How to ask for help in an user forum

Today no rants, I'll write an how-to.

The occasion for this comes from the ns-3 user forum. It's a kinda peculiar forum, as "users" are not really simply users.

Ns-3 is a network simulator, and is GUI-less. There are some graphical front ends, but the primary way to work with it is by writing a C++ or Python program.
As a consequence, its users are (mostly) able to develop a program, sometimes even very complex ones.

No matter how good the user is, often they find issues, and the forum is where they look for help.
Some posts in the forum are "easy" to answer to, some are... less. And this is why I'm writing this how-to.

1. The post topic: state your issue briefly.
2. The post: describe your issue in detail.
3. The attachments: use them, if needed.
4. The code in the post: don't do it.
5. Reply to old posts: avoid it.
6. Patience is a virtue: don't expect a reply in hours.

Let's see what I mean with some examples.

You have an issue. The first thing is to search the forum for old posts. Maybe somebody had the same issue and was solved. Let's suppose you found something similar, but no definitive answer was given (or you can't fix your issue following the thread you found).

This is a case where you may reply in the thread, but keep in mind that ns-3 is an evolving system (around 4 releases/year), and the code base may be very different from, let's say, 4-5 releases ago.

A better option is to start a new thread and link the relevant threads in your post.

You don't find anything. You start a new thread. Do not post a message with a "help needed" topic. Be specific. The more specific, the better.

The post body: state exactly what's your problem, along with relevant info, like: ns-3 version, operating system, compiler version, if you did modify the code, etc.

If you have issues with one of your programs, do not post snippets, attach the code to the message. Don't copy it in the body, attachments are there for a reason.

And then... patience. There are a few people checking the foams almost daily, but they're not paid for that. So, wait. If you don't get an answer, don't give up. Try to write to the code maintainers, and be polite, they're not paid either.

The last thing is a suggestion (a strong one). Be polite. If you're planning to ask somebody to give you his/her code, remember to ask 'em kindly. "Please"is just 6 keystrokes. Moreover, especially if the posts are old (let's say, more than 6 months ago), chances are that the original poster isn't following the forum anymore. Try writing them directly, it might work.

Have fun coding !