This item was added on: 2003/02/17

The following items are all about using the forums on this site.

Why shouldn't I post in all caps?
Us programmers spend many hours in front of computers (duh!). Doing so tends to be a quiet exercise. We don't really appreciate people running around yelling. Each person's problem is *just* as important as the next. Please don't clutter the post up with CAPS.

Why shouldn't I flame or make posts containing vulgarities? Why should I be nice?
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Sometimes discussions get going on the board that aren't specifically code orientated. It turns out that people have a lot to say on such subjects. Occasionally people get excited and start flaming people about their code structure, opinion, ideas, or existence. Although these people are entitled to their opinions, please do it somewhere else.

Vulgarity is also not usually looked upon with favor. Some of the users of this board do not want to hear some things. I think the rest of us can live with that, yes?
This is a *help* board. People here *help* each other. It's a fairly friendly enviroment. There is a wide range of expertise displayed here. From practically first day newbie to "I've been programming since Cobol was the wave of the future". If you have a question you think is too simple, ask anyhow. If you see a question you think is so simple that everyone should know it, answer it. Dont get all holier-than-thou. You've got to start somewhere. Of course, don't ask questions answered in this FAQ.

Why should I not ask people to "Fix all my problems"?
We see a lot of posts like "here is my 5 gazillion page program please fix it if there are any problems" (To quote robwhit). We would love to solve the world's problems. Unfortunately time usually has something to say about that. If you have a massive program, please do not post the entire thing on the board. It would be best to just post the small section that you believe causes the problem. Or if all the code is suspect (uh oh) then you may want to ask someone to check your code via e-mail. Pages of code are very hard to read on the board.

Why should I use descriptive subject lines?
The subject line is there for a reason. No one has time to read every post on the board. And most of us check several of the boards (This fact also suggests posting only on the appropriate board). That makes for a lot of reading. Posts like "Help," or "Problems," or "C programming," aren't very helpful. Of course it's C programming, that's what the board is for! And we already know you want help, that too is what the board is for. Be more specific: "Help with returning char not int", "Problems compiling with graphics.h", "Difference between C and C++?" are much better subject lines.

How can I get better results?
Be as specific as possible -- people don't have time to write an entire program for you. Don't lay out the specifications for your entire program and expect somebody to write it all up for you.

Start writing the program yourself, and when you run into a problem that you can't solve on your own, cut out all the parts of code that don't have anything to do with the problem, and just post the bare-bones of the source, illustrating the problem that way. Be sure to actually ask your question too -- sometimes, somebody will post perfectly legitimate code, but it doesn't work the way they want because of misunderstandings about how the language works. Without stating the question, you probably won't get any help unless something looks grossly out of place.

Strip down your code! Down to the bare-bones! Cut out pieces of code until you have the smallest piece of code that you can still reproduce the problem with. It'll be a lot easier for us on the board, and it may even help you to find your own answer if you reduce your code in this manner.

What is the search option?
This one will make you very popular here. Use the Search option! You can search previous posts relating to your topic. If you want help on getch() you can search the posts (on all the boards!) for getch. Trust me, doing this will yield many results. It's very likely that your question has been answered already. Sometimes that same day. Twice.

How do I format my code?
Use the [code] [/code] tags.

Why shouldn't I make multiple posts?
Don't post your question multiple times. The second occurence of any post on a single board within a day or two isn't likely to aid in receiving an answer. If you have posted a question in a thread and have further questions about the same topic, please continue the topic in the same thread, rather than starting a new thread every time you have a question pertaining to the first.

Do not cross post; cross posting is not necessary because almost everyone who is likely to answer your question reads all of the boards. There are not too many boards, so choose the proper board for your question with confidence that it will be read by most individuals. Cross posts will be closed by the moderators with a note to continue the thread on the appropriate board.