Read this first! How to get help on this forum.

Asking questions and getting answers is a big part of this Grasshopper Ning group. Although people are generally very helpful, there are things you can do to improve your chances of getting good and quick answers. Below you will find some suggestions, but don't think of them as rules and especially don't think of them as guarantees.

1. Choose a descriptive title for your post

Don't call your question "Help!" or "I have a problem" or "Deadline tonight!", but actually describe the problem you are having.

2. Be succinct but clear in your wording

People need to know some details about your problem in order to understand what sort of answers would satisfy you, but nobody cares about how angry your boss or how bad your teacher or how tight your deadline is. Talk about the problem and only the problem. If you don't speak English well, you should probably post in your native language as well as providing a Google Translation of your question.

3. Attach minimal versions of all the relevant files

If you have a GH/GHX file you have a question about, attach it to the post. Don't expect that people will recreate a file based on a screen-shot because that's a lot of pointless work. It's also a good idea to remove everything non-essential from a GH file. You can use the 'Internalise Data' menu option to cut everything to the left of a parameter:

If you're importing curves or Breps or meshes from Rhino, you can also internalise them so you won't have to post a 3DM file as well as a GH file. If you do attach large files, consider zipping them first. Do not use RAR, Ning doesn't handle it.

It is especially a good idea to post files that don't require any non-standard components if at all possible. Not everyone has Kangaroo or Hoopsnake or Geco installed so if your file relies on those components, it might not open correctly elsewhere.

4. Include a detailed image of the GH file if it makes sense

If your question is about a specific (group of) components, consider adding a screenshot of the file in the text of the post. You can use the Ctrl+Shift+Q feature in Grasshopper to quickly create nice screenshots with focus rectangles such as this:

5. Include links to online resources if possible

If you have a question about Schwarz Minimal surfaces, please link to a website which talks about these.

6. Create new topics rather than continuing old ones

It's usually better to start a fresh question, even if there's already a discussion that kinda sorta tangentially touches upon the same issue. Please link to that discussion, but start anew.

7. This is not a 'do my work for me' group

Many of us like to help, but it's good to see effort on our part being matched by effort on your part. Questions in the form of 'I need to do X but cannot be bothered to try and learn the software' will (and should) go unanswered.

7b. Similarly, questions in the form of 'How do I quickly recreate this facade that took a team of skilled professionals four months to figure out?' have a very low success rate.

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David Rutten

Lead Grasshopper Development

Robert McNeel & Associates