Java Programming Forums - The Java Community FAQ

Forum Guidelines

The Policy is subject to change at any time. Any forum user may suggest or request a change to the The Policy by posting a suggestion in the "Forum Updates & Feedback" sub-forum of The Cafe. Suggested changes will be presented to the moderator staff and generally agreed to (as determined by Admin) before being made.

1. Please properly format your posts. Properly formatted posts are in the best interest to poster, as it facilitates understanding of the subject and often results in quicker responses. Properly formatted posts include:

   • Pick good post titles that summarize your problem. Titles like "Help! Java problems" are not going to give us a whole lot of information on what your problem is, where is "Need help using for loops" is more specific and will tell us what it is you need help on.

   • Use code tags to ensure that your code is easy to distinguish from the text, as well as proper usage of text sizes and/or capitalized words. See the forum FAQ if you are unsure on how to use BBCode formatting tags.

     
     

     The most common tag you'll probably use is the syntax highlighting tag (aka code tag). To use this tag, type [highlight=java] before your code segment, and [/highlight] after your code segment.

     ex.:

     [highlight=Java]
     // your code goes here
     public static void main(String[] args)
     {
     }
     [/highlight]
     

     Alternative but less readable code tags include the [code][/code] tag.

   • Forum members are expected to use proper English, complete words, and generally correct grammar to the degree they can, but all should accept that visitors come here to learn Java, not English.

   • Please try to find the right category to post your question under. Different members run through different categories, and if you don't post your question in a appropriate category, those members might not see your question. Moderators may move threads to the most appropriate category if one is not initially chosen.

   Topics improperly formatted may not only be ignored, but may also be subject to moderation which includes moving, editing, and/or disapproving until brought to desired standards.

2. Stay on topic. Depending on the flow of the topic conversation, off topic posts will either be moved delete.

3. Spam will not be tolerated. Spam includes forum posts, visitor messages, or private messages that contain links to related or unrelated advertisements and/or websites. Posting spam to the forums will result in immediate and severe moderator action.

4. Posting the same topic on multiple forums, known as "cross posting," is allowed when links to the topic on the other forum(s) are included. Cross posts without links may be subject to moderator action, including addition of the link and a reminder of the forum guidelines. For more information, please read The Problems with Crossposting.

5. Please perform a search either using the forum search engine or with your favorite search engine (google, bing, yahoo, etc.) before posting a new question. Chances are your question may have already been answered somewhere else and we would prefer not to waste members time by answering the same questions multiple times. You can also check out the Common Java Mistakes articles to see if a similar problem to yours has already been solved.

6. While cross posting between multiple forums is allowed, don't post multiple topics with the same question on this forum. Multiple posts will be merged and/or deleted.

7. Treat all members as fellow professionals with respect and courtesy. The Forum's membership and audience is international and of all ages, so apply the same courtesy to all who visit here. Use of foul language will not be tolerated and subject to moderator action.

8. This website does not condone any illegal activity (sharing of copyrighted materials illegally, planning any attacks against anyone, etc.). Any activity contrary to this result in deletion and warnings, and repeated actions will result in a ban.

9. Please marked your posts as solved once they have been sufficiently answered. The preferred method to do this is to use the thread tools to mark a your topic as solved. To do this, go to the menu bar above the first post, choose thread tools..., and then click mark this thread as solved...

   

10. While we will help you with your homework/other projects, realize we won't do it for you. If we see that you have at least given some effort, we will try to assist you free of charge (aka. giving us your thoughts on how to solve the problem). Providing homework solutions in full or in part is frowned upon, and contributions that are considered as such will be subject to moderation (editing and/or deletion). Please see The Problems with Spoonfeeding for more information.

11. Try to be as specific as possible. Outline all the details necessary for us who have never seen the question so we can understand what it is you are asking. We can understand if you don't know the exact terminology, but the closer you are the easier it will be for us to understand. Don't post your entire code (especially if it's really long) without any explanation and expect us to debug the whole thing for you. Provide a Short, Self Contained, Correct Example (SSCCE).

12. Try to find the right category to post your question under. Different members run through different categories, and if you don't post your question in a appropriate category, those members might not see your question. That being said, we will try to move questions into the appropriate category. Make sure that you follow item 3d (don't post the same topic into multiple categories).

13. Please be aware of thread dates. Replying to threads older than a month may result in moderator action.

14. Please do not edit your posts after other members have replied - doing so removes the context the thread.

15. Javascript and Java are not the same thing! If you do post javascript, we will try to help you, but realize that we may not be able to because this forum is focused on Java, not Javascript and most of our members have limited (if any) knowledge of how Javascript works or even what it is.

16. Understand that the people who can answer your question are not on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We have our own lives (well, most of us do), and are only online at certain times. If you need help on something, ASK IT WELL IN ADVANCE (24-48 hours to be safe), and please avoid 'bumping' posts to garner attention.

17. Moderator action can be subjective, but may result in any one of the following depending upon severity:

    • Post move
    • Post title or content edit
    • Content reversion (for member edits)
    • Thread locking
    • Member warning (public or private)
    • Member infraction
    • Member Ban (temporary or permanent)

    Moderator actions taken will be final and not debatable. However, it is accepted that misunderstandings may occur, and when a user believes that a moderator action was taken based on a misunderstanding, the moderator may be PMd with a cc: to Admin explaining why the user believes the action taken was inappropriate.

Thank you for your time, and happy coding!