Tips and Tricks

Thank you for starting new discussions and asking questions. The more you contribute, the better this forum becomes.

Here are a few tips to help you create great discussions:

This forum has a text editor that uses markdown. Go here for a guide to formatting in markdown.

Proofread. Spelling mistakes, typos, and bad grammar will distract readers from the point you’re trying to make. Vanilla automatically saves drafts as you type. If you’re writing a long post, save it as a draft and come back to it after a few minutes or as long as it takes your brain to forget what you had written.

Use minimal formatting. Overly formatted posts can also distract from the message and it encourages others to do likewise and you end up with a hard to read thread.

Put your post in the right category. The right category can be the one that has a relevant category name or it can be a category where this kind of post is often made.

Use tags. Tags are helpful for others to find keyword related posts. It also helps the site admins get a sense for what topics are popular.

Add an image. Images add visual interest and make your post look great when shared to social networks. You can embed an image using the button bar or you can upload one from your desktop or phone.

Mention others. Credit other members if you are building off their previous comments or if you want to draw them into the discussion. Put the @ before a username to mention someone.

Make the discussion title or question as descriptive as possible. A good discussion title is a short preview of your post and is what gets people to click and read. A well written title is also going to help search engines better index your post which will bring more people into the discussion. For example, instead of ‘Won’t Connect,’ try ‘Help, I’m having problems getting my Acme modem into bridge mode.’

Additionally, you can format any code examples as such by using the "code" option under the paragraph symbol on the editor's toolbar. You'll find other options under that menu for formatting quoted text and marking "spoiler" content.

As a best practice in threaded discussions, begin your replies with quoted text from the post to which you're responding. That will keep conversations clear. Also, link to other discussion and code critique threads whenever appropriate.

Take ownership. Most important of all, take ownership of the discussions that you have created. Respond to comments promptly and thoughtfully. Thank others for commenting on your discussion and help with moderation if things get heated.

For the first time in a CCSWG, you can see the discussions and code critiques from the previous forums in this forum. However, you cannot continue those discussions on those threads.

We hope you enjoy this online working group!