Frequently Asked Questions for General

Q: What questions should I ask where?

A: Questions related to:

• ... the Manifold object model go to the Scripting area,

• ... the forum site itself go to the Forum area.

All other questions related to Manifold System go to the General area.

Do not post questions to the FAQ threads.

Q: What is Manifold System?

A: There is another FAQ for that.

Q: Are there any usage guidelines for this forum site?

A: Yes. Here they are:

• Prior to asking a question, please search the forum for answers. Someone might have had a similar question in the past and that question could have been answered.

• Post in English.

• Remain on topic. If you want to diverge from the current topic, create a new thread.

• Do not post advertisements, profanity and/or adult material or links to it. Do not abuse other users.

Feel free to post whatever else you think should be in the list in this thread.

An addition to

Q: What questions should I ask where?

A: ... The All posts area is a catch-all area for all posts in all areas available to the user browsing the web site and can not be posted to.

Q: How do I report a bug?

A: First off, you are more than welcome! We hate bugs and we love fixing them. Write to tech@manifold.net. State what you are trying to accomplish, what you are doing and what happens. Mention the version of Manifold and the version of the operating system that you are running. If you can provide example data that may help locate the bug, offer to do so. No bug will stand for long!

Q: How do I submit a feature request?

A: Similarly to reporting bugs, you are more than welcome! The only thing that we like doing more than fixing bugs is implementing new features. Write to sales@manifold.net. Try to be as precise with regards to what you want the system to do as possible. Here are some tips for making good feature requests. Thanks!

How does one go about searching the site for existing posts. I see no links for searching in any of the pages I have been on. Thanks in advance

Use the controls at the bottom of the thread list in the desired forum area.

[Deleted: please post questions related to specific features of Manifold in other threads.]

[Deleted - Do not post questions to this FAQ.]

Q: Any tips for technical questions?

A: Yes.

• Make sure to provide complete information on what you are doing.
• Make sure you state what version of Manifold you are using.
• As a courtesy, don't post with a problem or a bug unless you have verified it on the latest release of Manifold (if it is a bug it might have already been fixed). If you are working with an older release of Manifold, make sure to say so up front.
• State what version of Windows you are using, whether it is 32-bit or 64-bit, how much RAM you have and how much free space on disk you have.
• You'll get more responses and better responses if you state what topics in the Help documentation you've reviewed to try to solve your problem.
• Before posting questions about Activation it's quicker to read the short Activation Guide at http://www.manifold.net/tech/activation.shtml .
• If you have questions about an IMS web page not coming up, 99% of the time it is a problem with permissions. It's quicker to read the IMS topics on permissions than to start yet another thread that points back to permissions as the problem.

Q: What constitutes abuse of other users?

A: Do not call other users names. Do not engage in ad hominem attacks. Do not disrespect the skills or backgrounds of other users. Before posting, please re-read the text: if your posting is discussing some other user in a negative way it may be crossing the line. Re-write the posting to focus on the technology and products being discussed and not on the people who are discussing.

Q: What is an "ad hominem" attack?

A: "Ad hominem" is Latin for "against the person." It means attacking the person who is discussing something instead of what that person is discussing.

Example: Paul says "It would be better to use a location precision of 1 meter." John responds with "No, that's wrong because you are an artist and you don't know what you are talking about. Use 0.1 meter." John is making an ad hominem attack. Instead of discussing the technical reasons why the location precision should not be 1 meter, he is attacking Paul's personal characteristic of being an artist.

Q: How can abuse be prevented?

A: In mild cases forum admins will try to provide warnings and reminders, especially for long time participants who may be having a bad day. More serious cases of abuse will result in blacklisting immediately, for a limited period of time or permanently. If need be, tools for selectively expunging or moderating unacceptable content will be used.

[deleted - post general questions in the general section of the forum, not in the FAQ.]

-Euan