Project:Support desk/Header

 v  •  d  • e  This page is for questions relating to the MediaWiki software.


 * Check before posting
 * Fundamental introduction
 * Help overview
 * FAQ
 * Errors and Symptoms


 * Realtime help
 * IRC #mediawiki


 * Mailing list
 * mediawiki-l ( archives )

Welcome to MediaWiki.org's Support desk, the central on-wiki place to ask questions about the MediaWiki software! The greater purpose of this page is to make our Manual and other available help so good that you do not have to come here to ask questions, or if we know where the page is you are looking for, making that easier to find.

Before posting a question here, please check out the recommended communication possibilities, and also check that your question is not already answered elsewhere on this site (see box on the right).

Well, just as it is the case on most forums, questions on this page are unlikely to be answered very quickly, and may not get answered at all. Usually you have to wait a few days for a reply. If there are call backs from other users trying to solve your problem, please reply as specific as you can. In case you found a solution yourself in the meantime, please leave a short note, so that the thread can be closed.

Check that your question is not already answered elsewhere on this site

 * The MediaWiki Handbook (on meta.wikimedia.org) holds detailed information about setting up and using MediaWiki.
 * Project:Forum is where you should discuss issues about this site.
 * Sandbox is where you can test wiki editing, or use testwiki: for more extensive issues.

Is this the best place to ask your question?

 * Questions on this page are unlikely to be answered very quickly, and may not get answered at all. Please check out the recommended communication possibilities (particularly the MediaWiki-l mailing list) before posting and read carefully.

There is no "official" forum, but there are some private ones that may provide a speedier answer to your questions, such as:
 * MWUsers.com -- MediaWiki Users, the most popular MediaWiki support forum, operated by a MediaWiki developer.

To post a new question
1. To help us answer your questions, please always indicate which versions you are using:
 * MediaWiki (reported by your wiki's Special:Version page)
 * PHP (likewise)
 * the database (likewise, e.g. MySQL 4.1)

2. Please include the URL of your wiki unless you absolutely can't. It's often a lot easier for us to identify the source of the problem if we can look for ourselves, rather than having to play Twenty Questions.

3. To start a new thread, click Start a new discussion.

Is your question answered?

 * If your question has been answered please place (RESOLVED) before the title of your thread, so our support staff will know to look over it. This also helps us when archiving.

Why are some topics marked as RESOLVED when they are not?

 * There are several reasons for marking a page as RESOLVED.


 * 1) If the user seeking support does not answer questions seeking more information within a period of five days, the topic will be marked as RESOLVED as it cannot be solved.
 * 2) If the topic does not relate to MediaWiki software it will be automatically closed.
 * 3) If the user is seeking support for an unstable/unsupported version or MediaWiki or an unstable/unsupported extension, the topic may automatically be closed, as this Support Desk does not offer such support.
 * 4) If you do not submit your thread in the correct format (i.e., signing your thread, posting your report above your signature, reporting your version of MediaWiki/PHP/Database, telling us your URL, etc.) it can be deleted on the spot.
 * 5) If the users post seems resolved it may accidentally be marked as such, if this happens please move the page from the  current archive  back to the bottom of the support desk, but if your thread is in an archive older than the current, please just copy and repost it. Please note that as long as your topic follows these guidelines it will not be marked as RESOLVED.

Archiving topics

 * Topics are automatically archived when they have been inactive (ie no new posts) for three weeks. If a question you have asked is approaching this limit and still has not been answered, please post a 'bump' to prevent it being archived.  Please do not 'bump' posts except to prevent archiving.