# ***Welcome to the Africoders Community!***
... And thanks for joining us! We're excited about Africoders, and are always happy to meet people who feel the same way. We want *everyone* to get the most out of Africoders and the Africoders community, so we ask that you please read and follow these guidelines. And enjoy your visit here!
### **Looking for Technies?**
You've come to the right place! We're always busy working hard to make Africoders better, so there are limits to the help we can provide. Specifically:
* Most technies visit the board and drop discussions from time to time
* If you have questions, you can always drop them and you will get your replies quickly
If you qualify, then please feel free to post about your issue. Be sure to provide any information that's requested. And remember: the techies here always have lots of stuff to do, so *please be patient!*
### **Make Yourself Heard**
Want to start a new discussion? Then spend some time browsing the forum, familiarize yourself with **[the tag system](https://africoders.com/tags)**, and do a few searches for keywords related to your topic: *it could be someone has already started a discussion about it!*
When you're sure you're ready to start a discussion, please keep the following points in mind:
* Give it a good title! You'll get the best results if your title makes it clear what you want to talk about.
* Choose the right tag(s). This will increase the likelihood your post will be read and answered promptly.
* *Don’t* post repeatedly about the same topic, as doing so will tend to have the opposite effect.
* If not using a tag set aside for multilingual use, *post in English only.* We can't help if we can't read you!
* Remember, you don't need to sign your posts. We've got your profile to let us know who you are.
Please make the effort to help us keep things organized. Time spent tidying up is time that we can't spend getting to know you, discussing your issues, and talking about Africoders. And that, after all, is what we're all here to do!
### **Make Your Reply Count**
You're taking the time to participate in a discussion, in the hope that others will read your ideas and take them into consideration. So why not make the effort to make your reply worth reading?
* Don't reply to a title. Take some time to *read* the OP, and at least *scan* the rest of the conversation first.
* Ask yourself if your reply adds to the discussion. If it doesn't, give it some more thought before posting.
* Avoid making one-word posts just to agree with someone; you can use the "Like" link for that.
* Avoid making multiple posts in a row when one would suffice. This is a forum, not a chat room.
* If your reply is likely to divert the course of the discussion, consider starting a new discussion instead.
* If you just want to post a bit of nonsense as a test, please do it in the [Test Posting](https://africoders.com/t/sandbox) **tag instead.**
* Make sure your replies provide constructive feedback and support to allow for an inclusive community.
No one's going to complain about the occasional joke or smart remark. We like to keep the mood light! But to keep things productive, as well, we ask that you try to avoid derailing a discussion altogether.
### **Above All, Be Cool!**
We're all here to talk about Africoders, and to work together toward making it an even better application. Criticizing ideas (by means of reasoned arguments, of course) is an important part of that. But let's not get carried away and devolve into personal attacks, because negativity only gets in the way. We also ask that you avoid the following:
* Offensive or abusive language, as well as any kind of hate speech
* Posts intended to harass, impersonate, or defame others
* Unnecessary deletion of posted content
* Attempts to abuse or expose the private information of others
* Obscene or sexually explicit content
* Spam, phishing posts, and any actions intended to deface this site
* Obfuscating a link's true destination, for example with the use of link shorteners
* Discussion of software piracy and similar topics
*All the above are grounds for moderator action.* If you have an issue with another member, we ask that you please don't confront them yourself. Please just use the *Report* command on the post in question, then leave it up to the staff to deal with the situation.
Our moderators may edit or delete any content that is offensive or disruptive to the flow of communication. Serious or repeated offenses may lead to suspension of the offending user's account. So, you know, *be cool*. 
