Wrapping my head around what Publishing means in simple english with an example

An SL project in development is a bunch of text boxes, graphics, animations, and interactions (including quizzes, triggers.), etc. This is a representative, not exhaustive list. You as a developer can modify it.

For your learner to see it the same way as you see it in the preview, one of two things has to be true. Either they need a copy of SL, in which case they can do everything you as a developer can, or they need to see it using a browser. Publishing is the process of turning all those disparate elements into an HTML page. You have several options for publishing. Each one gives you a different method of presenting your project to learners, depending on your needs, and their abilities.

If you want stakeholders to be able to see the course in its present final form, and also be able easily to make comments on it, you want to publish to Review 360. it will be sent to the cloud, you will receive a link you can send to the reviewers.

If you want to make it available to the end learners who will access it by either the internet, or a local intranet, you want to publish to the Web. Several folders are created, and placed in a folder with the name of the project, and "- Storyline output" appended to it. On the publish dialog, there is an option to view that folder in its containing folder (which frequently is not the same location as the development file.) You need to copy those folders as is to their final destination. Make sure everybody you want to see the course has full access to all the folders, subfolders, and files. There is a file named story.html. Send your learners the URL of that file, and they will access the course by opening that file in their browser.

If you want to have easy control of who can access the course, as well as reports of scores and completions, you will need a Learning Management System (LMS). Publish to LMS/LRS, and upload the resulting file to the LMS, according to its specifications. (See Michael's explanation.) For a demo of some of the things an LMS can do, visit scormcloud.com, where you can upload and test your course. LMS and Web are probably the most common forms of making the course available to learners.

If your learners have no internet, or intranet access, you may want to publish to Video, realizing you are sacrificing interactivity.

Publishing to word will give you images of the slides, accomplished by whatever text is on the slides and in the notes. Its main use is for voice-over and translation.

Ultimately, publishing is the process of making the project available to the learner, and your main choice is driven by what and how you want them to access it.