Forum Guidelines

From LabVIEW Wiki

Contents 1 Introduction 2 Finding information 3 Contributing and posting in the forums 4 Homework hustlers 5 Glossary of useful forum terms 6 File downloads in the forums 7 The golden forum rules 8 Penalties for guideline and golden rule violations 9 Note 10 See also 11 External links

Introduction

These rules and guidelines apply to the LAVA Forums and all the discussion threads associated with the Wiki articles. For Guidelines pertaining to other areas of the site see:

• LabVIEW Wiki Policies and Guidelines
• Complete LabVIEW Wiki Help, FAQ and Guidelines
• Code Repository Information and Procedure

The LAVA Forums are managed and maintained by dedicated LabVIEW enthusiasts like yourself. We are volunteers committed to the development of an open and unbiased exchange of ideas on intermediate to advanced topics in LabVIEW. The document that follows covers key areas of the Forums and should answer most of your questions regarding features, proper usage and etiquette.

Finding information

Use Search. Your question has probably already been answered. Before posting a LabVIEW question we recommend that you try checking the LabVIEW FAQ and if your question is still not answered, Search the Forums. A link for searching the Forums can be found in the top header banner at the top right of all pages in the Forums.

Contributing and posting in the forums

• Use images. Images are the best way to convey the problem you are having. In LabVIEW this is more important because of the graphical nature of the language. You cannot include text code like you would in C++ or other languages. Please check our Guide for how to post images.
• Upload example code. We love that here. Please upload your code that you are having problems with. You can include all your code into a single llb or just include all vi's into a *.zip file format. If certain files are missing then it will be more difficult for others to help you with your problem. You will be surprised how many people are willing to re-write your code and make suggestions for you. This can only happen with functional code. Are you uploading code in response to a question? If so then please respect the recipient's LabVIEW version. If you can, perform a save to previous version on your code so they can open it up in their LabVIEW development environment. If the code is very simple and is contained on one diagram then you might want to consider posting an image of the solution instead.
• Post in the right Forum. Choose a Forum which best suits the topic of your question. For example, questions about user interface issues would best be put in the user interface Forum, questions about hardware would go in the hardware Forum. Regardless of which Forum you post in, be detailed. Include as much pertinent information as possible in your question and also include all relevant system specs. Do not respond to a post located in the wrong forum to let the user know it's in the wrong forum. This is the job of the moderator since they have the power to move the post. Again, please use the report post to moderator button. Making comments of this fact is considered impersonating a moderator and is not acceptable.
• Update your personal profile information to include the current LV version you are using. This will help everyone answer your question properly and tailor it to the proper version you have. Unlike other forums, the number of posts you have does not reflect the experience you have using LV. Please be honest about your experience level. If you are a new user or an experienced professional, this should be reflected by specifying the year you started using LabVIEW in your profile.
• Don't cross-post. Cross-posting (asking the same question in more than one LAVA Forum) is pretty annoying, so people often ignore cross-posts. Even worse, your question may be deleted by a moderator (mod) or administator (admin). Don't worry, most users check most, if not all of the Forums, so your question will be answered. The reason for this policy is that cross-posts put irrelevant information which takes time to comb through. By avoiding redundant posts, the Forums are kept 'cleaner', thus, it makes it easier to find, and answer questions.
• Ask Questions the right way. Please help others trying to hep you by providing as much information as possible. Explain what the problem is, what you have done so far, what works, what does not work, etc. Here is an excellent link with more suggestions on How to Ask Questions the Smart Way
• Be nice to new LabVIEW Users. All of us were new once and many of us still consider ourselves new to LabVIEW even after months (or years) of programming. New LabVIEW users are prospective "Architects" and are therefore our most valuable resource. We must treat new users with kindness and patience — nothing scares potentially valuable contributors away faster than hostility or elitism. please follow the Golden Rules below for proper conduct. In general, do not post comments to any discussion about how the user will be better off on another website or forum.
• Don't abuse the PM (Personal Message System) Please don't PM people on these forums for LabVIEW technical support. Especially after you've already posted your question on the Forums. It is a personal choice for someone to respond to a question on the Forums. A PM is Personal (hence the name). Would you go around town knocking on the doors of people you don't know asking for LV help? No, so why would you do the same on the internet? Most of the time, a PM triggers an email notification to the recipient which can be even more annoying. Please think twice before sending a PM. If the person has not responded to your question on the Forums then what makes you think they will respond in person? I think your chances of getting a response from thousands of readers is better than just a response from one.... 'nuf said.
• Signature Size. Signatures may contain images, however to keep the page loading time and visual annoyance factor down to a minimum, ensure your graphical signatures do not exceed a maximum of 12,500 pixels or 15 kilobytes file size, whichever is reached first. Alternatively, three lines of text can be used as a signature. Do not pad out your text lines with blanks lines. A line of text is defined such that it does not wrap when viewed at a resolution of 640x480. If these limits are exceeded then you may be contacted by a moderator requesting an amendment to your signature. If none is made within a reasonable period of time, then a moderator may remove your signature from your profile.
• DON'T WRITE ALL IN CAPS. IT CAN BECOME VERY ANNOYING. CAPS ARE GENERALLY REGARDED AS YELLING, SO IF YOU WRITE ALL IN CAPS, FOLKS WILL THINK YOU ARE YELLING AT THEM, SO THEY WILL AVOID YOU. ALSO, CAPS LOOK ugly, so avoid writing all in caps.
• No flame wars (see glossary below). People obviously don't like to be insulted, so they will avoid flame wars. Flamers get a bad reputation, so their questions are more likely to be ignored.
• Spread the Love. The regulars would really appreciate it if you would acknowledge the helpfulness of their aid. Not only does praise make them love you, it helps them to understand if their help really was helpful. This way, they will know how to respond if they get a similar question again. This way, they can tailor their responses to better suit your needs.
• You may not use profanity. It is unprofessional and offensive and will not be tolerated. We have word filters in place for the most vulgar terms. Circumventing those word filters will result in punitive action.
• Editing previous posts. It is often better to edit than make a new post. Use your better judgment. At the bottom of each of your posts, you will find several icons. Click on the one that says 'Edit' in order to edit a post. You may only edit a post you have written, and there is a 24hr time limit on editions. Here are some general guidelines to follow when editing posts:
  • Don't take out anything that may be required to understand the context of later posts
  • Edit a previous post rather than make a new one. Use your judgment; sometimes it's necessary to make a new post.
  • It's polite to sometimes list what was edited at the bottom of the post. If this ends up being longer than 2 lines, don't bother.
• We require all posts to be positive, constructive, and on topic. We reserve the right to remove any topics we deem inappropriate or disruptive to the LabVIEW community. Please note that, from time to time, topics may be removed for being inappropriate even though your individual post in that topic may have been perfectly fine. Please do not feel this reflects badly on you.
• No Spam. Spamming is not permitted; please keep all your posts as constructive and on-topic as possible. If you think a specific post is clearly spam use the report post to moderator button. Replying to such posts only adds visibility to them and makes the problem worse.

Homework hustlers

Homework hustlers are those forum visitors that ask questions on the forums trying to get an easy solution to a school assignment. They do not try to put any effort on their own to solve the school assignment and want other forum members to give them the answer or solution to their problem. Homework Hustlers are not allowed on the Forums. No exceptions.

If you think a certain post is a homework hustling type question. Click on the report post to moderator button. This is the only recourse available to you. DO NOT respond to the post. You are not a moderator and posting negative or disrespectful comments will be considered abuse and results in a penalty by suspension of your account for a period of 2 days (see #Penalties for guideline and golden rule violations). If a post has been determined to be a Homework question, the guilty party will be contacted via PM and a clarification will be requested. If the issue is still not resolved to the satisfaction of a moderator, then the users' account will be deleted and all their posts removed.

Glossary of useful forum terms

1. Admin - (shortened form of Administrator); The ultimate gods of the Forums. They make the final decision on who can be banned, and other life-threatening questions.
2. Banned - This is when you are not allowed to make anymore posts. Your IP address, E-mail address, and user name will prevent you to make anymore posts. This is extreeeeemly rare, and is preceded by a warning.
3. LabVIEW FAQ - Frequently asked questions. The best resource for common questions.
4. Flame war - a deliberate exchange of insults between two parties. This usually involves a series of insulting, irrelevant posts in the same thread.
5. Kill - To delete a post.
6. LQTM - Laughs Quietly To Myself - similar to, but usually more honest than, LOL (see below).
7. LOL - Laughs Out loud.
8. RMB - Right menu Button (used in LabVIEW)
9. AFAIK - As far as I know
10. Nuke - To maliciously destroy a thread.
11. Mod - shortened form of Moderator); A moderator who has been given the power to delete/edit other people's posts. They are there to ensure that discussions are relevant and interesting. Don't worry, they only use their powers very sparingly. The moderators were chosen by God himself. God, what with being all-knowing and stuff, chose enough moderators to handle the load. Please don't ask to be made a moderator. We have enough, and you will only be disappointed.
12. OCG - Modern, and slightly crude, interpretation to OMG (see below).
13. OMG - Oh My God or Oh My Gosh - an expression of exclaimation.
14. Regular - Someone who lives on the Forums. Their diet usually consists of waffles, syrup and Mountain Dew. Renowned for their general friendliness, regulars are far from being extinct. But please, support their cause by donating generously to the Poor Boy Foundation
15. Thread - A topic started by one member to which anyone can reply. Discussions should be about the original topic.
16. PM - Private Message
17. IMHO - In my humble opinion, used to express one's meaning

File downloads in the forums

An important thing to keep in mind. This is of course, a public space and it behooves you and the health of your computer to take care in clicking on any links/files of unknown origin that someone may post in a thread. Sad as it may seem, there are unsocialized bone nuts out there that get their jollies by causing mayhem. Due to the immediate nature of the forums, we can't insure that a damaging file won't find its way onto the site, though we'll make every effort to keep things safe by removing them ASAP. Please inform the Forum admin or any moderators you see wandering around if you spy something suspicious. Exercise caution and keep your common sense meter turned on and properly calibrated. We cannot be held responsible for the content posted by other Forum users. It may very well happen that something posted, be it text, images, files, or links to any of these thing may be offensive to you. The LAVA moderators will do the best they can to keep the Forums clean of offensive posts, but with such a large community, it is impossible to screen every post quickly and efficiently. Also keep in mind that we highly regard free speech, so the protection of that right will be utmost in deeming what is appropriate. If you have any specific complaint about something offensive you have seen, please feel free to contact a moderator or administrator. The best prevention is sound judgment.

Information about file downloads in the Code Repository can be found here:

The golden forum rules

1. There will be no excessive use of profanity.
2. Do not abuse the PM system
3. There will be no racial, ethnic, gender based insults or any other personal discriminations.
4. There will be no posts meant to offend or hurt any other member, in a manner which is offensive or inflammatory. Respect new members trying to learn LabVIEW.
5. Spamming is not permitted; please keep all your posts as constructive and on-topic as possible.
6. Pornography, warez, or any other illegal transactions may NOT be linked in any shape or form.
7. All posts are property of the poster. This forum and all web sites owned in conjunction with this forum have the right to request alteration or deletion of any offensive post. Posts may be deleted for any reasons the forum administrators or moderators deem reasonable.
8. Users may not argue a moderators decision publicly. Any and all complaints directed at a moderator must first address the moderator in question via PM. If the problem can not be resolved, then the moderator and user must send their positions to the forum admin. The forum admin will make or change any and/or all final decisions.
9. Pictures may be posted as long as they are not explicit or offensive.
10. Please keep foul language to a minimum, any excessive un-called for language will be removed and you will receive a final warning.
11. Remember to post in the correct forum. Take your time to look at other topics and see where your topic should go. If your topic is placed in the wrong forum, it will be moved by a moderator.
12. If a topic is recognized as being posted in the wrong forum, or if the post is a violation of our guidelines then please contact a moderator via the "! REPORT" post to moderator feature; please do not respond publicly to the member - a member of staff will do what is required upon contact. Any person/s who attempt to present themselves as a Moderator by posting negatively to a appropriateness of a member's topic will be sent a PM warning and placed into moderation queue upon further actions.
13. Having fun is good, we like fun. There are general forums for non-programming related topics. Please keep it positive and polite. We do not censor opinions or ideas on our forums but we do take action against posts and/or topics that could cause unrest in the community beyond a civil and polite disagreement. If you beleive that a post and/or thread fits this critereon then please contact a moderator via the "! REPORT" post to moderator feature; please do not respond publicly to the member - a member of staff will do what is required upon contact. Any person/s who attempt to present themselves as a Moderator by posting negatively to a appropriateness of a member's will be sent a PM warning and placed into moderation queue upon further actions.
14. Any impersonation of a user, Admin or moderator, in any mode of communication, is strictly prohibited and will result in a banning.
15. Linked and locked topics are pruned regularly to reduce page clutter. If you have a question about where your topic went, please PM (personal message) a Moderator or Administrator before starting a new topic asking where it went, or posting a duplicate of the original topic. We will be happy to provide you with a link to the new location, or a reason why it was locked and/or removed.
16. Homework Hustlers are not allowed on the Forums. No exceptions.
17. LabVIEW serial number or registration key requests are NOT allowed. No exceptions.

Penalties for guideline and golden rule violations

• Anyone found breaking the above rules and guidelines will have their account suspended for two (2) days.
• Anyone abusing the PM system will have their account suspended for four (4) days.
• If you repeatedly break the rules, your account will be permanently deleted and a ban placed on your registration info to prevent the account from being reused in the future.

All moderator decisions and outcomes (suspensions, deletions etc) will be kept private and confidential. This will allow offenders to recover from what may possibly be a mistake or error on their part or on the part of the moderators.

Note

Only the moderators are authorized by the LAVA Forums to perform any user account suspension/deletion, post editing, post deletion and post moving. In addition, only moderators can decide if a post is a Homework question. Moderators do not read every post. This is impossible. Please use the report post to moderator button to bring anything to the attention of a moderator.

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Remember, being a nice netizen will lead to respect, which leads to prompt answers and much fun. Do your best to be cordial, and you will see what a great thing the LabVIEW community is. If you have any questions about any issue brought up by this thread, feel free to ask the moderators, or your fellow Forumites. Above all, have a nice day

See also

• Tutorials on Using the Forums
• General Forums Feedback & Support
• Post Suggestions and Ideas for the Forums
• Report a Forum Bug

External links

• How to Ask Questions the Smart Way