Help

How do I get help?

There are two places you can go for help with Joust (you should use them in this order):

  1. Find it in this documentation.
  2. Visit the Joust User Forum.

The first place to go for help is this documentation. A lot of time and effort has gone into it and the answers to most questions are here.

Using the Forum

The Joust User Forum is at http://www.delphi.com/joust/start/. The forum is hosted by Delphi Internet who offer free web-based discussion forums.

The purpose of the forum is to try and create a community where people can exchange ideas and help each other. It's also supposed to ease my workload by allowing people to find answers to questions before they ask them.

Before you ask someone else for the answer to your question, remember that they are helping you for free. It may be easier to post a message in the forum than to read the documentation but it is selfish and rude to expect someone else to put more effort into solving your problem than you are prepared to invest yourself. The basic rules for using an online community include:

  • Make sure you've tried to solve the problem yourself before you ask others to help. This includes checking that the question hasn't already been asked and answered in the forum.

  • When posting a message, use a meaningful subject. Remember that other people with the same question will be looking through the message subjects. If the answer to your message is going to help others with the same question they have to be able to find it. Think about the key words you looked for when you were searching for an existing answer to the question (you did remember to do that first, didn't you) and use them in your subject line.

    An extension to this is don't reply to an existing discussion with a new question or ask several question in one message. This makes it harder for others to follow the discussion and it makes it harder for others with the same questions to find your message and it's answer. If you have a new question, start a new discussion.

  • Think carefully about the wording of your question. Putting a little time into explaining your question clearly will increase the chances of getting a quick and accurate answer. Try and put yourself in the position of someone reading your message.

  • Never assume that people will already know the answer to your question. If you haven't found it in the forum already then others probably haven't either. So, provide as much information as possible. Things like:

    • The version of Joust you are using
    • The browsers and version numbers you are using
    • Error messages (you'd be surprised at how many people say they are getting an error without saying what the error is).
    • Sample code or a URL demonstrating the problem (Intranets are not an excuse. There is enough free web space around to be able to set up a sample).

  • Try to give as well as take. A community only works if people get involved and contribute to the community as well as take from it. If you know the answer to a question or have an opinion to contribute then post a message. Even if you only know part of the answer.

On a practical note, it is possible for messages to not be answered. This is usually due to oversight and is not intentional. If you do not get a response to a question within a week, post it again.

The Joust Outliner