Dec 10th, 2022: [EN] Asking top notch technical questions to get you help quicker!

[warkolm (Mark Walkom)]

The quickest way to get help for any technical questions you have on our forums is to provide as much information as possible, as the details you do and don't provide make a big impact on the ability for us to help you.

Generally there are a few things you should most certainly need to be aware of;

1. Know that everything that happens on the forums is accountable to our Code of Conduct. We endeavour to make this space a welcoming one, and we will take appropriate action if you do not adhere to this.
2. Pick the best category that suits your product or solution. Don't post a Beats question in Elasticsearch or a question on TLS configuration in the Elastic Security category.
3. Add context. Tell us what you are trying to achieve and why. This helps us understand more than just "I need to fix X", as we may have a better solution for you.
4. Format your code or logs or config using the </> button, or markdown-style back ticks. It helps to make things easy to read and copy. No one lines a big dump of unformatted yml or json.
5. Feel free to use gist/pastebin/etc for logs or config or code if you hit character or word limits in your topic, or split these into new posts under the original topic.
6. Have patience. While we try to help everyone that has a question, there should be no expectation that anyone will reply just because you have a problem that is urgent (ie we don't provide SLAs here).

And some things to avoid at all costs;

1. Don't post pictures of text, logs or code! They are difficult to read, impossible to search and you cannot copy them to attempt to replicate the issue (if it's code). Some people may not be even able to see them as well.
2. Don't post your question in the topic title and then only put logs or configs in the body. This doesn't provide any context as to what you are asking and only makes things unclear.
3. Don't tag people that aren't already in your topic.
4. Don't assume that just because you know what you have posted, others will be able to immediately understand. Know that if someone is asking lots of questions it's because they are seeking clarification to help you, not to slow you down.

Here's a few tips on what you should provide when asking questions for each of our core products. Not every item will be relevant, but remember that the more info you provide the easier we can see the problem and the context of what you are doing and importantly, what the product itself is doing.

Elasticsearch

• The output from the _cluster/stats?pretty&human API lets us see details about your cluster.
• Post your Elasticsearch logs, usually from /var/log/elasticsearch/elasticsearch.log. Post it all as there may be something that hints to the issue even if you don't catch it.
• Post your elasticsearch.yml, and if you have made non-standard changes to it, the jvm.options file.

If you are having issues with requests/queries or code that run against Elasticsearch's APIs, then share;

• The full request you are sending to Elasticsearch.
• The full response from Elasticsearch.
• Your code or the section of code that is relevant to the issue.

Kibana

• Post your kibana.yml.
• Post your /var/log/kibana/kibana.log, as much of it as possible will help us.
• Screenshots are helpful with Kibana given it's a UI, and the only time you should include them is if you're having issues with UI elements.

Beats

• The yml config file for your Beat, including any module specific changes you may have made.
• The logs, usually from /var/log/<beat name>/<beat name>.log.

Logstash

• Your core /etc/logstash/logstash.conf file and any relevant files from the conf.d directory.
• Your logs, usually from /var/logstash/logstash.conf.

And that's about it! The most important thing to remember is this - there is no such thing as a stupid question, only one that is unasked. We are all here to ask questions and to help each other where we can