Above all, when the problem is solved, add a message to that effect. “If the solution was posted by someone in the thread,” says Matthew, “Please thank them.” You can thank a user by posting a message saying so, but you can also click the Thanks! icon at the bottom right of the helpful posting. This increases the user’s “Thanks” count, and helps indicate trustworthy and valued community members. If you should find the answer elsewhere, post a link, and explain how the information you found helped you. Contextualize it if necessary.
Above all, remember that Ubuntuforums.org acts as a massive store of wisdom relating to Ubuntu. Your posting boosts this effort. Ubuntuforums.org isn’t the only useful forum website, of course. I also recommended www.linuxquestions.org, a general Linux forums site with a strong Ubuntu section, but there are many others.
Mailing lists
In addition to websites, you might consider joining one of the many Ubuntu email lists. Once you’ve subscribed, any messages sent to the list are sent out to all members, which can number in the hundreds of thousands. Other members of the mailing list can then answer your question, either directly via email, or by creating another posting to the mailing list. For a list of all the officially-supported mailing lists for Ubuntu, see https://lists.ubuntu.com.
Built-in documentation
As mentioned in Chapter 5, all versions of Linux include man pages. These are effectively technical documentation about how the software in question works.
Additionally, the creators of many programs sometimes create separate documentation that is often more informal, and this can be found in the /usr/share/doc folder. Finally, many GUI programs have their own help files, just like with Windows. These can be accessed by clicking the Help menu.
Understanding man pages
Man pages are concise technical documentation, usually although not always written by the creator of the software in question, and designed to serve as a quick guide to using the software.
Appendix B: Learning More and Getting Help : 143