Moodle.org forums help

Getting Help in the Moodle Forum

The Moodle Forums are a tremendous resource in the world of open source community-supported learning management systems. The following is a list of guidelines for how to best access the support systems already active in the forums.

1.) Asking your question in the right Forum is the first important thing you need to do.

Since Moodle is compatible with so many different server types and operating systems, many of the questions that people ask (and the answers they are given) depend upon the operating system and computer hardware that is being used. For example, Moodle has a forum just for questions and answers that are specific to Moodle installations running on Windows servers. If, for example, you have a problem with your Moodle installation running on a hosted Linux server and you ask a question in the Windows forum, the people who are most likely to be able to help you may never see your message. If you aren't sure where your questions belong, try asking your question in the General Forum. [link to general forum to be inserted next edit]

2.) The next thing you need to do is write a subject line (also known as a discussion topic) that is an accurate one-line summary of your question.

If, for example, you are having trouble locating newly created course topics in your Moodle installation, a subject line like "Help My Moodle is broken!" is less likely to encourage people to read and answer your question than a subject line like: "Moodle 1.8.4, new course topics missing."

3.) Once you have written an informative subject line, there are certain elements you should include in your question to get the fastest possible results.

Your question should contain:

• The version of Moodle being used (or upgraded To or From)
• The server operating system and version [e.g. RedHat Linux 9.1, Mac OS X 1.4, Windows 2000, etc.]
• The web server being used [e.g. Apache 1.3.18, Apache 2.0.63, IIS 5, IIS 6, etc]
• The PHP version being used [e.g. 4.47, 5.23. 5.25, etc]
• The database being used [MySQL 5.0.41, PostgresQL 7.4, Windows Sequel 2000, etc]

If you don't have all this information, fill in as much as you can.

And, of course, it should contain your question. Remember that your question should be more like a (very) short story than a novel. It should be direct and to the point. For example, the question with the subject line:

---

Moodle 1.8.4, new course topics missing

My system: Moodle 1.8.4 FreeBSD 7.0 Apache 2.0.61 PHP 5.25 PostgresQL 8.1

After creating new course topics for weeks 7 and 8 in my Latin I class, I logged out of Moodle as an administrator and back in as a test student, but the the new course topics in 7 and 8 aren't there. Is there some documentation that might explain how to create new course topics that I can follow?

Tim

---

The question lists the hardware and software, a brief description of the events leadng up to the problem, the problem itself, and a request for a resource that might help the questioner solve his own problem. Knowledgeable Moodlers with experience or insight into that particular problem may even offer solutions in lieu of, or in addition to, any available resources that the questioner requested.

Editing your message in the Forum

Sometimes after posting a question in the Forum you may realize that you've omitted some important information, left out a word or phrase, or made some typographical error that needs to be corrected. For the first 30 minutes after you posted your question you can simply click on the Edit link at the lower right side of your message and return to the Moodle editor to make corrections, You can edit both the body of your Forum posting and the Subject line until the time period expires.

4.) Try to resist emailing or messaging users directly in most cases.

It might be tempting to email the maintainer of the module you have a question about. You are almost always better asking questions in a forum as the audience is much bigger and even Moodle contributers take holidays (sometimes). Don't worry about "clogging" up the forums or asking a stupid question in public. There are so many users out there that someone likely is running into a similar issue and your question will help them clarify their issues, too.

The Moodle Forums are free, community-supported, resources. Almost all of the participants donate their time and brain-power to the further refining of Moodle as an excellent and evolving learning management system that is provided without license fees to the general public. Questions and comments which are rude, incomprehensible or incomplete can discourage volunteers from sharing their time and their own limited resources with the entire community. It is helpful if your questions or comments try to stay on-topic for the Forum in which they are posted. If you are frustrated by your experience and feel the need to rant (as we all do sometimes), please remember that these Help forums are not the place for diatribes or flames. If you feel the need to address an aspect of Moodle or the online digital environment with other Moodle users that doesn't fit into any of the Help topics, you can use the Lounge (the Social Forum) for general discussions. But even in the Lounge, civil discourse is the Rule of the Day.

The Moodle Forums are a tremendous resource in the world of open source community-supported learning management systems. They will continue to evolve and improve as long as all of the participants also continue to be dedicated to their own improvement and that of the entire Moodle community.

Posting a Follow-up Message

1.) Reply to your own message to update its content

Many Forum users read the messages using a "threaded" view. In the "threaded" view messages are grouped according to their Subject line. Each message descends from its parent message according to its date. The oldest messages are at the top of the thread and each reply is nested below the original message. When you reply to your own message and keep the Subject intact, you not only have the opportunity to change or clarify the original question (or other information) that you posted, but you ensure its position in the thread by keeping it directly below your original posting. In that position people are more likely to see your messages, read through the thread and reply to your most recent post. If you change your Subject line, the message will still be available in the threaded view beneath your original post, but that change may make the message's context less obvious and lessen the likelihood that you'll receive a helpful reply.

Forum users who read messages in a "list" view, see messages vertically descending from oldest to newest with replies descending vertically from original messages. Quite often a reader must scroll down the page to follow the replies. These message postings and their replies are not grouped by subject but stacked below the oldest messages. A long scroll down a page can make it difficult to follow a message and its replies; a long scroll down a page to a message with a new subject makes it extremely difficult to follow the context of the original message and (if you can find them) the original message's replies.

2.) Quote sparingly from your original message

If you need to highlight inaccurate or incomplete information in your original message, quote just that specific information at the top of your message. There are many different ways to quote original content in a reply. Among the most recognized conventions is the single "greater-than" sign (the > symbol) at the beginning of each line you are quoting. Some people will quote previous message segments by using italics to highlight the quote, but this method (and any method that uses stylized test) may make it difficult for people using an adaptive technology method (screen reader software) to read the message and determine what is a quote from a previous message and what is actually new information. There is no need to quote your entire original message. If you have kept your Subject line intact, the original post will still be available in the thread or the message listing.

3.) Patience is still a Virtue so, please, be virtuous

If you post a message that needs additional clarification it is likely that there may be some additional delay before the message receives a reply. Forum readers are likely to initially skip questions that are missing important information --it is difficult to provide an accurate answer when the question, itself, is unclear. Please wait at least 48 hours before you post another message on the same subject. Please remember that Forum readers are from all around the world and the time zone differences may delay even immediate responses by 12 to 14 hours.