Issue Queue Etiquette

Inevitably in your Drupal journey you're going to come to a point where you get stuck, either because you don't know how something works or there is a bug either in Drupal or one of the contributed modules you have used to build your site.

The chances are you'll put some details of your problem into your favourite search engine and after a bit of investigating you find yourself at the "Issue Queue" for some module or other that may or may not be related to your problem.

This page is an attempt to explain the etiquette of posting on Issue Queues. Following the correct etiquette (ie manners) will almost certainly get you better help from the developers and will result in an all round happier experience for everyone.

So, without further ado, here are some Do's and Don'ts of the Issue Queue.

• Do: Provide as full a description of the problem as you can.
• Don't: just say "xyz module doesn't work"
• Do: Be grateful. Talented, hard working people are giving you their time for free. Saying "thank you" costs you nothing but makes the person who has just given you 10 minutes (or 30 minutes) of their day glad that they did so.
• Don't: Be ungrateful. It can be very frustrating when something doesn't work as you'd hoped but don't take this out on the developer or the issue queue.
• Do: Search the issue queue for the same or similar issues to the one you're having.
• Do: When posting, consider whether your question is relevant to the current issue or whether you should create a new issue.
• Don't: "Hijack" other issues by posting your question any old place without considering whether it would be more logical to create a new issue
• Do: Come back and tell the community if a particular solution worked for you or not. If you post a question and then find an answer elsewhere come back and post a link to it. You will help people who come after you and you'll be surprised how many people will notice that you're helpful and you are more likely to get better help yourself in future.
• Don't: Post a question and then not follow up any responses. If you manage to solve your problem (or even if you give up) go back and say so. Nobody will mind if this causes a little bit of wasted time. Stuff happens, they will understand that. However, if you ask a question, this means someone has to think about your problem and spend time responding to it. Ignoring those responses is extremely rude to the person who gave up their time to help you. Again, you'll be amazed how many people are taking note and will be much less likely to help you in future.
• Do: Read, re-read and re-read again any documentation before posting your question
• Don't: Take anything personally, most people will be very helpful but some get harassed on a daily (or hourly) basis by strangers wanting answers to their questions. Getting snappy or sarcastic may not be ideal, but it goes with the territory. Whoever said "There are no stupid questions" obviously wasn't a software developer in the 21st century.
• Don't: Be afraid to ask questions. If you've made the slightest effort to follow the above points, it will be obvious and people will be quite tolerant of any mistakes you make

This page is a work in progress. Please feel free to make suggestions / corrections.