It really depends:
Case for combo table
Given the fact that only one byte takes a boolean, a combo table is a good idea.
However, note that creating an index in the is_topic field is_topic not work due to its low power . p>
MySQL (or any other database) refuses to use the index in this field, but scans the table instead.
Case for individual tables
If you often plan to use messages separately from topics, I would suggest separate tables.
Since selecting them will be faster, MySQL does not have to perform a full table scan to separate messages from topics.
Johan source share