Working in the forums
This page is for advocates who help in the forums at share.exponential.earth/forums. The forums are where questions and answers stay findable for years. A good answer there helps many people you will never meet.
Contents
Why the forums matter
- The README names them as the place to get more help (Community places).
- There is a forum for Exponential Platform too (Who is 7x?, The community).
- Unlike a chat, threads are searchable and linkable.
Before you post
- Search the forums for the topic.
- Check the help for a page that answers it (Pointing to the right help page).
- Pick the right forum (Exponential 6 or Exponential Platform).
- Read the forum's own rules on Share.
Answering
| Do | Why |
|---|---|
| Restate the question in one line | Shows you understood; helps searchers |
| Answer briefly first, then details | Most readers want the short answer |
| Link the help page or source | Teaches where to look; proves the answer |
| Say which version you checked | Answers age |
| Ask for missing information kindly | "Which version and database do you use?" |
| Come back if you promised to | Trust grows from follow-up |
ANSWER TEMPLATE
If I understand right, you want to <restated question>.
Short answer: <answer>.
Details: <steps or explanation>. The help page "<title>" covers it: <link>.
(Checked on Exponential <6.0.x>.)
If that doesn't match what you see, could you tell us your version, database and what exactly happens?More on tone and content: Answering questions well.
Asking
Advocates ask questions too. A good question gets answers faster:
QUESTION TEMPLATE
Title: <what you want to do> - <what goes wrong>
What I want to do: <goal>
What I did: <steps>
What I expected: <...>
What happened: <exact message>
Environment: Exponential <version>, PHP <version>, <engine>, <database>, <design>
What I tried: <links you read>Never include passwords, keys, database addresses or personal data (When something goes wrong).
A weekly routine
WEEKLY FORUM ROUTINE (30 minutes) Week of <date>
[ ] Read new threads since last week
[ ] Answer 1-3 questions I can answer with a source
[ ] Point 1 bug report to the right tracker
[ ] Note repeated questions -> help page improvement
[ ] Follow up on my open threads
[ ] Log links in my contribution logKeeping threads useful
- When a thread is solved, post the solution clearly, even if you found it yourself.
- When the answer was a bug, link the issue; when it is fixed, post the release.
- When a thread is outdated, add a short note with the current way and its help page.
- Do not revive very old threads with "+1"; start a new thread and link the old one.
Related pages
- Answering questions well
- The Telegram chat
- Welcoming newcomers
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
Become an Exponential Partner
Partners share their information, provide funding, contribute back and develop the products with us, and that is how Exponential grows. A partner website and dashboard are planned for mid-2027: please become a partner today to speed up our growth rate and land new features faster.