Do I need to create an account?
No. You can explore all topics, replies, users, code, tags, etc. without an account.
However, to be able to post your own topics, replies, and comments requires that you
sign up and create an account. As a member you can vote on other postings, and recommend and follow other members.
Furthermore, you can send private messages to other members via
DoMail, our private
messaging system.
By actively participating you gain
points. And more points increases your
community rank (for further details see below).
With these reputation measures you demonstrate your commitment to .NET and the .NET Pattern community.
What are private and public accounts?
A
private account is not visible to others.
If you purchase the Design Pattern Framework, or post a Job, and the system creates the account for you, it will be private by default.
If you yourself created the account by signing up, then the account will be
public. A public account means that your profile is visible to others (as well as search engines).
To participate in the community (i.e. post topics, replies, etc) requires that your account is
public.
At any point in time you can change your account from
private to
public and vice versa (under the Privacy tab).
I am a user of the Design Pattern Framework. How do I join the community?
There is no need to sign up. Simply login with the credentials you already have and change the account from
private to
public.
After that, you're ready to go.
Please explain the different topic types
Sure. When writing a new Topic, you can choose from one of these 6 types:
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A Question is a request for an answer to a .NET Pattern or .NET programming related issue.
We strongly prefer questions that are specific, i.e. answerable questions. |
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A Gem is a solid, proven, and elegant piece of .NET code that solves a particular problem effectively and efficiently.
Use only original code. Please review and comment it before posting so that it is easy for
your peers to understand and benefit from it. |
| |
 |
A Refactoring is a post in which you present a piece of code that you'd like others to review for refactoring.
This may involve a total rewrite or some light-weight reorganization, fine-tuning, renaming, etc. At the end of possibly
several replies (iterations), we hope to see the best version bubble up (i.e. replies voted best answer or most
helpful always show at the top). |
| |
 |
A Critique is a critical review and analysis of what worked and what did not work on
a particular project or team. It is important that you include the context of the project, that is,
time, money, staffing, skills, technology, methodology, stakeholders, and other constraints. Critiques are meant to be
forward-looking and positive, so include your ideas and suggestions for improvement. Critiques are not allowed to
include names.
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An Article is an in-depth presentation on .NET Patterns or .NET programming
with diagrams, attachments, code samples, etc. Articles should be at least 500 words and must be original --
they cannot be published anywhere else. |
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 |
A Story is a light-hearted description of some event or something that happened to you that is related to your profession
as a developer/architect.
We look forward to some funny, entertaining, scary, educational, informative, or just plain interesting stories.
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What are rank and reputation?
By participating in our community you will gain points -- see below for details on our
Point System.
Each member has two reputation values:
total points and
rank.
Total points is exactly what it says: all the points you have gained since you signed up.
Rank (also called
Community Rank) is a value between 0 and 100 and is the percentile of your total points relative to all other members.
For example, a rank of 62 means that 62% of the other members have fewer points than you.
The other 38% have more.
These two values,
total points and
rank, are an expression of your
reputation, which shows your level of .NET expertise and your commitment the .NET pattern community.
Point system
The table with legend below shows how you gain posting-related points:
topics
and
replies are points gained due to votes or actions by other members,
user actions are points gained due to your own actions.
This system was designed to reward effort. For example, when posting a new Topic, asking a Question is easy (
10 points), but writing a solid technical Article is much harder (
50 points).
The same is true for Replies: a reply to a Refactoring (
20 points) may involve a fairly considerable coding and testing effort, whereas a reply
to a Gem (
5 points) is usually a brief response or comment to the actual Gem.
| |
topics |
replies |
user actions |
|
Question |
10 |
-2 |
5 |
10 |
-2 |
20 |
10 |
-1 |
-1 |
6 |
3 |
|
Gem |
30 |
-6 |
5 |
5 |
-1 |
20 |
10 |
-3 |
-1 |
6 |
3 |
|
Refactoring |
10 |
-2 |
5 |
20 |
-4 |
20 |
10 |
-1 |
-2 |
6 |
3 |
|
Critique |
20 |
-4 |
5 |
10 |
-2 |
20 |
10 |
-2 |
-1 |
6 |
3 |
|
Article |
50 |
-10 |
5 |
5 |
-1 |
20 |
10 |
-5 |
-1 |
6 |
3 |
|
Story |
40 |
-8 |
5 |
10 |
-2 |
20 |
10 |
-4 |
-1 |
6 |
3 |
| Legend |
| duv | Topic receives UpVote |
| ddv | Topic receives DownVote |
| df | Topic acquires Follower |
| ruv | Reply receives UpVote |
| rdv | Reply receives DownVote |
| rsf | Reply Selected as Favorite (by topic author) |
| rsh | Reply Selected as Helpful (by topic author) |
| updd | User Penalty for DownVoting Topic |
| updr | User Penalty for DownVoting Reply |
| absb | Author Bonus for Selecting Best Answer |
| absh | Author Bonus Selecting Helpful |
Every member starts off with
50 points -- just by signing up. Completing your
profile (with a picture of yourself) will give you
200 points. Encouraging your friends and colleagues to
sign up can get you up to
250 points (
25 points for each sign-up). Having followers and recommendations is a good thing - not only do you
gain points, but you will also be able to contact these members without limit using
DoMail, our private message system.
Finally, a profile or posting that is
flagged numerous times (due to abuse, spam, etc) will receive stiff penalties.
Total points cannot go negative. Your daily maximum point gain is
400 points. Here is a summary of these rules:
Other point sources:
| Startoff Points: | 50 | | Points cannot go negative |
| 75% Profile + Picture: | 200 | | |
| Invited friend signs up: | 25 | | Max 250 points |
| User acquires a Follower: | 10 | | |
| User acquires a Recommendation: | 10 | | |
| Topic/Reply flagged 5 times: | -100 | | |
| User Profile flagged 8 times: | -200 | | |
| Max Points per day: | 400 | | Counter resets at midnight (US Mountain time) |
Are there any rules for code?
The .NET Pattern community thrives on code and we encourage members to include or attach code to their posts.
Before posting code, ensure that it is:
1)
short,
2)
complete,
3) it
compiles, and
4) clearly
demonstrates the problem.
Code can be included in-line (in your message) or as a zip file attachment.
Zip files can include small code snippets or complete Visual Studio projects/solutions.
To keep all users safe,
no executable code can be included in the zip files (i.e. no exe or dll).
Any guidelines for writing a post?
The one guideline we ask all users to adhere to is this:
Treat others the way you like to be treated.
We're here to learn and grow together, so be nice and don't be offensive.