Contributing to the Community
Table of Contents
Code of Conduct
Before posting in the community, please take a moment to read our Code of Conduct. As a participant in these forums, you agree that you will uphold the Code of Conduct and are responsible for all activities and content you post/upload. In addition to upholding this Code of Conduct, you are responsible for adhering to all applicable local and national laws. This is your community. Help us to keep it safe, friendly, fun and helpful.
Making a Post
To ask a question in the community, navigate to the discussion board most closely aligned with your topic. A full list of the general forums can be found on the home page of the community and are identified by the 'chat bubble' icon. Click the Start a Discussion button. In the Title field, enter your message title. In the Body field, type your message. Be sure to include all necessary details, especially for technical topics.
You will need to choose a tag before posting. Tags are 'categories' that will make it easier to search through and filter for various labels of interest. Format and spell-check your message as needed. Click Publish.
Replying to a Post
Click Reply to respond to a post; the Reply Message screen is similar to the Post Message screen. Your reply is added to the existing thread, a new thread will not be created.
Editing a Post
You can edit your own post after it has been created. Please use this option sparingly to avoid confusion, in turn allowing the thread readers to follow the natural flow of the conversation.
- To edit your original post in a new thread that you created, click on the gear icon in the top right corner, under your avatar icon.
- Select Edit from the drop-down menu.
- To edit a reply in an existing thread, click on the three dots on the top right of your message, and you should see an option menu.
- Select Edit from the drop-down menu.
- A window with your post will open that looks the same as when you created your original post. Click Reply on the bottom right to save changes or click Cancel, if you choose not to save the changes.
Deleting a Post
You have the option of deleting your own posts (for example, if you have accidentally created two identical threads). Much like the edit option, this feature should be avoided, if possible, to help limit confusion. Please note that you can only delete a post if it has no replies. This applies to both new threads as well as replies to a conversation. You will not see a deletion option for any post with a reply.
- To delete a message or a new thread that you have created, click on the gear icon in the top right of your post.
- Select Delete from the drop-down menu.
- This takes you to a page where you’ll be asked to confirm or cancel the deletion. Please be sure that you want to delete the post, as the action cannot be undone once completed.
- To delete a reply, click on the three dots on the top right of your reply.
- Select Delete from the drop-down menu.
- This takes you to a page where you will confirm or cancel the deletion. Please be sure that you want to delete the post, as the action cannot be undone once completed.
Accepted Solutions
An Accepted Solution is a way for you to choose the reply that best answers a question you've posted. To mark a message as a solution, click Mark as Solution on the reply. When you accept a solution, both the question and the solution get special icons and links taking you directly from the question to the answer. You may only mark a solution as accepted for your own questions. Community moderators can also mark accepted solutions. Accepting a reply as a solution makes a few visual changes to that message and the thread itself. A “Solved” icon will appear below the thread name in boards and search results, making it more obvious (and easier for you to spot).
Protect Your Privacy
Always double-check to make sure that your post does not include personal or otherwise sensitive information. This can include (but is not limited to):
- Real names
- Your date of birth
- Physical addresses
- E-mail addresses
- Phone numbers
- Credit card information
- Log in information, especially passwords
- URLs
- Product codes
Sensitive information may also include sales figures and other information considered confidential by your company. Use your best judgement when sharing any data related to the company that you work for.
To protect your privacy, you should either fully exclude sensitive information or black it out in screenshots.
If you do expose PII information, that content may be removed from your post by community administrators.
Posts Marked as Spam
The platform automatically scans for spam, and we monitor all flagged posts to determine whether the content should be unflagged. There are numerous variables that the platform scans for and there is no true way of knowing exactly what triggered your post to be flagged. A common trigger would be copying and pasting content into the community and making multiple edits.
Do not worry if your post was marked as spam. We monitor reported posts during regular business hours and make sure to unflag anything that is not spam. If you happen to come across spam or other questionable content in posts, you may report it by selecting "Report Content" from the Settings dropdown menu represented by the gear icon on the top right of a post.