How to get answers to your scripting questions

[McGiver]

I guess we need to make the 1st point (appropriate title) bold.
or add that "please help" or "flash mx question" are probably a little bit too vague if you post them in an "FLASH MX HELP FORUM"!!!

btw.: I think more people would read those rules if they were directly in the announcement

[JHallam]

I agree McGiver

Why not slap a filter on the subject field?

if it's too vague, then show an error, I think that would cut it out to a great degree.

Also, in a forum I was at the other week, it automatically noticed that the user posted AS, so it put it in the right context, hence [ as ] tag.

Which I thought was very useful.

Just a few thoughts...

[Jesse]

It might get annoying if you used the keywords it recognizes in a sentence though. Like "I love enterFrame!" hehe

[McGiver]

I didn't mean some keyword filters.
how about a link with something like "Title your post properly to get better replys" leading to this sticky, in the same line directly behind the Subject field?

[Jesse]

OK team, I've been spending a bit more time answering questions myself and I agree that this is an issue so here's what I propose.

• We build a definitive list of Posting Guidelines and I'll post it as a sticky, but as a closed thread, without follow up posts (I'll say why in a minute).
• We link this sticky in the email sent to every new subscriber. This is why I don't want to allow follow up posts. If you join a forum and are asked to read a thread before you begin and you get there and there are 200 posts... It's not likely to encourage you to read it.
• We keep this post open and new things which ppl think should be added to the list can be discussed here. However the idea is to keep the list really concise so everyone who joins WILL read it.
• The post itself will include a reply which will show the ‘proper’ format for a ‘good’ post.
• Finally, Strok and I will seriously consider mailing a link to this thread to every existing forum member with a quick description of the issue. If that doesn't do it, nothing will.

Here's the text I propose to add to the Subscription verification email that ppl must click a link in to activate their account. I’ll add it before the link they have to click to encourage them to read it.

Please note that the structure of your post is extremely important when posting a question. In order to maximize the likelihood of finding efficient assistance, please read this thread. Posts which do not conform to this structure are FAR LESS LIKELY to be answered as the people who kindly provide assistance on the ActionScript.org Forums do not have unlimited spare time. Please help us to help you by taking two minutes to read the posting guidelines before you begin.

Below is a modified version of what Pix posted originally. Comments welcome. Personally I think it's a bit long. Everyone will be acknowledged in the final post. What do you think?

------------------------------
The below Posting Guidelines have been developed by the people who answer most of the questions on these forums. Complying with these guidelines greatly increases the likelihood that your post will be answered. This thread also includes an example of a very good (fake) question which complies with these guidelines, see below.

• Title your post properly. The title should summarize the problem you are experiencing. Posts with titles such as 'help me!' which say nothing about the problem are likely to go unanswered.
  
• Ask short, clear and concise questions. If you can get a reader to understand your problem then you're half way to finding an answer.
  
• Search before you ask. The question you wish to ask has probably already been answered in these forums. Questions which have been asked a thousand times before will go unanswered. The best way to find out if your question has been asked before is to use the search button at the top right of every forum page. If you've done a search and found nothing, say so, and explain briefly how your problem differs from those answered already.
  
• Ask for assistance only. There are thousands of people here willing to assist you in learning how to achieve your goals yourself, but very few willing to do your work for you. Do not post things like "Please build a system which does X,Y and Z and email it to me. Thanks". Such posts suggest you are not even interested in learning the method yourself. Asking for examples of a method which is suggested to you by someone trying to help is of course fine.
  
• Ask intelligent questions. While there may not be any stupid questions, there certainly are smart ones. A smart question shows you've done your homework or researched your problem a little; in short it shows that you "have a clue". Briefly explain what you have already tried, or how you think you should approach it. Helping those who can help themselves is much more rewarding than helping someone who will forever require help.
  
• Thank those who help you. If you can't take the time to thank or otherwise acknowledge someone who has taken the time to help you, chances are that person (or others who read the thread) won't take the time to help you again. If someone has attempted to help you and not been of assistance, say so politely. Flaming someone who misread your problem is guaranteed to get you nowhere.
  
• Try to use something close to proper English when asking a question. Proof read your question before posting it. Questions which make no sense will probably be skipped over. If English isn't your native language that's fine, but be sure to say so in your post and let people know about it by filling in the "Location" field of your User Profile.
  
• Post your own answers or attempts. If you solve your own problem, post the solution. That way people with the same problem in future can find your answer by searching. Also, posting attempts and showing that you are still trying to resolve the issue yourself encourages others to give you a little helping hand.
  
• [useastags]
  
• Help other people. If you've taken the time to help the community the community will generally take time to help you.
  
• Strip, ZIP and Clip. When attaching (Clipping) a file to better illustrate your problem, be sure to reduce (Strip) it to its bare essentials so as to minimise the amount of time spent sifting through extraneous code. Compressing (Zipping) your file also minimises the amount of time the person trying to help you will spend waiting for your file to download. Doing these things shows you're willing to help others help you. If possible, the best approach is to build a new file which contains only the code/elements you are having problems with and post that. People love that.
  
• Don't ask for too much. If it would take a book's worth of knowledge to fully answer your question then you should probably buy the book.
  
• Ask an original question. Sometimes it's fun to get involved in a unique problem even though it may be complex or difficult. Such questions tend to educate both the person asking the question and the person answering it.
  

This thread is a closed thread. Should you wish to comment on this thread, please feel free to do so on the discussion thread at: URL here.

[pixelwit]

I definitely like the idea since this thread is looking a bit messy.

I'd also like to add:

Post your question in the most appropriate forum. While your question may fit into more than one category you should only post your question once in the forum most likely to be read by people who would know the answer. Posting your question more than once is called "cross-posting" and is frowned upon since it litters the forum database and wastes the time of a person responding to your question when you've already received an answer elsewhere.

Edit as you see fit.

-PiXELWiT
http://www.pixelwit.com

[Colin Campbell]

Jesse, I motion that this point be added to the list:

State your the version of Flash you are running, and/or version number of actionscript. Also, state your working environment and all relevant code to your problem.

_________________

Or something of the sort. Some of the time, the problem is not in the code that the person posts, but it is in a part of the code the user left out from the post. Also, the flash version number, on occasion, has hogged most of the first posts in a thread. I've seen instances where someone goes out of their way to help someone, only to discover the post after that the person is on Flash 5 or 4, when they posted code for MX/MX2004.

[CyanBlue]

Strip, ZIP and Clip. When attaching (Clipping) a file to better illustrate your problem, be sure to reduce (Strip) it to its bare essentials so as to minimise the amount of time spent sifting through extraneous code. Compressing (Zipping) your file also minimises the amount of time the person trying to help you will spend waiting for your file to download. Doing these things shows you're willing to help others help you. If possible, the best approach is to build a new file which contains only the code/elements you are having problems with and post that. People love that.

Maybe it is just me, but I'd love to see the script AND the example file if possible... Sometimes I just skip the post which explains the problem with attachement file because I don't feel like to download what's in the file... If the poster has provided appropriate scripts, maybe we don't have to download the files after all...

Post your question in the most appropriate forum. While your question may fit into more than one category you should only post your question once in the forum most likely to be read by people who would know the answer. Posting your question more than once is called "cross-posting" and is frowned upon since it litters the forum database and wastes the time of a person responding to your question when you've already received an answer elsewhere.

Yup... That SHOULD be added for sure... I hate people crossposting and I do not answer if I see that one is the crosspost... Moreover, I do what I do to move the questions to the appropriate forums, but it is tedious job for sure...

State your the version of Flash you are running, and/or version number of actionscript. Also, state your working environment and all relevant code to your problem.

Yeah... Maybe some PHP wizard can edit the posting related file so that the post cannot be made if any of the working environment field is empty... (I am not kidding though... )

[Jesse]

I agree with the "Post on right board" one. I think that kind atakes care of the "WHich version" one though, doesn't it? We could make them one point at least I think. Coz each version basically has its own forum atm.

[CyanBlue]

Yeah... I guess it does in a way...
Though still some people post FMX2004 questions to FMX forum whether they have intended it or not...
Having an extra field that he/she has to fill out is going to help people realize where they should post the question...

But then, this will take some time to customize the vB files... So, it might/might not worth to apply it...















[edit by jesse to move cyans flash footer out of the way of the DHTML admin options... stupid footer ]