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Created September 15, 2012 18:00
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rules.md

Asking questions, the right way

When asking questions in the #rubyonrails channel, please follow these 12 simple rules. Can't count that high? The first 7 will get you in most people's good books.

  1. Do your research beforehand. Your question may be answerable with a quick Google search or by simply experimenting. If you're using a method in Rails, look it up in the API Docs or in the Official Guides.
  2. If you've tried Googling, explain what terms you've tried to use so people can better help you.
  3. Clearly explain what is happening and create a Gist (http://gist.github.com) or Pastie (http://pastie.org) of the code that is causing the problem you are encountering, as well as any useful output like stacktraces. A "Full Trace" as opposed to the default "Application Trace" is preferred. NO FAKE CODE. If you're under an NDA, we cannot help you with your problem. Go hire a consultant.
  4. Do not use any service that is not Pastie or Gist to post code. Pastebin, for example has a tiny font and it has ads on it which cause the page to load slowly. Other paste services generally look like crap.
  5. Saying that something "doesn't work" is completely useless to the people who are trying to help you. Please show all available information you have that indicates to you that something doesn't work.
  6. Remember that using English is preferable, as the majority of people in the channel speak it. Asking in other languages may give you a response, but English is best.
  7. Anything more than 2 lines goes in a Gist (http://gist.github.com) or a Pastie (http://pastie.org). Spamming the channel with walls of text is not welcome.
  8. Treat people in a considerate manner, as they are volunteering their time to help you. If you're being annoying you may be muted by one of the channel ops.
  9. Do not use excessive punctuation. This includes question marks (?), exclamation marks (!) and ellipsis (...).
  10. Do not beg / plead with people to help you. This includes asking questions like "Any ideas?" after posting your original question.
  11. Do not repeat your question every 5 minutes expecting somebody to answer it. If you do not get a reply after the first time perhaps posting your question on StackOverflow (http://stackoverflow.com) would help you. Linking to the question in the channel after you've posted it is OK.
  12. Do not PM members of the channel without first asking if that is OK.
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