.. _Getting Help:

############
Getting Help
############

This section describes resources for getting help if you need technical
assistance during the installation process or after your site is running.


******************
Where to Find Help
******************

There are a number of places to get help, including mailing lists and real-time
chat.  Please choose an appropriate venue for your question.  This helps ensure
that you get good prompt advice, and keeps discussion focused.  For details of
your options, see the `Getting Help page`_.


*******************************************
Information to Provide When Asking for Help
*******************************************

Keep in mind when asking for help that you have much more knowledge of your
situation than others do.  You need to provide that context so that people can
understand your problem and provide good help.  
To make it easier for others to help you, please provide the following types of
information.

* **What you are trying to do?**  What version of the code are you installing,
  and why? What is your larger goal?

* **What you have done?**  What instructions were you following? What commands
  did you run? Did you deviate from the instructions at any point, even a
  little bit?  Full output of those commands, even if it seems overwhelming,
  can be very useful.

* **What has gone wrong?**  Are there errors in log files? Did you get specific
  failures in the terminal?  Provide full details about the undesired results
  you saw.

While working through your problem, helpers often need additional information.
Stay involved in the discussion, and try to give them what they need. They know
best what information they need to solve the problem.


.. _Getting Help page: https://open.edx.org/getting-help
.. _openedx-ops: http://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/openedx-ops

.. include:: ../../../links/links.rst