Tutorials Sub-forum – Guidelines

[coffeecat]

New threads posted to the Tutorials section of the forum are no longer moderated. This means that they are not first approved by staff before being made publicly visible. For this reason, please use any advice given here with caution, and be aware that anything posted here is not official Ubuntu or Canonical advice. The Forum Council cannot be held responsible for any damage to systems or inconvenience caused by following these tutorials.

Before posting a new thread in this section, you should read this post thoroughly, and ensure that your submission is acceptable. If you find a tutorial that is sub-standard, misleading, malicious, or in any way unacceptable, please use the button to inform forum staff, so that appropriate action can be taken.

This is the only section of the forum where tutorials may be posted. Tutorials and howtos posted to support or discussion sub-forums are likely to be removed from public view. They will only be moved to this section if they fulfil the criteria listed below.

CRITERIA FOR POSTING TUTORIALS

1. Tutorials must be for and tested on Ubuntu or one of the official flavours of Ubuntu.
   
   The official flavours are Ubuntu itself, as well as Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Edubuntu, Lubuntu, UbuntuGnome, Ubuntu Studio, Mythbuntu, Ubuntu Mate, and Ubuntu Kylin..
2. Tutorials must adhere to the forum Code of Conduct.
   
   This should go without saying, but any tutorial which is condescending or otherwise contravenes forum policy will be removed.
3. Tutorials should be written to the level of a complete Linux newcomer.
   
   Please do not assume that your reader understands how to compile source code, or which dependencies are necessary to get started. Make sure you mention all the steps required to finish the tutorial, and don't assume your reader will have information you omitted.
4. Tutorials should be easy to read and follow.
   
   A good tutorial is educational and visually appealing. Include proper code boxes, highlighted instructions and clean spacing, along with screenshots if possible. Tutorials that are difficult to follow, haphazard or unformatted will be removed.
5. Tutorials should be written in clear and proper English.
   
   In a situation where you are giving instructions to another user, it is important to be as clear as possible. If a tutorial is difficult to understand, or uses broken English or slang (that includes leet, or anything that resembles it), it will be removed.
6. Tutorials should be complete, from start to finish.
   
   A tutorial that closes with "I'll post more on that later" will be removed, as will tutorials that suggest reading other pages to complete a task.
7. Tutorials should cite sources, and link to offsite sources if possible.
   
   If you are borrowing an idea or a procedure from another source, you should give credit to that author and link to their explanation. This is not only polite, but it also gives the reader the chance to get more information or help.
8. Tutorials may not be copy-and-pasted from outside sources.
   
   Copying a wiki page or a tutorial from another forum and pasting it here is plagiarism, and is a violation of the forum Code of Conduct. If your tutorial has been stolen from another source and you do not offer credit to the original author or meet the author's licensing requirements, it will be deleted.
9. Tutorials should explain how they were tested, and under what conditions.
   
   It is impossible for forum members to judge the technical merit of your tutorial. For that reason, you should include as much information as possible on how your tutorial was tested -- that includes hardware and software, as well as the release edition or any other technical points you can offer.
10. Tutorials should explain how to revert changes.
    
    Your explanation should include a process for reversing the changes, uninstalling the software or otherwise restoring the original condition of a system. This is an added precaution in the case that your method doesn't succeed, and a reader is left with an incomplete system or broken package.
11. Tutorials should be supported.
    
    You are expected to offer support for your tutorial, within practical limits. If you fail to respond to requests for help or clarification within a reasonable time, or fail to update your tutorial, the thread will be closed or removed.
12. Malicious content
    
    Posting something that contains malicious content or content that could lead to system damage will result in a ban.

The following items are not considered as tutorials.

• Posts that contain only links to offsite pages or blog posts. A tutorial must be a single, complete on-site post. Files or packages can be hosted offsite, but a tutorial must include all the pertinent information here, on the forums.
  
• Posts that contain only downloadable scripts, debs or text or pdf files. You are free to offer packages or scripts as part of your tutorial, but a script alone or a compiled package by itself does not constitute a tutorial. Likewise the tutorial should be contained within the post itself, not in a downloadable attachment. Threads like this will be removed.

If a tutorial is found to fall short of these guidelines it will be removed from public view.

If you have a question about these criteria or would like any clarification, please post a thread in Forum Feedback and Help, and a staff member will assist you. Thanks.

(This post is a collaborative effort by the forum staff.)