # Creating the thread
    n_topic = Topic()
    n_topic.forum = forum
    n_topic.title = title
    n_topic.subtitle = subtitle
    n_topic.pubdate = datetime.now()
    n_topic.author = author
    n_topic.save()
    if related_publishable_content is not None:
        related_publishable_content.beta_topic = n_topic
        related_publishable_content.save()
    if tags:
        n_topic.add_tags(tags.split(","))
    n_topic.save()
    # Add the first message
    send_post(request, n_topic, n_topic.author, text)
    return n_topic