Welcome!
The community is what you make of it!
Check out this post:
https://counter.social/@Knitpurrl/108192906629672680
The userguide should get you grounded. But, generally, the process is similar to Twitter. The Reply arrow replies to the toot. The double arrow forwards it to the community firehose and your followers. The Star is a Favorite/Like to edify the author.
Hope that helps!