We've gathered some guidelines, collected through experience over time, to make your experience on our server (and other communities on the internet) optimally pleasurable. Read them carefully and ask us if something is unclear, we promise it's worth the effort.
This server is about helping people learn and improve their skills in web development. We do not "spoon-feed" answers to people. Do not expect to be immediately handed the answer you want. Our goal is to walk you through so you can find the answer yourself and broaden your understanding.
Instead of "does anyone know X", "can anyone help me?", or anything like that, simply state your question.
No one likes to have to dig information from you that could have been given from the start.
You can almost always never give too much information, but too little information makes it hard to help you. The harder you make it to help you, the less help you will get.
Explain what you've done, what you need, and what issues and errors you've encountered trying to fix it.
This includes providing code, screenshots, error messages, a link to the page(s) in question, anything you can think of.
Do not describe what you think the solution is, instead only describe the problem. (See: XY Problem)
To use code blocks, surround the code with the ` backtick character (not single quote or apostophe).
For inline code blocks use one backtick character on each side, giving you a line of code.
For multi-line code blocks surround the code with three backtick characters on their own line. For syntax highlighting put the language on the top line immediately after the opening of the code block.
function hello_world() {
echo 'hello world';
}Our rules explicitly state that unsolicited DMs are not allowed and you will be warned and/or banned for not following this rule.
If you need to share information that you don't want to share publicly, you can create a private thread and invite the person(s) you want to share with.
We cannot moderate DM help. We won't know if your problem was solved, what you tried, and if they have to leave in the middle of helping then no one else can easily pick up from where it was left off.
Video tutorials are in no way a comprehensive way to learn a subject. Videos should only be used to introduce a concept and add context so that reading the information directly from the source documentation can be easier to understand.
No video can replace the official documentation.
WordPress is not a good tool to use to learn web development. It obfuscates how HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP are used together to make pages and websites, which makes it much more difficult to understand.
Instead HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP should separately first before attempting to learn WordPress.
The XY problem is asking about your attempted solution rather than your actual problem. This leads to enormous amounts of wasted time and energy, both on the part of people asking for help, and on the part of those providing help. The problem occurs when people get stuck on what they believe is the solution and are unable step back and explain the issue in full.
- Always include information about a broader picture along with any attempted solution.
- If someone asks for more information, do provide details.
- If there are other solutions you've already ruled out, share why you've ruled them out. This gives more information about your requirements.
You are expected to do your own due diligence before requesting help here. It is required for you to make sure to: google the problem, check the official documentation (whether it's the docs for WordPress, your theme, the plugin you need help with, your hosting provider, or any other application or software you are using and having troupe with), and actually try solutions first.
Keep track of what worked, even if only partially, what changed and what didn't during your attempts and make sure to communicate your attempts to those you are requesting help from.
We are not a replacement for Google.
Please don't delete your messages. If you found an answer to your problem, just say so and how you solved it. That way everyone can learn.
It is very frustrating to spend time trying to help someone and find information for them only to realize they deleted their messages. It's also frustrating to have a conversation, then messages are deleted and you just seem to be talking to yourself suddenly.