Asking Questions/ja

Using IRC to get help

Here are a few tips on asking questions, especially in #kde on Freenode, in a way that is more likely to get answers:

• Don't ask to ask, just ask: the irc.freenode.net channel #kde is a user support channel, so we expect your questions - go right ahead .

• Be ready with as much relevant details about your system as you can find: Questions you are likely to be asked are:
  • What distribution do you use (and what version?) e.g. Kubuntu 18.04
  • what version of Plasma you are running — if you don't know, open Konsole and type plasmashell --version and look at the version number given there
  • how you installed it — mostly likely from your distribution repositories.

You probably won't need to give all of this information straight away, but if you know how to find it quickly it often helps

• Try to do some troubleshooting yourself before asking: Google is your friend (entering error messages into Google often finds something useful). You should also take a look at Troubleshooting KDE Problems - the advice there is probably what you'll be told in #kde anyway, so try it first

• Also, try to make sure that the problem you're having is a problem with KDE software and not some other component of your system (for example, a problem with X or with ALSA). If possible, try an alternative, non-KDE application to see whether the problem also occurs there. Of course, if you're not sure, please ask.

• Use the Forum. Try asking a question on the forum. If the discussion brings up interesting information you might add it to UserBase, so that it can help others.

• Be prepared to wait! Often on IRC, someone will notice your question a little while after you ask it, so wait around for a while after you ask. There's nothing more annoying than typing out a long answer for someone, only to realise that they left 3 minutes after asking their question! In some cases there could be hours between your question being asked and someone who knows the answer coming on-line (remember that KDE users are all over the world) so sometimes you just have to ask again at a different time of day.

• If you don't get an answer on #kde, you can also try the channel for your distribution (eg, #suse, #kde-freebsd, etc), or an appropriate mailing list: see lists.kde.org or forum.

• Above all, be patient and polite. Remember that the people who help are all volunteers, and could be spending their time doing other things than helping.

If your problem is with sound, you might want to first read Sound Problems.

If your question relates to development, please see KDE TechBase's contribute page

Because KDE is so actively developed, changes arrive very frequently, so don't be surprised if you can't find any written information. Ask in IRC, the Forum or a mailing list, and when you have an answer, register an account on UserBase and add the information to the relevant page. At the same time as learning about your system you will be helping others do the same

The Forums

Another great place to get help is the KDE Community Forums. It is always a good idea to search the forums first. Maybe your question has already been answered. If not, find an appropriate forum and start a thread. Don't expect an immediate answer, but remember to come back regularly to participate in the discussion as it gets going. Remember that the forums are run by users like yourself.

The KDE Community forums offer a "guided post" feature that can help you post your question in the appropriate forum, increasing the chance of having it seen by people knowledgeable on the matter. It is accessible as a large "New Post" button on the forums' homepage, so if you have any doubts, that is the place to start.

The forums have an extensive search feature: prior to posting try finding if your question has already been answered, or there are hints that might help you solve your issue. If there is no satisfactory solution for your problem, make a new post. To search, enter keywords in the upper right box of any forum page. By default this will search the whole forums. For extended searches, click on the "Search" link under the "KDE Community Forums" banner.

If your question has been properly answered, consider marking a topic as "solved". It is a very little step, but quite helpful for other users and staff, because it tells them that there are no more issues. To mark a topic as solved, choose the topic with the best answer in the thread, and click the green tick mark under it. If you go back to the topic list you will notice a green tick mark next to the topic's title as well.

Most distributions have forums of their own; these can also be valuable. The web pages of your distribution should provide links to its forums.

オペレーティングシステム特有の質問

For questions relating to the desktop use of Plasma with a particular operating system (OS), you can try the above methods, but unless the question directly involves KDE software or KDE/GNU/Linux you are unlikely to find the answer. If your question does not directly involve KDE, please do not post the question on the "normal" KDE mailing lists. An example of questions that do not directly involve KDE is "my sound card does not work". In that case, please direct your questions at sites devoted to helping users of that system. For example, for GNU/Linux questions you may try looking at www.linuxnewbie.org or www.linuxnewbie.com, or the kde-linux mailing list mentioned above.

If you are not using GNU/Linux, you might want to try the kde-nonlinux (subscribe) mailing list. Also particularly useful are searches on your favorite search engine, such as Google, and searches on the Usenet archives.

In addition, many OS distributors have their own mailing lists which can address distribution-specific issues. You can find out more about these mailing lists at your distribution's website or find them through your browser search engine.

If you are searching for packages you may consider checking the ftp servers for your distribution, including the "contrib" sections, as well as indexing servers such as rpmfind.net. Wherever possible, install the package that your distro offers directly through its package manager.

KDE のバグ報告

バグ報告は、小さいながらも価値のある貢献であり、KDE についてのバグや機能の要望を送るための Web サイトとして、bugs.kde.org があります。あなたに必要なのは、基本的な英語の知識だけです。それに加えて、下記のガイドラインに従っていけば、役に立つバグ報告を書いて、KDE コミュニティ全体、そしてあなた自身の役に立つことができるでしょう。

最初に必要なのは、アカウントの作成です。こちらから始めましょう。アカウントの認証が完了したら、バグ報告を行うことができます。

通常、バグを報告するにあたって、2つの異なるケースがあります。

• 正しく動作していないか、全く動作しない、良くない設計、機能が足りない…などの問題に気付いた場合。そのような場合には、Help -> Report Bug... メニューから、アプリケーションを開いて下さい。そうしたら、bugs.kde.org へと案内されます。アプリケーションのバージョンなど、いくつかの情報は自動的に取得されます。

• プログラムが消え、"The KDE crash Handler" という別のウィンドウが出現した場合。安心して下さい。効率的にクラッシュを報告できるように案内されます。"Learn more about bug reporting" (バグレポートについて詳しく) というダイアログの中にあるリンクが、手順を説明してくれます。問題を報告する場合、Report Bug (バグを報告する) をクリックすると、補助機能が手順を案内してくれます。正しいバックトレースを送るためにインストールされる、ディストリビューションのデバッグパッケージが、クラッシュを報告するために必要となります。

そして、良いバグ報告を書くためには、いくつかコツがあります。

• 英語で書きましょう。KDE アプリケーションの言語は、Help -> Switch Application Language... (ヘルプ -> アプリケーションの言語の変更…) で変更できますので、American English を第一言語として選択して下さい。その後、アプリケーションを再起動して下さい。何が起こったかを説明する助けとなることでしょう。

• 問題を限定しましょう。1つのレポートには、1つのバグを書くようにして下さい。異なる問題を同じレポートに書かないようにして下さい。

• 明確に。バグを発生させる手順を説明して、私達が簡単に再現できるようにして下さい。

• Include screenshots: a picture is worth many words so attach a screenshot to the bug report. You can use KSnapshot to take screenshots. Also, do not link to an external web link which can expire, use the Attachments link at the bottom of the bug report.

• Include the backtrace within the bug report as a comment, it makes it easier to find duplicates for us (do not attach the backtrace as a text file).

• Clearly separate facts from speculation: only describe what happens. For a design problem, include a mock-up if possible.

If you are testing trunk or the beta, if you kept your precedent settings, sometimes you will want to check with a new user.

Also notice that Forums have a section about Beta Releases.

A good guide to bug reporting can be found here.

---

コンソールを開く方法

Typically when reporting a problem in IRC or on a mailing list, your helpers will ask you to open a console. A console is a text-based window that you can use to give commands for your computer to execute. You can open a console by typing Alt + Space. An input box called Krunner opens. Type the following to open a console:

konsole

If this does not work, you may not have it installed. In this case, type Alt + F2 and input:

xterm

Back to Getting_Help