Forum guidelines?

disperso · wrote on 7 Dec 2010, 03:01

Hi.

Are there any guidelines about forum usage? For example, I'm starting to read the forums, and there are lots of topics. If I find something that is kind of old, is preferred to start a new topic, or to reply there? I know that it depends on the subject, the time elapsed, etc., but I suppose you probably have some preferred method.

Another doubt is what if I have a question about the way the devnet works. Because I've read in a post in "beta testing", that that forum will be deleted when the system goes out of beta. So, is this lounge the preferred place, or that other forum?

Any other rules, or preferred way of acting that you could point me to, will be welcome. I've dug a lot in the forum to learn from the previous posts, but there is too much volume. I suppose the best way to solve this, will be adding one more sticky post with some basic suggestions, possibly with some links to previous discussions.

xsacha · wrote on 7 Dec 2010, 03:07

I think if you find an old topic and you have something related to share, you can solve the unsolved problem or have new updates about it, it's good to use the old topic. If it's solved or not directly related, you should start a new topic but put a link to that old topic in your post so people can understand better.

As for devnet. How it works now is beta, so I guess if you have a post relating to how it works now you'd post it in there. Everything could change by the time it is out of beta, including forum guidelines :) They may put a Guidelines post on wiki or something, for example.

This is just how I work by the way, not official response :).

disperso · wrote on 7 Dec 2010, 03:30

Thanks for the answer xsacha. I'll add an example to clarify:

I found the topic about why 0 is used instead of NULL in pointers. The question is already answered, but I was about to add my opinion on why I found this was a good practice. But I noted that the post was some months old, so if I add a comment, it will re-appear in the first page for everyone, including people who already have read the important parts of the thread.

I thought it was polite to avoid a comment there.

I feel there are many useful posts about how things are going in the forums, but not that many about "established" practices, etc.

? This user is from outside of this forum · wrote on 7 Dec 2010, 05:36

[quote author="disperso" date="1291690873"]Hi.

Are there any guidelines about forum usage? ...
Another doubt is what if I have a question about the way the devnet works. Because I've read in a post in "beta testing", that that forum will be deleted when the system goes out of beta. So, is this lounge the preferred place, or that other forum?
[/quote]

few basic things put up "here":http://developer.qt.nokia.com/wiki/ForumHelp

IMO, it wouldn't make sense to delete all these posts from the beta phase .. I think the best route would be continuously evolve, bring in more features and capabilities and no "binary" breakage ;-)

? This user is from outside of this forum · wrote on 7 Dec 2010, 05:45

[quote author="disperso" date="1291692648"]Thanks for the answer xsacha. I'll add an example to clarify:

I found the topic about why 0 is used instead of NULL in pointers. The question is already answered, but I was about to add my opinion on why I found this was a good practice. But I noted that the post was some months old, so if I add a comment, it will re-appear in the first page for everyone, including people who already have read the important parts of the thread.

I thought it was polite to avoid a comment there.

I feel there are many useful posts about how things are going in the forums, but not that many about "established" practices, etc.[/quote]

if an old thread was not closed for comments, I do not see any harm in posting a new and relevant comment there adding more clarity and more information. even if one reader learns something new from your post, its worth it :)

xsacha: one cannot avoid duplication as we keep growing, it will happen. my thumb rule, spend a couple of minutes hunting if your question has already been asked, if not found, go ahead and post/ask. so search capability has to improve continuously.

kamalakshantv · wrote on 7 Dec 2010, 07:26

[quote author="chetankjain" date="1291700168"]

IMO, it wouldn't make sense to delete all these posts from the beta phase .. I think the best route would be continuously evolve, bring in more features and capabilities and no "binary" breakage ;-)[/quote]

Although in beta phase there are lot of useful posts. I feel all these posts should remain. May be one can remove posts regarding forum and website bugs later on.

mgran · wrote on 7 Dec 2010, 11:21

As QtK points out, some of the beta forum content could be pruned out since it has very little relevance after some time has passed. But I'm in no hurry to do so, give it a year perhaps?

kamalakshantv · wrote on 7 Dec 2010, 11:23

When do we expect the forum to be out from beta phase. I hope that there might be more features to be unlocked before coming out of beta.

mgran · wrote on 7 Dec 2010, 12:05

[quote author="QtK" date="1291720981"]When do we expect the forum to be out from beta phase. I hope that there might be more features to be unlocked before coming out of beta.[/quote]

Yep, more features will be unlocked over the coming months (or weeks even). We will be in beta for a "good while" longer, sorry I can't be more precise.