The Forum Posting Guide

[Forum Moderators]

These guidelines and rules which will help the VirtualBox community to make the most of this forum. Please familiarize yourself with the relevant sections of the User Manual (UG) before you ask a question to avoid asking about information already given in the UG, and so that you can understand any answers that you get.

In any post, make sure you provide at least the VM log file as well as the guest settings, as described in Minimum information needed for assistance. If not provided, there are great chances your post will be ignored.

The following eight sections cover these topics.

• This is a community service
• Search the forums before posting. This is particularly important at the moment because we are struggling to cope with the posting demand. Most of the questions posted are directly answered by one of the first dozen or so hits if you search using the tricks discussed below. Also remember that we maintain a Forum FAQ for those oft repeated questions.
• This forum is about VirtualBox
• You must register before you can post
• Use a sensible title and location
• Frame your question in a way to make it easy to answer
• Remember one issue, one thread.

Please understand that if your post falls materially outside these guidelines (for example a question where the answer can easily be found in the user guide or by searching, or you have provided inadequate information) then our moderators may refer you back to this guide until you comply.

Threads related to pirated software of any kind are not welcome. VirtualBox is licensed software covered by copyright law, and we expect all users to comply with the license. It would be inconsistent to encourage ignoring the license of 3rd party software.

If you want to give any comment or feedback please see Discussion: The Forum Posting Guide.

[Forum Moderators]

This is a service for and largely provided by the VirtualBox community. It is a free service. Our community supporters give their time here freely to help the community, so please help them to help you. Be polite in your requests and remember to give feedback when practical. A nice “thank-you that solved my problem” closes the topic and lets others searching the forums know that your problem was solved, yet only a minority of posters adopt this common courtesy.

Whilst we accept that some robust debate may be appropriate, we will not accept unnecessarily aggressive or rude behaviour. So please, no matter what your personal frustration, try to keep your comments constructive. If you cross this line then the moderators will delete your posts.

Additionally, because this is an international forum, where possible use English and avoid using other languages (*). Also be prepared to have your questions answered in
English.

(*) Although it was an important point back in 2008, nowadays we all have access to online translation and so are happy for you to post in your native language, in fact we encourage it if you aren't sure about your ability to express yourself clearly enough in English. However do try to use simple language with good grammar, to give the online translators a better chance of providing a useful conversion.

[Forum Moderators]

The very success of VirtualBox means that our supporters sometimes are pressed to answer all questions posted. We therefore expect you to have familiarized yourself with the relevant sections of the UG before you ask a question, and we will often answer in terms defined in the UG, so if you haven't done this you might not understand the answers that you get.

Other users may already have had the same issue you're experiencing. It may have already been discussed and resolved, with the information that you want already documented. Therefore often the simplest way to get an answer is to have a search before posting your question. We recommend one of two methods:

• Use our search function (there is a link at the top of every page) if you know the name of the poster. However be aware that the phpBB search function is somewhat limited.
• Our site is fully indexed by google and the other search engines, so the best way is simply to "google" your question. The google search box supports an extremely useful site: modifier which limits your search to hits from a specific domain. So you can add site:VirtualBox.org to search the entire site. If you just want to look at the forums then add site:forums.VirtualBox.org and if you are looking for a ticket in the Issue Tracker use +Ticket site:wiki.VirtualBox.org.

Also remember that many OS forums have there own virtualisation sub-forum which may prove a valuable independent reference.

[Forum Moderators]

This forum is of and about VirtualBox, so keep your posts to this general subject. Any SPAM or topics which are clearly not to do with VirtualBox and its use will be deleted. This is not a business forum, so no blatant touting for business please. Whilst we welcome users who wish to register personal websites in their profiles, you must also realise that we reserve the right to clear down such detail if you do not regularly post. We take this regrettable measure to discourage users who register such details simply to boost their search engine rankings.

Serious or repeated abuse of these rules could lead to your account being locked or deleted.

[Forum Moderators]

Again mainly to discourage SPAM abuse, we require all users who wish to post to login with the forums. You need to have an Oracle Single Sign On (OSSO) account which you can create for free using this link. This is a simple process which only takes a few minutes (feel free to provide placeholders for information you do not want to give out). At the end you will need to pick a nick name (pseudonym) which will be your publicly visible forum identity.

• You must agree to follow our forum conditions. These include an acknowledgement that in posting to our forums you are placing your post content into the public domain for open use by all. Any internet user is free to browse and to download any post content. Your posts must also not infringe laws relating but not limited to copyright, obscenity and defamation. VirtualBox and its moderators have the right to moderate or to delete what they judge to be unsuitable posts.
• Your email address associated with the OSSO account will be used to send you notifications. It will not be shown or otherwise passed to other users.

Note that you have full control over what emails you receive and we do not place your email address into the public domain unless you explicitly choose to do so.

Once you have logged in you can track any topic and be notified of any further posts. You can also turn off this tracking on an individual topic basis. You can raise a “new topic” in any forum or “post reply” to an existing topic using the button at the top and bottom left of the view screen.

In case you want to delete your forum account for whatever reason, use the instructions at remove account.

[Forum Moderators]

The forums have been grouped by subject for a reason. Please think about what your question is about and choose the correct forum to ask it. If the question is about the syntax of a VBoxManage command or about the manager then ask in "Using VirtualBox". If it relates to installing the Linux Guest Additions then ask in "Linux Guests". If it relates to accessing a shared printer on a Windows Host then ask in "Windows Hosts".

Remember that questions and answers remain behind as a visitor resource, so the correct forum for a question is the forum which future visitors would likely choose when they search for previous answers to questions. To be clear, the fact that you personally own a Windows host does not mean that all your questions should be asked in the "Windows Hosts" forum.

Also make sure that your title is meaningful. “Please Help!” might make you feel better, but it makes your topic less likely to be answered. Something like “Configuring NAT to use guest ftp server” is far more likely to attract respondents who can answer your question.

Also remember that moderators might move your post to a different forum, but you will always be able to find it through the “View your posts” link at the top of every forum listing.

[Forum Moderators]

Think about how others might have phrased the question. Try to put yourself in the position of those who might respond to your post. What information do they sensibly need?

• At a minimum always provide basic host and guest configuration information, for example: “Host: Ubuntu Hardy Workstation, Vbox 1.6.2 PEUL, Bridged LAN; Guest WinXP SP3 + 1.6.2 PEUL Guest Additions”.
• If you have a problem which is throwing up an error, then please quote the error verbatim. Don’t use woolly descriptions.
• Try to focus on the specific issue that you are stuck on, and avoid open ended statements or questions.
  • “I have got the error ‘Host system reported that the file size limit has been exceeded. VM execution is suspended. You need to move the file to a filesystem which allows bigger files…DevATA_FILETOOBIG’. This then stalled my guest. Can anyone suggest what causes this error?”
  is a lot more focused than
  • “Vbox halted with a file error. I am lost. What do I do?”
  and more likely to get a helpful answer.
• If there is relevant reference material then reference it to save others having to search for it. For example “I am trying to install the Myah Linux OS…”.
• Use the BBcode formatting to make your post easily readable. There is no point in getting too fancy, but at a minimum: (1) use

  Code: Select all

  [/b] blocks to encode any form of listing where you want to preserve the fixed character layout; (2) use basic mark-up such as bullets, [b]bold[/b], and [i]italics[/i] to pick out your key points.  (3) Use the extended form of URLs to enhance readability.  (4) Use the preview button, and the format buttons to help you here.  There is a [url=http://forums.virtualbox.org/faq.php?mode=bbcode]BBcode[/url] help key at the bottom left on every post form.
  
  [*]When having a problem with a VM, post its settings, for example run the command:
  VBoxManage showvminfo "VMNAME", and post results inside a Code block.
  
  [*]AVOID USING ALL CAPS AS A MEANS OF SHOUTING — ITS JUST TEDIOUS TO READ, yes? 
  
   [/list]

[Forum Moderators]

Do not post several unrelated questions in the same topic. This makes any further discussion difficult to follow because multiple answers will end up interweaved, and the whole thread becomes a tangle.

Try not to drift off the original subject. If you feel that this is happening then the correct thing to do is to start a new thread or move onto an existing thread that is directly related to the new subject, but include a short cross-reference link for anyone following the drift, e.g. “I have started a new thread on this issue at http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?t=12345”.

If you find another related thread then post to this instead of raising another variant topic.

Multi- or cross-posts will be deleted. These are where you ask the same question in multiple forums in the hope of getting a better or quicker answer. This is impolite to those trying to help you as this wastes their time because several identical answers may be posted by different users.

[Forum Moderators]

If you make a completely content free post, e.g. you post "I have the same problem", or "thank you this helped" - something that could literally be posted on the end of any (English language) thread anywhere on the Internet and adds absolutely nothing... then your post will most likely be presumed to be spam preparation (*), and certainly of no worth, and you can expect it to be deleted. If you continue to leave only content free posts then you are very likely to be identified as a spambot and a permanent ban will follow.

In other words, only post if you have read the discussion and wish to add something potentially useful to it (something not botlike).

(*) I.e. the poster comes back a couple of months later, and edits the post to add spam links that would be obvious (and blocked) if included on the first day.

[scottgus1]

When you post in this public forum, the text and attachments you post become the property of the forum community. Sometimes patterns in Virtualbox behavior appear over several different topics, and your topic may contribute over time in solving a big problem.

It is possible and acceptable to edit a previous post to correct a mistaken idea or typo. However, going back after a topic is complete or after a diagnosis has been made and removing logs and other attachments, substantial segments of a post, entire posts, etc damages the community's ability to benefit and learn from the topic.

Such destructive editing is viewed as forum vandalism and is grounds for immediate ban until the destructive edits are undone and the deleted data and attachments are replaced.

If you are concerned about a particular piece of data or attachment being left in public view, discuss your concerns with the persons helping you or a forum moderator before posting it. Arrangements for a more private method to pass the data or attachment might be made.