Codex tools: Log in
This page is a welcome message for the Support Forums. We hope that you will find this a useful resource, as it is intended to be a "Quick-Start Manual" rather than full documentation. Please play nice. This introduction is designed to help you find your way around the forums and to hopefully get you started as quickly as possible. There is more information available at an expanded Codex article, Using the Support Forums.
Before you post, make sure you're posting about a self hosted WordPress.org site and NOT a WordPress.com site. If you're not sure, read WordPress.com vs WordPress.org.
Many of the questions that are posted in the forums have been posted many times before, and get the same answers each time. Before starting a new thread, please try searching the forums. Both the forums and the Codex have been indexed by Google, so if you can't find your answer with a forum search, it is worth typing it into Google too. E.G Google for SITE:wordpress.org/support widget
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The forum is split into sections, with each forum having its own one-line description on the front page. Please try to choose the most suitable section for your new topic, and please post your topic in only one section. Multi posting is frowned upon. Duplicate postings will be closed or might be deleted. Posting your own topic is smiled upon. Unless you're having 100% without any doubts or variation, the exact same problem, do not post in someone else's thread. Make your own.
If you have a question about a specific theme or plugin, then we suggest visiting that theme or plugin in the Extend section first, and then using the "Write a New Topic" link from there to make a post about that theme or plugin. This has the effect of tagging the post with that item's name, making it more visible to the author and making it more clear what your post is about. You're more likely to get a response this way.
When you start a new topic, try to use an appropriate title. "Database error creating a new post" is a good title. "URGENT HELP PLS!!!" is not a good title. A good title can be the difference between getting help and not.
Put down all the detail you can about your hosting environment, your WordPress install (plugins, themes, etc.) and the problem you are having. If you are seeing errors, copy them word for word into your post. It's best to include the full error than to summarise - sometimes wording is important. If you did something before you came across a problem, write down exactly what you did.
If your question relates to a specific site or page, please provide a link to it. It may help others when they are trying to help you.
Remember, though, the forum is not designed to be a link portal, so excessive linkage will be moderated, as might signatures or links with no associated question.
Signatures in threads will be removed as they cause clutter and distract from the information and help provided.
Some sites contain content that is not suitable for a general audience or for viewing whilst at work. To avoid creating problems for anyone who is trying to help you, please add NSFW to either the topic title or the content of your post, as well as tag your post NSFW, as a warning if you think your site falls into this category. (Otherwise your post / links may be removed.)
Do not bump posts. Bumping a post to "the top" does not help your topic get noticed. The volunteers who try to answer questions look for those without replies first. If you bump a post, then it disappears from the "No Replies" view. DO NOT BUMP.
Moderators will delete bumps they find. This is in order to help you get back into the No Replies listing, where you are more likely to get an answer.
More Than Ten Lines of Code.
If you want to add more than ten lines of code to a forum topic, please paste your code in a pastebin such as pastebin.com and submit it (see detailed instructions below). Then copy the pastebin URL into the forum topic. Otherwise, a moderator might remove your forum topic or the code.
Less Than Ten Lines of Code.
If you are posting just a few lines, please ensure that your code is enclosed in backticks (`) to stop it being parsed by the forum's software (which may also make it unreadable). Select your code in the editor and click on the "code" button to enclose your code in backticks.
Note: Anything you put in a forum topic or a pastebin is public. Anybody can see it. Don't post any passwords or private info there.
How to use a pastebin
WordPress is free software and this is a free forum, so requesting paid help is discouraged. We also do not need bidding wars in the forums. If you post asking for paid help and you have posted some contact information, your thread will not be deleted but it will be closed. If you have not posted contact information, we may ask you to add it. The thread will then be closed.
Any thread that offers any service for money can be closed at any time. We are not against paid services but these forums are not the right place for them. Please use WP Jobs instead.
If you leave the forums and can't find your thread when you get back, you can see a list of all the threads you have contributed to, and started, on your profile page. To view your profile click on "View your profile" link in the upper right of the blue header at the top of every forum page.
Note: The "View your profile" link is only available after you log in. You might want to login now, if you haven't already.
If you are here to help others, you can view a quick list of unanswered topics by using the "No Replies" link at the bottom of the front page. The "No Replies" filter is often used by folk to find questions to answer next. This is also a good reason why you shouldn't bump your topics. Bumping is discouraged and bumps may be deleted by the moderators.
If you're helping out, do your best to fully assist the person having the issues, and do not use your support as an excuse to promote your own site/themes/plugins. That behavior is frowned upon.
To report a bad (spam etc.) post, add a tag called 'modlook' to the thread. That feed is checked very regularly by the moderating team. The tag is only for reporting issues - abusing this tag in the hopes of attracting the attention of a moderator to your question will not be viewed kindly.
Note that it is not necessary to point out the problem, either with a post or with additional tags. Our moderators are smart. They'll scan the thread and find the problems themselves, and deal with it accordingly. Adding your own comments just gives them more to clean up, so please don't do it.
If you would like to discuss an aspect of the forum, or report a problem with the forum itself, there is a mailing list you can join at http://lists.automattic.com/mailman/listinfo/wp-forums Note that the mailing list is for discussing issues with the support forum itself, rather than for posting your problems in.
We reserve the right to close posts that are non-productive to the community.
While many times non-productive posts are deleted, sometimes they had some bearing on relevancy. In those instances, we will close them so the information remains, but discussion can no longer be furthered. This includes, but is not restricted to, posts on the following topics: Hosting recomendations (for or against), off topic conversations (i.e. non-WordPress), old/outdated topics, clearly resolved topics, excessive rudeness or antagonistic, and requests for paid support.
Sometimes you might notice that your posts are closed as soon as you post them. Normally this means that they have been caught in the spam queue. This is an automated process and sometimes catches posts by mistake. If this happens, a moderator then has to (manually) unspam your posts, so it may take a little while to be rectified. Your patience is appreciated!
We reserve the right to delete topics or posts that are off-topic or detrimental to the community.
Users can edit a post for up to 60 minutes from the time of submission. After that, the post can only be edited by a moderator.
It is not the general policy to edit or delete forum posts. When a post is made and people contribute answers to an issue, that then becomes part of the community resource for others to benefit from and deleting posts removes this added value. In extreme circumstances, members of the moderation team might be persuaded to remove sensitive information that has been included in posts accidentally - but your best course of action is not to publish anything that you wouldn't want to be public. (Remember too that other sites take archive copies of the forums, and we can do nothing to control that.)
Accounts are not deleted, not even for obvious spammers. If you don't want to use the forums anymore, log off and don't return. We'll miss you!
Usernames are not changed either. If you want to use a different username, then simply create the new username and stop using the old one.
As the moderators are all volunteers (no one gets paid), we ask that if you need moderator help for any reason, you post your request in the forum and tag it with the term "modlook" - someone will come take a look. Do not abuse that tag, or your account will be disabled.
AKA what not to do...
We need to keep the forums friendly, so, occasionally, topic content will be moderated. This might mean anything from the light editing of some posts to complete removal of topics and deactivation of accounts. It should really go without saying, but the following are likely candidates for moderation -
Spam and affiliate links, offensive posts, posts without content, flames, and references to adult content that have not been highlighted as NSFW.
Also, DO NOT post in all caps. This is considered shouting and is rude. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. Every post is judged on its own merits.
Do NOT press moderators or anyone else to help with premium themes. We do NOT support premium themes as you paid for their support when you bought it and it is not our place to keep shady vendors in business. If someone wants to help, that is fine.
And that's all. Enjoy your stay at the forums! Oh.. And, when you're done, please mark your topic as "Resolved". Thanks.
