3

A module specific question, such as How can I tell Drush in which folder should a module be copied? is absolutely appropriate to be posted at drupal.org in the module issue queue. I don't think such questions should be posted here.

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
3

Questions about modules are welcome here, but drupal.SE is not a replacement for a project issue queue.

If the question is about how to do something with a module, how to use a module API from a different module, how to alter the output of a module with a custom module, the question is fine.
If the question is about a workaround for a bug in a module, then the question is not probably fine for drupal.SE; it would be fine if the bug has not been yet fixed after months, but it would not be fine if the maintainer already fixed the problem and he just need to create a new official release of the module (in such cases, the question could be considered too localized).

What we should avoid are questions about bugs that don't get any answer, or for which the reply is simply "this is a module bug." Both the type of questions are not "healthy" for a Q&A site, especially one that is still in beta and it will be evaluated in 63 days.

5

First, for (dare I say) a lot of modules, the issue queue can be a bit of a graveyard and only those who have specifically subscribed to that specific module or happen across it in a larger feed would ever see the issue.

Drupal Answers (like drupal's mailing lists) let people pose questions to the community at large - so response times are much better.

I think the other questions posed at: Avoiding easy questions and https://drupal.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/7/what-questions-are-on-topic-and-what-questions-are-off-topic could provide some insight in whether or not this sort of question is viable for Drupal Answers cannon fodder.

BTW isn't to say I don't sympathize with you, and if someone doesn't RTFM I think we should stand against it (as IRC channels do to an extreme) - but more likely we would quickly and directly ask them to read the documentation in the area marked "Your Answer is Here" etc.

1
  • I think search in module issue queue is surely better than in SE or with Google. That's good for someone who searchs for an answer. But, perhaps, it is not good for someone who asks a question. Let's see if a question here is read more than one in an issue queue. Personally, here, we have many 5-day old with less than 10 views. Of course, when the site go out of beta, there will be more users, but more questions, too.
    – jcisio
    Commented Mar 28, 2011 at 14:07
4

I think module specific questions are OK. There are a lot of views specific questions here already.

Where the line is, is for raising bugs for modules, that is where the issue queue is applicable.

2

The majority of modules is used by < 200 people, so, unless a specific module-maintainer or author uses stackexchange on regular basis, especially in the long tail of modules, Drupal.stackexchange.com will grow a large set of unanswered questions. That, again might fire back on stackexchange Drupal.

If we can raise some bar, we can avoid that: only questions on "popular" modules are allowed. And "too specific" questions can be closed, marked "too domain specific".

Problem: when is something popular, when is it "too specific"?

4
  • 2
    I think there's some precedent in the Drupal community that the top 40 modules are things the entire community should focus on. That might be a good place to draw the line. We could use d.o's usage statistics to determine which modules are on-topic and which are off.
    – user7
    Commented Mar 29, 2011 at 3:53
  • OTOH: if a module-maintainer of a module used by only 100 people is actively involved on DSE, we might unfairly disadvantage her or him: her or his answers may be far better then many views related Q. Hmmm :)
    – berkes
    Commented Mar 29, 2011 at 8:58
  • in that case the module maintainer's A could be "Please post your Q in the module issue queue"? ;-)
    – jcisio
    Commented Mar 29, 2011 at 12:12
  • @Mark Trap: current we have 850+ modules with more than 1000 users (or 1000 websites). I don't see more than 10 contrib modules as "must have", even 40+ D6 contrib modules were integrated into D7 core. In any case, if it is possible, D.SE question should point to the appropriate support issue (when the answer exists).
    – jcisio
    Commented Mar 29, 2011 at 12:19

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .