Guide: How to Ask For Help

The key points to getting help, fast

We've all been there. You're stuck and you need an answer quickly. The problem is, you submit a post but everyone's too busy to help or your post just falls silent.

Make as much progress as you can

• Are you searching the internet with the right keywords?
• Is there other anyway you can approach the problem?
• Can you break the problem into smaller chunks and solve it one problem at a time?
• Have you checked the documentation thoroughly?
• Have you reviewed similar issues in the project's issue tracker?
• Have you tried debugging the problem yourself first?

Keep your question precise, but give enough background

Put yourself in the other person shoes when you are typing out the question. That other person is probably busy or has their own problems to solve.

• Set your Topic Title to be clear and descriptive
• Create a good description of the problem
• Make your content "scannable", so people can quickly read your post
• Format your code clearly and correctly
• Include a background of the issue, but just enough to not overwhelm others
• Mention what you've already tried
• Specify your development environment (OS, versions, etc.)

Other questions that your post should answer:

• What is the problem you are trying to solve?
• What steps do you take to replicate your problem?
• What is the expected behavior?
• What is the actual behavior you're seeing?
• What have you already tried to solve the problem?
• What version of the software/framework/library are you using?

Open your post in the correct category

When opening new topics, please choose the correct category. It will help our moderators out greatly and ensure your question reaches the right audience. Consider these factors when choosing a category:

• Is it a general question or specific to a technology?
• Is it a bug report or a feature request?
• Is it a question about implementation or architecture?
• Is it a security-related question?

Use a clear title and labels

Avoid using vague titles like "Bug report" or "Feature request". Instead, be specific and descriptive.

Some examples of good titles:

Title Standards

A good title should be:

• Concise: Keep it under 60 characters when possible
• Specific: Include key technical details
• Searchable: Use relevant keywords
• Clear: Avoid jargon unless necessary
• Actionable: Indicate what you're trying to achieve

Examples of Good Titles

✅ Good Examples:

• "Bug: Login form validation fails on Safari 16.0"
• "Feature: Add dark mode support to dashboard"
• "Docs: Update API authentication guide for v2.0"
• "Performance: Reduce initial page load time by 40%"
• "Mobile: Fix navigation menu overlap on iPhone 12"
• "Security: Address XSS vulnerability in user input"
• "UX: Improve form error message visibility"
• "Backend: Optimize database queries for user search"

❌ Poor Examples:

• "Bug fix needed" (too vague)
• "Something's broken" (no context)
• "URGENT: Please fix this" (unprofessional)
• "New feature idea" (too generic)
• "Can you add this?" (doesn't specify what)

Title Components

When applicable, include these elements:

1. Component/Feature: The specific part of the system affected
2. Type: Prefix with "Bug:", "Feature:", or "Docs:" if not obvious
3. Environment: Add if environment-specific (e.g., "in Safari", "on mobile")
4. Impact: Indicate severity for bugs (e.g., "critical", "minor")
5. Scope: Mention if it affects multiple components

If you're repeating yourself in many titles, it's a good idea to use labels to organize the issues.

Reporting Bugs

If you are reporting a bug, please provide the following information:

• A clear and concise description of the bug
• Steps to reproduce the bug
• Expected behavior
• Actual behavior

Here's a good template for reporting bugs:

# 👉 Describe the problem
[comment]: <> (A clear and concise description of the problem)
- 

# 📝 Steps to reproduce
[comment]: <> (How to reproduce the bug)
- 

# 🙏 Expected behavior
[comment]: <> (What you expected to happen)
- 

# 🔥 Actual behavior
[comment]: <> (What actually happened)
- 

# 🌎 Environment
[comment]: <> (What is your environment? What is your operating system? What is your browser? What is your version of the software/framework/library?)
- 

# 📸 Additional context
[comment]: <> (Add any other context like URLs, screenshots, etc. about the problem here.)
-

Feature Requests

We once stumbled upon a post called "Feature Requests That Don't Suck" and we we're really inspired by it. When you're requesting a feature, be tangible as possible.

# 👉 Describe the problem
[comment]: <> (What are you trying to solve?)

# 👥 Problem evidence & reach
[comment]: <> (How many people have this problem?)

# 🏆 How to solve this problem
[comment]: <> (Describe the feature that you are proposing and how it will solve the problem)

### Detail 1
* A
* B
* C

### Detail 2
* E
* F
* G

# 🥰 Describe the "impact" on users?
[comment]: <> (How will this make people's lives better once it is solved?)

# 💯 How do we validate the problem is solved?
[comment]: <> (Explain use cases on how we can measure the success of this implementation)

Explaining Complex Issues

The best issues are:

• Short and concise
• Clear and to the point
• Well organized
• Easy to understand
• Easy to replicate
• Easy to test

If needed, add a diagram or a short screen recording to help others understand the issue. Try to make your issue as focused as possible.

Formatting Code

Formatting your code will help others understand what you are talking about faster. Here's how it works:

Inline code

You can wrap your inline code with the "backticks" (`). Like this:

`inline code`

Multi-line code

You can wrap multi-line code by using three backticks ("`). Always specify the language for proper syntax highlighting:

function example() {
    console.log("Hello World");
}

Multi-line, Multi-file

If you have multiple files you can use the "Hide Details" function to clearly label it. You can do this by wrapping your code in the [details="filename.extension"][/details] tags.

[details="app.js"]
``javascript
var app = new Vue({
  el: '#app',
  data: {
    message: 'Hello Vue!'
  }
})
``
[/details]

[details="index.html"]
``html
<script type="text/javascript" src="app.js"></script>
<h1>Hello world!<h1>

``
[/details]

Keep all discussions on the forum

If you start a conversation on the forum, keep it on the forum. Don't switched to direct messaging. Keeping your discussion in public will help other people solve problems in the future too. This approach has several benefits:

• Creates a searchable knowledge base
• Helps others with similar problems
• Allows multiple perspectives and solutions
• Builds community knowledge
• Makes it easier for moderators to track and manage discussions

Mark your topics as resolved

If someone is able to help you out, mark the post that solved your problem. This helps:

• Indicate to others that the solution worked
• Save time for people searching for similar issues
• Show appreciation to those who helped
• Keep the forum organized and up-to-date

Most Importantly: Treat others the way you want to be treated

Be respectful. People are busy and people have their own problems to worry about. Be thankful and be appreciative of every community member that tries to help you out.

We have a very low tolerance for sarcasm and people who are ungrateful for community help. Make sure you are always be respecting our guidelines or we will just remove you from the community.

Community Etiquette

• Be patient - not everyone can respond immediately
• Be clear and concise in your responses
• Acknowledge when someone helps you
• If you disagree, do so respectfully
• Share your knowledge when you can
• Report inappropriate behavior to moderators

Don't be intimidated and don't be shy

We're a friendly group of people. Don't be afraid to ask any questions. Asking questions is the only way that you will learn.

If you aren't sure about anything, just reach out to any of our staff and we can help you out!

Remember...

• Every expert was once a beginner
• There are no "stupid" questions
• The community grows stronger when we help each other
• Your question might help others who are too shy to ask
• Learning is a continuous journey