Information on posting:

Before posting:
Has your question already be asked and answered before? Check the threads and try a search. Your answer may already be here.

Is an answer to your question available in the (Visual Basic FAQs)? A forum search will also search these FAQs

Posting
Post to only one forum - post to the forum that fits your question. Posting to more than one forum is considered SPAM and is prohibited without permission

Select NEW THREAD () to post a NEW question.

Select POST REPLY () to respond to an existing question. Don't select New Thread to respond to a question

SUBJECT LINES:
Your subject line will impact how well your question is answered. Your subject line should indicate the topic you are asking or commenting about. Here are some suggestions:

• Be concise.
  
• If you can do it in just a few words, ask a question or state the topic of your question.
  
• If you cannot state your question or comment in just a few words, then type the topic of your question or comment as the subject line
  
• Don't simply say "help". It is assumed that if you ask a question, you want help.
  
• If your subject line isn't concise or doesn't indicate a specific topic, many people will skip your posting.
  

Your Posting
Just as important to your subject line is the posting or question itself.

• Be concise, however...
  
• Make sure you ask a question if you want an answer.
  
• Make sure you provide enough details. For example, if you ask a database question, it might be necessary to include the database you are accessing.
  
• Make sure your question fits within the category you are posting. Posting a Visual Basic question in the Visual C++ forum will result in a lower chance for an answer.
  
• Indicate versions when known. For example, .NET 1.0, 1.1,and 2.0 are each unique.
  
• Use real grammar. If you use things like "u r gr8", you are going to be seen as unprofessional. Worse, many of the people who speak English as a second language may not understand what you are saying -- and thus won't be able to respond.
  
• If you want to make a personal response back to someone, use private messages instead of responding in the public forum. Private Messages can be sent with the PM button.
  
• If you respond, make sure you comments are related to the topic of the thread. off topic information should be put into a new thread or a private message.
  
• Note: We do not recommend putting your email address in your posts. They can be picked up by spiders and bots thus resulting in spam.
  

Attachments
Most of the forums will allow you to add an attachment. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. If you are going to include an attachment to your post consider the following:

• Do you really need an attachement? If providing the attachment doesn't add to your question, then don't include it. Most people won't look at an attchment. If your attachment is a short code listing, then you are better to include the code (or a snippet of your code) in your message rather than as an attached file.
  
• What files do you really need to attach? Granted, it is a zip file that you will most likely attach; however, what files do you really need to include? In most cases, you will only need the .h and .cpp files for C++ and VC++ files. In VB you will only need the forms and coding files. If there are files that are not needed, then don't include them.
  
  
• Many people use dial-up. Larger attachements will be avoided because they take too long to download. In general, you should try to keep your attachments under 100k.
  

Including Code
If you include listings within your messages, please use the button or code tags from within the message editors. You can also use the button for Visual Basic code. This will format your code using a non-proportional font and it will preserve spacing. Most importantly, will make your code easier to read.

Inappropriate Posts
The AUP (Acceptable Usage Policy) is available via a link at the bottom of the forum pages. It details the usage policy for the forums including statemens of no advertising and no spamming.

If you want to create a test post or simply experiment with formatting and posting features, then go to the Forum Testing Area. You can do test posts in that forum.

Completing a Thread...
If your question has been answered, you can mark a thread as resolved. You can do this by selecting the "Thread Tools" menu option near the top of the message thread. It contains an option called "Mark Thread Resolved". Selecting this will change the title of your thread to indicate the question has been answered.

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Also feel free to read the F.A.Q.s for the site by clicking the FAQ link.

Forum Moderators There are a number of moderators who help with the forum. Each forum will have listed the moderators assigned to that forum. Additionally, there are several "Super Moderators" who are able to help you with forum questions in any forum. The moderators are not here to answer your specific technical questions, but rather to help you post and use the forum. Many do, however, regularly answer questions as well. For a list of moderators, you can check out the Forum Leaders page.

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If you have suggestions for changes or updates to this announcement, send a PM to Brad Jones