Where is the help on using Discourse, that is easily discoverable by users?

[mikekaganski]

The site has some features that are not easily discoverable.

1. Formatting messages. As @discobot describes in its tutorials, one may use BBcodes, HTML, and markdown to format messages. However, there’s no help easily discoverable when one composes a message, nor when inspecting the site (including the menus). There are external resources like Markdown Reference or https://meta.discourse.org/docs?search=syntax&topic=65425, but indeed googling for it is not something that a user could call convenient.
2. Searching. The GUI search tools do not provide all available search features, like shown e.g. at Using Advanced Search - Forum FAQ & Guides - Plex Forum - try e.g. searching for topics with at least 10 replies, or try to combine contain a single user and are unsolved; so where does a user find the search string syntax?

[discobot]

Hi! To find out what I can do, say @discobot display help.

[guilhem]

I guess ultimately the help will be shown at About the English category or in another pinned topic. But it has to be written

@mikekaganski

However, there’s no help easily discoverable when one composes a message

The editor makes it largely moot no?

[mikekaganski]

@guilhem

The editor makes it largely moot no?

No. There’s no “code” (only “preformatted text”, which is different).

Here’s a preformatted text:

sub foo
end sub

And here’s code:

sub foo
end sub

And so on. A documentation is needed.

[guilhem]

FWIW for the first 2 (configurable) posts Discourse overlays the preview panel with some help boxes, but it’s probably pretty basic as well.

[erAck]

Not only pretty basic but also quickly forgotten. And then there’s no easily discoverable editing and formatting reference. An internet search turns up this, or that for code formatting, both themselves some “unofficial help” discourse postings (actually I did not find an official reference). Of course it’s all Markdown, BBCode and HTML … but…

Actually making these three (or similar or yet another self-written by us unofficial reference) links available around the editor could be helpful, like in MediaWiki.

[Beezus_Fuffoon]

@discobot display help

[discobot]

I currently know how to do the following things:

@discobot start {name-of-tutorial}

Starts an interactive tutorial just for you, in a personal message. {name-of-tutorial} can be one of: tutorial, advanced tutorial.

@discobot roll 2d6

3, 6

@discobot quote

We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated. — Maya Angelou

@discobot fortune

You may rely on it

[Beezus_Fuffoon]

@discobot start {Base}

[discobot]

Hi! To find out what I can do, say @discobot display help.

[GlynisWalker]

How do I upload a spreadsheet from a jump drive please

[sophi]

Hi, please ask your question on

English

This category is for feedback on the forum.
Sophie