Forum Moderators: open
To help new members get to grips with how best to contribute to, and benefit from the forums here at WebmasterWorld. Here are some general guidelines for posting code.
In several forums it's almost impossible to avoid posting code. There are some definate do's and don'ts though that will help you and people reading your posts get the best out of such threads.
DO post relevant sections of code.
Try to determine exactly what is needed by other members to understand your point and chop out all the 'fluff' that surrounds the relevant section.
DONT post the entire page
The best posts get the best responses and a post containing simple, relevant snippets to aid discussion will benefit everyone.
DO cut out any references to your site
Often your code snippets may have references to your url, your keywords or other identifiable elements that raise the question of self promotion. If you keep it generic, it saves the moderators time and keeps everyone on a level footing.
DO make use of Style Codes [webmasterworld.com]
The link is on the left of the textarea when you post. They can make the code you post more understandable by clearly marking it as code and not text.
DO change varibles and names
Many coders use a kind of shorthand that's only clear to them. That's great on your own projects but can be a real pain if you're trying to read someone elses code. Just use sensible names to make it easier for others to understand what it is you're doing.
DO change passwords!
If you're posting database related code make sure that you change your passwords and user information to genreric values.
DONT request site reveiws or troll for them in your posts. The WebmasterWorld Terms of Service [webmasterworld.com] strictly disallow this.
DO talk to the moderators
If you're in doubt, contact the moderator of the forum you need to post in. Nobody wants to stop you posting code, far from it. In some forums it's essential. We just want to be able to understand it.
If you're in any doubt, the moderators are there to help you and will make every effort to do so.
Nick
