jQuery Forum

I think Stack Overflow is a great community for answering questions, and I regularly scan the jQuery tag there for unanswered but answerable questions.  +1 for #1 or #2.

I definitely like StackOverflow, but there are some things that just don't belong on stackoverflow such as discussion threads like this one: https://forum.jquery.com/topic/reverting-to-1-0-1-page-transitions

Unfortunately, many of the features/flaws you've outlined above Kevin are inherent in the Zoho platform, instead than being features/fixes we'd have the ability to add ourselves. As good as those ideas are, we have limited agency to implementing or even facilitating the implementation of those features. It's because we know a lot of the things you've pointed out are pain points that we wanted to open up this discussion to begin with :)

I'm afraid the right solution is to go back to where we were before: a mailing list for "developping jQuery". Let Stack Overflow be used to handle the "using jQuery" kind of questions. I personally answer as much deferred related questions as I can (or rather catch) there already but most are already answered correctly.

Just saw Kevin's remark about discussing plugins and such. Could you give us an update on the plugins site advancement Ajpiano ? Would it be possible to handle this kind of discussions there ?

I am kinda' with Kevin on this one.  SO is a good place for getting questions answered when they are tech in nature but when it comes to discussion the forum is a somewhat better place.

I miss the old Google group list. Search capability was far better than what ZOHO offers, which compared to most other forum platforms, is pretty bad. Tracking emails and responding was a lot faster and simpler too. Considering what ZOHO does with there other tools, I've always been amazed at the poor quality of this platform.

+1 to Google Groups (or email based discussion) for core development. For everything else, it makes sense for it to live on SO so that there's no duplicate (and perhaps conflicting) answers.

SO is a great resource, I use it all the time myself, with that being said I like the idea of keeping the forums here as well but improving them. Both in speed and usability. I certainly agree with what Charlie said about threads getting good, positive, helpful answers here that would get shut down or drowned out in ridicule elsewhere. I think just having a forum titled "Getting Started" says it all.

Even without the the SO volume, I'm not sure that that is a bad thing. It might even be a good thing, the community here seems much more friendly and that may be a function of its smaller size. People here regularly stay with a posters thread and answer progressive questions over several days.

Another thing to keep in mind is that these forums are on the JQuery site, there a a lot of people out there will trust them more simply because they are on the JQuery site, giving them the "official" stamp. If the forums were faster, more easily searchable, and had an improved interface I think there would be pick up in usage.

Just my $0.02

Dave

Another thing I thought of while posting an answer a minute ago is that another benefit of the difference in styles between here and SO is that I see a lot more people take time to explain why they are telling someone to do something a certain way, instead of simply posting a few lines of code and a couple of sentences.

Dave

If you do keep everything here (and even if you just keep development discussion here), can something be done to make it more clear that the development forums are for discussing development of the product itself?

People just don't seem to get it. I think a lot of that might be language issues - it is an international community, and I think a lot of people just don't get the nuance between "using" and "developing".

I find myself alternating between letting people know they're posting in the wrong forum, just answering the question, and answering the question and letting them know it's in the wrong forum.

If ZoHo has stickies, perhaps a sticky on each of the development forums would help.

Can admins move posts? If so, it doesn't appear that anybody is actively doing this. On other forums that I participate in, it's common for admins to move posts to the appropriate forum.

I tend to agree with others that even if solutions belong on SO, there is still a place for more general discussion between users, and SO isn't the place for that.

One feature (if everything stays here or on some forum software) I have seen used very effectively elsewhere is one where the forum software suggests already-existing posts that might answer the question. Essentially, it does a search as you type the heading.

(Edit: I see the forum software here DOES support suggestions. But perhaps it is only when you select "report a problem"? I don't routinely see this come up. Maybe it's only enabled in certain forums?)

Only problem that I have seen is sometimes it is slow about reflecting posts (usually in the morning timeframe -- US timezones).  Other than that, NADA.

Tony

It is not the job you get handed, but what you have done with it in the end that people remember.

Definitely rename the 'jQuery Mobile" and "Developing jQuery Mobile" forums!

I think people post in "Developing" looking for usage advice because they think it means "developing WITH jQuery Mobile". If you're a non-native speaker, it's easy to make the mistake.

Change '"jQuery Mobile" to "Using jQuery Mobile".

Change 'Developing jQuery Mobile" to ... anybody got a thesaurus? ;)

It isn't just mornings that it's slow any more. It seems ZoHo must be experiencing growing pains.

Criticism about the forum (and why I almost never use it): 

• Writing posts in HTML is slow, and the provided WYSIWYG editor is horrible.
• Well formatted HTML is rendered badly (you can probably see that here).

Solution proposals:

• Provide a mailing list for users. Text based email is quick and easy to use, given a decent editor.
• If sticking with the forum, then 1. fix CSS, and 2. provide a quicker way to author posts. Perhaps offer Markdown format.
• Just relying on StackOverflow, as some proposed, is not enough: StackOverflow is a question and answer platform, not one for discussion.

I'm new to this forum but not noticing a painful speed issue as far as UX. Stack is actively hostile towards discussion of a subjective nature so matters of library/framework/pattern philosophy, etc... would likely get shot down regularly unless what you're proposing is an actual JQ section on the stack exchange with its own rules. I'd be surprised if they were open to fracturing their dev-oriented stuff further than they already have, however.

I noticed over the past couple of days that the forum application itself seems much faster. Responses are posting nearly right away and movement between posts is much improved.

I like either #1 or #3, definitely not #2.

The strength of the jquery forum is definitely for the beginners.  There's a lot more friendly help and assistance here than at SO, which is often tilted to much heavier coding and requires more of general knowledge of javascript/jQuery.

Hi there!

I have been doing circles trying to report a bug in the documentation of jquery mobile. Could you make this process a little bit easier?

BTW the bug is:

In this page: http://jquerymobile.com/demos/1.1.0/docs/lists/docs-lists.html , about the list dividers, where it says "data-dividertheme" it must say "data-divider-theme". That make me lost too much time to guess it!

Thanks and congratulations for your work

I also notice the WYSIWUG editor is broken as i included 3 bullet points in my post above, maybe even add an edit option to posts?

+1 mailing list for jquery core development

Hi. Thanks for providing this thread. I hope it is still active. I've raised the following issue several times and also raised it in Zoho's forum too, but as yet I have received no official response from either. Simply; it is not practical to write a post using an Android mobile device (my device uses Android Gingerbread) because most of the form buttons do not work, and it is not possible to enter text into the wysiwyg editor window. Whilst it is possible to use html edit mode, or to submit posts by email, the formatting is terrible and not conducive to providing comprehensive posts. I provide a large amount of support to jQuery developers, for free, but I cannot continue to do so unless the forum is corrected so it will operate properly on Android mobile devices. It is a TERRIBLE experience for users who need to be reassured that jQuery works on mobile devices! I know the forum is hosted by Zoho and it surely provides an awful user experience for their clients too. Increasingly, the platform of choice is moving towards Android. For goodness sake... surely the jQuery Mobile forum should work properly on mobile devices... shouldn't it. Zoho needs to do something about it and very quickly. Best wishes, Alan. (written using the html edit window, via my Android device)

Idea: Automatically insert links (perhaps with tooltips) to the docs when known jQuery functions are used in a post.

Not sure if the forum software can do it but I like that idea!! I'm constantly finding, copying, and pasting the links to the methods I reference in posts.

How about adding a "meta.jquery.com" based on the StackExchange platform for discussions about jQuery? Someone could make a proposal for it Area51, and all of us vote for it ;). I say this because meta.stackoverflow.com is specifically meant for discussion about stackoverflow and if the users here migrated to it, it would have a much more relaxed and friendly atmosphere. I don't see this as trying to "outdo" StackOverflow, but instead supplementing it. Also, since the site is registered with the StackExchange network, you could still get notifications from StackOverflow and easily migrate questions/answers back and forth.

Hello I cannot create topics or posts.  All I can do is reply.  I need help for using a jquery plugin

Stackoverflow??? no, please....