Forum Guidelines - Please read before posting

[gparis]

Here are some guidelines for use of this forum. Please read before posting. Thank you.

00. Use AS tags when posting code samples
The opening tag is: [HIGHLIGHT=Actionscript]
The closing tag is [/HIGHLIGHT]
these tags will preserve white space in the code and also do some syntax highlighting, which makes it much easier for others to read.

example:

button.onPress = function() {
    if (myVar == true) {
        _level1._alpha=20;
    } else {
        _level1._alpha=100;
    }
};

Look for this AS above your post when composing.

01. Search before asking your question
Even if your problem seems a new problem for you, it may have been answered already. Making a search will often provide more useful examples.

02. Try and do your part
This forum is not an o p e n s o u r c e provider. Instead of asking:
"I want this and that, can you make it for me?" which sounds a bit rude, and may not make the others want to help you, do your part: show at least that you tried, providing a code or .fla example.

03. Show respect to others who try and help you
A little "thank you" will take only 5 seconds of your time. The person who helped you took sometimes more than an hour to try and solve your problem for free.

04. Avoid Duplicate Posts
Please do not post multiple threads on the same topic. Please do not start a new thread to reply to an old thread. If you do either of these things accidentally, you can delete the second post by using the 'edit' feature.
Don't post the same thread in more than one forum. This is called cross-posting and is not allowed.

05. Don't Post for/about Jobs
Do not post messages which offer payment for services, or offer jobs, or request paid work. The moderators will delete such messages, when they see them.
There is the Flash Freelance forum for this.

06. Use Your Best Communication Skills
If you have a question, try to be clear, detailed and specific. If a particular bit of ActionScript code might be a problem, post the code by cutting and pasting it from your project. Don't try to quote it from memory. Post a small .fla example if possible.

07. Be Relevant
Make sure your question is ActionScript-related. For example, if your post is about HTML, PHP, A S P or some other piece of the puzzle, you might find the Scripting & Backend forum more appropriate.
Post your thread in the forum that best suits your question. Here's the list of FlashKit's forums.

08. Use informative subject lines
"help me add gravity to my game" is a much better subject line than "please help me!!!!!!" - Not only are you more likely to receive help from a game-physics expert, you will also make things easier for folks who are using the search feature.
But, using words like help and/or please in the subject should be avoided. Everyone here is looking for help! "add gravity to game" is enough as the subject.

09. Keep it simple
Please, do not ask questions that would require a book as an answer.
Programming is about putting the pieces together.
Ask about a specific piece once at a time or make it clear that you just want advices on the logic, not the entire application build for you.
Complex questions scare answers away.

10. Flash Version
Even if you're using the latest Flash version, in order to get the most appropriate answer and not cause confusion, specify which version you're using.
As of June 2006, you can now choose the version in the thread you're starting, at the top, where it says: "Please select your Flash Version".
Flash CS5 is the current version, but for now, Flash CS3 and 4, or even Flash 8 are still widely used.
You may also specify the ActionScript (1.0 or 2.0) and Flash Player (FP5, FP6, FP7 or FP8) version if needed.

11. Keep Questions in the Forums
Please, do not pm or email other users with questions. That's what the forums are for.
Be patient. Other people have the right to decide when they want to help.

12. Mark Thread Resolved
Be clear about your problem being solved or not.
If your answers have been answered, mark thread resolved:
In your thread, "Thread Tools" -> "Mark Thread Resolved"
Saying "I'll look at it later when I get home from school or work" doesn't add interest to the post.
In the same way, replying to your own question with "solved!" or deleting your thread shouldn't be done. Share your solution with others.

13. Read FlashKit's F.A.Q
In addition to all these guidelines, you should read FlashKit's F.A.Q..

gparis
jbum
nunomira

[inder_s2010]

hey gparis i m inder. just months ago i became member of flashkit. As i m very happy dat everyone is helping each other. dis is really appriciable but i wanna say is dat i have seen some posts which are giving a spoon feeding reply. i mean this is not fair, help a person to an extent dont spoil him/her. dont u think dat these kind of posts are weakning a mind which can learn itself or by tutorials. u can see some posts in which whole even whole code is posted. i hope u will understand wat i m saying

[jbum]

Hi Inder,

I'm probably guiltier of "spoon-feeding" than most. I tend to post large code samples for two reasons:

1) Like most people, I'm selfishly motivated. I'm not answering posts to help others (although that is a nice side effect), I'm principally doing it to teach myself.

I often use the questions in posts as 'homework assignments' to teach myself something new, so I'll come up with a more or less complete solution and post it.

2) I've found that when I post incomplete solutions or abstract descriptions of how to solve a problem, that the person posting the question will have a great deal of trouble using that information, and I'll get involved in a long time-consuming thread which requires answering a lot of additional questions. So it can be easier for me to simply post the correct solution in the first place.

At any rate, I think the onus of responsibility here is on the person *asking* the question. It is not my responsibility, as someone answering your question, to insure that you learn in the most effective manner. Personally, I always try things and do a bit of experimentation before asking someone else how to do something. The folks that post here hoping to be spoon-fed, without going thru that crucial step, are probably never going to be great flash programmers.

- Jim

[inder_s2010]

hey jbum,

i really liked ur way of replying.

well i agree with u as here is same thing dat i face most of time but dont u think ur 1st time complete answer is avoiding the dat priceless trouble by going through which a person can explore more flash depths, i hope u will consider my point buddy

regards

[jshpro2]

There should be a rule against talking like inder_s2010 no offense man, but when you use words like

"dis", "dat", "da", and "u"

instead of

"this", "that", "the", and "you"

It makes your post much harder to read.

[inder_s2010]

hi jshpro2,

i am really sorry if you have faced any problem in reading my post. The only reason of posting this kind of messages is that its easy while typing. Even i got this kind of complaint first time. so will consider your point in future. sorry for any trouble you have faced because of me. See i am typing full words .

i am editing this post just because i just saw your post Link

Or i could have outputted them as one big ass varialbe seperated by commas, whatever

Now what kind of language you are using my friend. mind it.

[hum]

lol

I feel the same as jbum....
By helping others ...you can teach yourself something new at the same time...being "spoonfed" information is just another way of saying...."here is a working version to inspire you to learn how this is done"........i have learnt a great deal this way.......it is because of the selfless help here at flashkit that so many flashers are inspired to learn how it is done....if they just want to rip the code and not fully understand it then thats their lookout...

my pennys worth!

[tekromantik]

The [AS] tag doesn't maintain whitespace on my computer. Although, the vB [CODE] tag does.

[jbum]

Yes, I agree. It attempts to automatically indent code, which makes a lot of poorly indented code more readable.
That is a good thing - since a LOT of folks here are immune to indenting their code properly.

Sadly, it also screws up the indenting on complex data structures, like multi-dimensional arrays, which makes it very difficult for me to illustrate how to use them.

[strato]

I think there should be also some kind of "standard" on the .fla people attach (I mean on layers name for example), but this maybe is kind a of utopia!


Kids safe on internet
www.peregrintuk.com

[jaboon]

other Flash help websites? It seems like when I first registered
there were a lot more sites for Flash (4) back then.

[Leo Lima]

Might I complain that people almost NEVER post the AS version of theirs?
I mean, there's a LOT of difference between AS0.5 (Before the . notation, I guess it was Flash <= 4.. oh, that TellTargets!), AS1 (Flash 5/MX) and AS2(MX2004). One can suggest a solution using MX2004 that simply won't fit in any other Flash.
I try to specify very much which version I'm coding and 'sampleing', but people need to provide more information about their problem. It's easy enough to provide the targeted player.
While I'm complaining, I HATE those meaningless post titles, I think they should be exterminated... hehe

[gparis]

leo, I'll second you for the posts titles. The main reason is it does make it easier for other members when they search for a specific problem when the title of the post has good keywords.

gparis

[Nialsh]

I think there should be a specific forum for UI components. I've seen lots of posts about components sink to the bottom because most people don't know the specific methods - they're almost like a language of their own. With a dedicated forum, it would reduce the clutter of this one and hopefully get more questions answered (about components and otherwise).

Neal

[Planet]

Nialsh,

This might be doable.

Anyone else have any feedback on this idea?

Thanks.

Planet

[pkmnpeter]

yay nows its got a light bulb hot!

[earl223]

Going back to the spoon-feeding thingee... it's okay to spoon-feed as long as we are sure that the person being fed learns a thing or two about how something is done. spoon-feeding should not only be a give-and-take process but a learning process as well.

Teachers and instructors spoon-feed everyday... but you don't see it as spoon-feeding. Why? It's because when they say that x+y=z, they ALSO tell you WHY x+y=z. Our "job" here in the forums is not only to learn, but to teach. Therefore, giving someone an onClipEvent is not enough, but you must tell him why it is so. JBUM does a great job at this and is one of the guys i have to admire for his unselfishness in finding the time to help and educate. I hope that more of you will start to get this frame of mind when answering posts. And the consolation we have are not only the thanks and gratitudes, but the feeling of pride, achievement, and fullfilment in why we answer posts in the first place.

[realplaya]

For real, that really touched me.... I shall now use capital letters, real words, and will teach everyone to do the same! Pkmnpeter, it is, Yay now it has a hot light bulb.

[Brinnie]

There should be a rule against talking like inder_s2010 no offense man, but when you use words like

"dis", "dat", "da", and "u"

instead of

"this", "that", "the", and "you"

It makes your post much harder to read.

converse

[Mathieu Latulip]

This actionscripting section is much too big for anyone to care about replying or finding the right info.. I suggest making different topics to categorize the main ideas. Topics like "buttons", "reproductions.." etc.. buttons was my only good one lol... but ya, that or, the admin toggles through the posts (tedious work) and corrects the titles so that they are much easier to find and categorize.