DSAx Discussion Forum Guidelines:
Thediscussionforumallowsyoutocommunicatewithotherparticipantsandcourse
staffduringthecourse.
Listedbelowaresomebestpracticesforusingdiscussionforumsasausefullearning
tool.

Be specific:Titleyourpostclearlyandbespecificsothatotherscanreplytoyour
questionsandsearchforyourposts.Similarly,categorizepostsproperlytohelpothers
findandfollowuponthem.Write[STAFF]inthetitleifyouwantthestafftorespondto
yourpost.

Write clearly:Correctspellingandgrammarwillhelpothersunderstandyouand
provideusefulresponses.

Write in complete sentences and avoid using the following: 
allCAPS,

abbreviatedwords(abbrvwrds)ortextacronyms,

excessivepunctuation(!!!!)and

slang.
2

Be polite:Youallhavedifferentbackgrounds:whatiseasyforyoumightnotbefor
others,andwhat’seasynowmaybedifficultlater.Themoreyouhelpthemorehelpyou
willreceive.

Observe the Honor Code:Youmayaskotherparticipantstoclarifyconcepts,but
pleaseDONOTpostanswerstoassessmentsorfinalassignments.Also,unlessyouare
certainthatthesystemmarksyouranswertoaquestionaswrong,donotsuggestthat
thequestionisincorrectorthatthereisaproblemwithit—thiscouldconfuseothersor
leadthemtomakemistakes.

Check existing posts:Beforeyouinsertapostchecktoseeifsomeoneelsehasalready
askedordiscussedwhatyouwouldliketoknoworsay.

TheSearchbuttonatthetopoftheDiscussionslistallowsyoutosearchtheposts.

Oneachpagethereisa"Show Discussion"linkthatwillshowallthediscussion
associatedwiththatspecificpage.

Follow the thread:Ifyouwishtodeviatefromthetopicdiscussedinathread,starta
newone;thiswillavoidconfusionandhelpothersdiscussyournewtopic.
Creating a Discussion Post:
Therearetwomainwaystopostinthediscussionforum:
1)From the Course Banner:Fromthetop‐levelcoursebanner,clickonthe
"Discussion"tabtoentertheforum.Thismethodprovidesyouaccesstoallcourse
posts.Clickon"New Post"inthetop‐rightcornertocreateauniquepost.
3
2)From Inside the Courseware:Beloweachvideoandsomequestionsoractivities,
wehavecreateddiscussionelementsforyoutoaskquestionsordiscussmaterialfrom
thatsectionofthecourse.Click"Show Discussion"toseewhatotherparticipantshave
alreadysaidorclick"New Post"tostartanewthread.
4
Creating Your Post:
Ifyoudecidetopost,youmustthenspecifyafewthingsaboutyourpost(seePage5for
picture):
1)Question or Discussion:Isyourpostaquestionforwhichyouwouldlikean
answer?Orisittoengageothersindiscussiononatopicofinterest?Firstselecteither
"Question"or"Discussion"toindicatethepurposeofyourpost.
2)Select a Topic Area:Selectoneofseveraltopicareastohelpothersfindand
respondtoyourpost.Choosefromtopicsaboutdifferentpartsofthecourseorselect
"General"forbroaderquestions/discussiontopics.For technical questions, we
encourage you to first check the "FAQ" tab on the top-level course banner or seek
help by clicking on the "Help" bar on the left-hand side of the platform. (See the
next page on "Solving Technical Problems with the Platform").
3)Title and Tag your Post:Chooseaclearandspecifictitleforyourpost.Ifyourpost
isregardingacertainvideoorquestion,putthenumberofthevideoorquestioninyour
title.Forexample,ifyouhaveaquestionaboutsomethingmentionedinQuestion1.1.1,
tagyourpost[Q1.1.1]atthebeginningofthetitle.Ifyouhaveaquestionthatyou
believecannotbeansweredbyotherparticipants,tagyourpostwiththewords
[STAFF].
4)Create Your Post: Starttypinginthewhiteboxtocreateyourpost.
5)Include your edX Name or Post Anonymously:Selectoneofthesetwooptions.
6)Click "Add Post":Afteryouclickthisbutton,yourpostwillautomaticallybeposted
intheforumforotherstoseeandrespond.
5
Solving Technical Issues
Ifyouencounteranytechnicalproblemwiththeplatform,suchassuddenlyyoucannot
openthecourseware,orvideosdonotload,oryoucannotseeyourgradereport,click
onthe"FAQ"tabonthetop‐levelcoursebanner.PleasereviewfirsttheedXFAQpage
(https://www.edx.org/student‐faq)beforeyoucontactedXorpostinthediscussion
forum.
Also,youmayseekhelpbyclickingthehelptabtotheleftofthescreen.
6
Hearing from Staff:
Thecoursestaffwilldoourverybesttomonitortheforumandrespondtopostswe
believecannotbeansweredbyyourfellowparticipants.Wewantyoutohavethebest
learningexperiencepossible.However,therearethousandsofyouandonlyafewofus.
Therefore,pleasenotethefollowing:

Staffwillonlyrespondtopostswiththetag[STAFF]intheposttitle.Evenso,wehighly
encourageyoutofirstseeifyourquestioncanbeansweredbyotherparticipants.If
afterafewdaysyourposthasnotbeenaddressedoryouarestillunsureaboutthe
answer,re‐postwiththe[STAFF]tag.

PleaseallowStaff48‐72hourstorespondtoyourposts.

TheDSAxcourseteamreservestherighttodeletepoststhat(1)referencetheanswers
togradedquestionsor(2)containoffensivelanguage/content.Therefore,pleasephrase
yourquestionscarefullyandbepolite.Ifyourpostdoesgetdeletedbecauseyou
referencedananswer,donotworry.Simplyre‐postyourquestionwithoutreferenceto
theanswerofthequestion.