CodeProject Quick Answers FAQ

Table of Contents

• What are the rules to posting?
• How do I use this thing?
• How does accepting solutions work?
• How does editing content work?
• How do I improve my question?
• How does deleting work?
• What is a 'Closed' tag?
• How does the reputation system work?
• Can I create new tags?

1. What are the rules to posting?

   For Quick Answers, we ask that you post a clear, answerable question relevant to software development. If you cannot follow the rules, your post will be removed.

   1. Have you searched or Googled for a solution?
   2. Are you asking a specific question, or are you giving the members a task to perform? We do not debug, we do not build projects, we do not write your code for you, and we cannot educate you about programming concepts. These are quick answers. Please tell us: Where you are stuck? What part of your code is the problem? What error are you getting?
   3. Tag your question appropriately.
   4. Be courteous and DON'T SHOUT. Everyone here helps because they enjoy helping others, not because it's their job.
   5. Do not remove or empty a message if others have replied. Keep the thread intact and available for others to search and read.
   6. Do not be abusive, offensive, inappropriate, harass anyone on the boards or post ads or spam. Doing so will get you kicked off and banned. Play nice.


2. How do I use this thing?

   First, select "Ask a Question" from the green tile on the home page.

   

   Or select "Ask a Question" from the Quick Answers drop-down on the home page.

   

   Next, enter your question. Make sure to that your question is between 20 and 250 characters, and between 3 and 50 words.

   

   Then, make sure you tell us what you've tried so far. This is to help people answering your question look over what you've tried, to see your process, or help you describe to people precisely where you're stuck.

   

   Then, type your tags into the Tags field. If existing tags are related to what you begin to enter, a dropdown will appear with those tags which you can select from.

   

   Our questions are written in an HTML format. If you are writing you question out, you can make use of the buttons to quickly add HTML tags like bold <b></b>, italics <i></i>, or variable names <code></code>.

    

   If you have question typed in another program and want to cut and paste it into the window, make note of the options below.  

   

   

   

   

   

   1. Strip HTML: HTML markup will be removed from the text.
   2. Encode HTML: Paste text will be automatically HTML encoded.
   3. Paste as-is: Clipboard will be pasted as-is, preserving HTML tags and entities.
   4. Code block: Clipboard text will be wrapped in PRE tags and content HTML encoded, always.
   5. Quoted Text: Clipboard text will be pasted within a quote block.
   6. Best guess: Sniff pasted text to see if it contains code and wrap in PRE blocks if it does.
      
3. How does accepting solutions work?

   Questions provide the option to "accept" an answer. Only the author has this ability. This is done by clicking the "Accept Solution" button. The author also has the option to undo this operation. Though multiple solutions can be accepted we recommend choosing as few as possible. By far the most common scenario is to have one accepted solution. But this depends, entirely, on the nature of the question.

   We strongly encourage authors to choose an accepted solution as often as possible. Of course, assuming such a solution exists. When an solution is designated as accepted its header is highlighted in green. It also appears at the top of the "Top Rated" tab.



4. How do I improve my question?

   Sometimes we get so deep into a problem that we lose the ability to describe it in a way other people can understand. It's OK. If members are commenting on your question, saying they do not understand your query or need more information, please use the "Improve question" option in the bottom-right corner. Please excuse our members curtness in the comments. This is a common problem we see in the hundreds on a daily basis and our volunteers on the Quick Answers fields are battle-weary. Please do not re-post or bump your question. If you approach other members with unending politeness and improve your question earnestly the world will be a better place.

    



5. How does editing content work?

   The ability to edit posts is dependent on your levels for specific reputation types. The following describes one or more levels and a set of associated reputation types. You have edit permission if you are the author or if you match all the levels with any one of the associated reputation types. We're still fine-tuning these rules so they may be tweaked.  

   silver

   • Author
   • Authority
   • Editor
   • Organiser


6. How does deleting work?

   The ability to delete entries in Quick Answers is dependent on your member type[^]. In order to delete entries in Quick Answers you must be either a Subeditor[^], Protector[^], Editor[^] or Admin[^]. We're still fine-tuning these rules so they may be tweaked. You can find all privileges such as deleting questions or answers at the Member Privileges page[^]



7. What is a 'Closed' tag?

   A tag that is "closed" can no longer be used to tag new questions. Only members with sufficient reputation are able to close tags. A tag may be closed for any of the following reasons:

   • Is considered a duplicate of another tag – perhaps due to an alternate spelling.
   • Is inappropriate to be used as a tag.
   • Is obsolete and should no longer be attributed to new questions.


8. How does the reputation system work?

   Reputation is something you gain - or lose - as you contribute to our communal knowledge base. Posting an question increases your reputation, but posting a bad question that other members down- vote decreases your reputation. If your goal is to increase your reputation then write good questions, vote for other good questions, hope that others in turn vote for your questions, and help out by organising and cleaning up the questions and answers. Vote them up, answer questions, or edit questions and answers that need a little help.

   Full details can be on the Reputation system page.

9. Can I create new tags?

   The ability to create new tags depends on your reputation. Specifically, if you have the reputation level for any of the reputation types described below, you can create tags (if this is unclear see the Reputation system page for more info). We're still fine-tuning these rules so they may be tweaked.

   silver

   • Author
   • Authority
   • Editor
   • Organiser