Hey all!
An idea I had…
It seems that sometimes here on the forums people have problems that they post, they get a good answer which fixes their problem, and the thread gets pushed off the homepage and into oblivion. When someone else comes along with a similar problem, we go “Oh, I know there was a forum thread about that recently, but I can’t remember where or what it was.”
Now I know that the search feature is very good for looking up things like that, but sometimes you don’t even know what keywords to search for (or you just remember generally who posted the solution, not what it talked about)
So, I propose that we create a Forum Reference page on the VEX Wiki. Whenever someone that has a question or problem that would likely be applicable to more than just that one team, someone takes that thread URL, adds a descriptive title (and their forum name), and puts it (in it’s correct alphabetical spot) on the Forum Reference Wiki page!
Example:
–Johnny123–
Hi guys! When I turn on my robot, it either doesn’t move at all, or it drives straight forward and won’t stop until we chase it down and turn it off. What’s wrong?
Here’s my code:
task main()
{
motor[port2] = vexRT[2];
motor[port3] = vexRT[2];
motor[port4] = vexRT[3];
motor[port5] = vexRT[2];
}–Johnny123–
==jsmartdude==
It appears that there are a few things in your code that may need fixing:
- You need to have a while(true) loop around everything. Otherwise, those statements only tell your motors to move once (which is what you’re describing)
- The sixth line probably should be: motor[port5] = vexRT[3];
- If you want to compete in a VEX tournament, you’ll want to use the competition template, instead of just a file with a main() task. You can make one by clicking File, New, Competition Template.
==jsmartdude==
–Johnny123–
Thanks! My robot works great now!
–Johnny123–
The Helper Person (jsmartdude) then takes the URL for that thread, and pastes it into the Forum Reference Wiki page with a descriptive link title:
*[https://vexforum.com/showthread.php?t=12345[/url] Robot stays still or drives forward and loses control - ROBOTC (jsmartdude)]
Several days later, someone comes along and posts:
++elmwood492B++
Hey guys, my robot won’t move. I’ve downloaded the code several times, and made sure all the motors are plugged in. Can someone please help?
++elmwood492B++
magiprogram
What does your code look like?
magiprogram
++elmwood492B++
It looks like this:
task main()
{
int LeftS = vexRT[3];
int RightS = vexRT[2];
motor[LeftD1] = LeftS;
motor[LeftD2] = LeftS;
motor[RightD1] = RightS;
motor[RightD2] = RightS;
}++elmwood492B++
At this point, the Second Helper Person (magiprogram) remembers seeing something about this a while ago in a thread, possibly from the First Helper Person (jsmartdude). He goes and looks it up on the Forum Reference Wiki page, finds the “Robot stays still or drives forward and loses control - ROBOTC (jsmartdude)” link, and gives it to the original poster.
magiprogram
Try going here:
[https://vexforum.com/showthread.php?t=12345
magiprogram
++elmwood492B++
Hey thank you man!
++elmwood492B++
This way, the Helper Person:
A. Knows exactly where to look for the answer to this previously discussed question, and can quickly browse through the list on one page to find what he’s looking for.
B. Doesn’t need to spend time searching the forum with keywords that may or may not have been in that post he’s looking for.
C. Doesn’t need to repeat something that’s already been said; he can just link to the previous post.
What do you guys think?
Would making a Forum Reference Wiki page be a good idea?](https://vexforum.com/showthread.php?t=12345)