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Asking for help: Difference between revisions
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{{Troubleshooting}} | {{Troubleshooting}} | ||
This page explains appropriate ways to '''ask for help''' from volunteers in the FlightGear community. | |||
We assume that you are reading this page because you have some kind of problem that you need help with. | |||
== Before asking for help == | |||
# Try describe the problem to yourself in detail. | |||
# Try solve the problem yourself. | |||
# Search for common solutions | |||
#* Go through the relevant pages in the [[:Category:Troubleshooting|trouble shooting category]] or in the navigation box to the right. | |||
#* Try a [[Special:Search|free text search on the FlightGear wiki]] | |||
#* Try a [http://forum.flightgear.org/search.php?sid=d87e8df415f9dedb7e82f25e826dd8c0 free text search on the FlightGear forum]. | |||
#: If some or all of the words you are looking for are ignored because they are too common, try a Google search ending with <code> site:forum.flightgear.org</code>. | |||
#* Try a Google search | |||
== Asking for help == | |||
=== Getting the attention === | |||
The best way to get attention is often to: | |||
* Make it as easy as possible to figure out what you need help with. | |||
* Show that you have tried to solve the problem yourself first, and how. | |||
* Be honest about the problem (in essence do not exaggerate). | |||
* Try provide a sufficient amount of information, while at the same time being concise. | |||
Depending on what kind of problem you have, you probably will have to supply us with some information about your computer in addition to information about the problem you are experiencing. As we do not have access to your computer, you need to be our eyes and ears. | |||
Even if some of the information we ask for is not always required in order to fix a particular issue, it can often simplify shorten the troubleshooting process, for example by allowing us to exclude certain problem sources. Therefore, if at all possible please try to provide any information requested. | |||
If anything is unclear, or you do not know how to obtain certain information, please ask for clarification rather than ignoring a particular request. | |||
=== Keeping the attention === | |||
You can expect some follow up questions, in particular regarding reports about probable bugs. It is literally essential that they can be reproduced by the other user or developer. | |||
Often a problem or a bug can be solved quickly as soon as it can reliably be reproduced. | |||
== Where to ask == | |||
Depending on the nature of your problem, different places are better suited to ask your question at. | |||
Most of the communication regarding FlightGear happens in two places: The ''FlightGear forum'' and the ''developer mailing list''. In addition to those there are some unofficial communities as well. | |||
=== The FlightGear forum === | |||
* [http://forum.flightgear.org/index.php The FlightGear forum] | |||
The forum is the right place to ask if you have questions related to: | |||
* FlightGear itself | |||
* Aircraft | |||
* Scenery | |||
=== Unofficial forums === | |||
In some cases questions are better asked on the unofficial forums. | |||
This could for example be regarding issues with unofficial aircraft or aircraft mostly discussed on unofficial forums while being developed as well as custom scenery. | |||
If not sure, try the official forum first. | |||
=== The developer mailing list === | |||
* [http://sourceforge.net/p/flightgear/mailman/flightgear-devel/ The developer mailing list] | |||
If you are able to [[Building FlightGear|build FlightGear]] from source, or even [[TerraGear]] and have questions related to that or to issues with them, you may be better served by asking for help at the developer mailing list. | |||
=== The issue tracker === | |||
* {{tickets|The issue tracker}} | |||
Usually it is a good idea to ask for help in the other places before reporting a bug. | |||
== Making proper issue reports == | == Making proper issue reports == | ||
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This sort of info will help to determine whether the problem is actually caused by FlightGear (or one of its dependencies) or by local, system-specific issues. | This sort of info will help to determine whether the problem is actually caused by FlightGear (or one of its dependencies) or by local, system-specific issues. | ||
== External links == | |||
* {{cite web | |||
| url = http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html | |||
| title = How To Ask Questions The Smart Way | |||
| author = Eric Steven Raymond and Rick Moen | |||
| date = 21 May 2014 | |||
| accessdate = 11 May 2015 | |||
}} | |||
* {{cite web | |||
| url = http://producingoss.com/en/communications.html | |||
| title = Producing Open Source Software, Chapter 6. Communications | |||
| author = Karl Fogel | |||
| date = 2015 | |||
| accessdate = 11 May 2015 | |||
}} | |||
[[Category:Troubleshooting]] | [[Category:Troubleshooting]] | ||