Revised guidelines for GitHub issues (#6327)

revised guidelines for GitHub issues and caffe-users posts

1 files changed, 49 insertions, 7 deletions

diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
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--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
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 # Contributing
 
+Below you will find a collection of guidelines for submitting issues as well as contributing code to the Caffe repository.
+Please read those before starting an issue or a pull request.
+
 ## Issues
 
 Specific Caffe design and development issues, bugs, and feature requests are maintained by GitHub Issues.
 
-_Please do not post usage, installation, or modeling questions, or other requests for help to Issues._
-Use the [caffe-users list](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/caffe-users) instead. This helps developers maintain a clear, uncluttered, and efficient view of the state of Caffe.
-
-When reporting a bug, it's most helpful to provide the following information, where applicable:
+*Please do not post installation, build, usage, or modeling questions, or other requests for help to Issues.*
+Use the [caffe-users list](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/caffe-users) instead.
+This helps developers maintain a clear, uncluttered, and efficient view of the state of Caffe.
+See the chapter [caffe-users](#caffe-users) below for guidance on posting to the users list.
 
-* What steps reproduce the bug?
-* Can you reproduce the bug using the latest [master](https://github.com/BVLC/caffe/tree/master), compiled with the `DEBUG` make option?
-* What hardware and operating system/distribution are you running?
+When reporting an issue, it's most helpful to provide the following information, where applicable:
+* How does the problem look like and what steps reproduce it?
+* Can you reproduce it using the latest [master](https://github.com/BVLC/caffe/tree/master), compiled with the `DEBUG` make option?
+* What hardware and software are you running? In particular:
+	* GPU make and model, if relevant,
+	* operating system/distribution,
+	* compiler; please also post which version (for example, with GCC run `gcc --version` to check),
+	* CUDA version, if applicable (run `nvcc --version` to check),
+	* cuDNN version, if applicable (version number is stored in `cudnn.h`, look for lines containing `CUDNN_MAJOR`, `CUDNN_MINOR` and `CUDNN_PATCHLEVEL`),
+	* BLAS library,
+	* Python version, if relevant,
+	* MATLAB version, if relevant.
+* **What have you already tried** to solve the problem? How did it fail? Are there any other issues related to yours?
+* If this is not a build-related issue, does your installation pass `make runtest`?
 * If the bug is a crash, provide the backtrace (usually printed by Caffe; always obtainable with `gdb`).
+* If you are reporting a build error that seems to be due to a bug in Caffe, please attach your build configuration (either Makefile.config or CMakeCache.txt) and the output of the make (or cmake) command.
+
+If only a small portion of the code/log is relevant to your issue, you may paste it directly into the post, preferably using Markdown syntax for code block: triple backtick ( \`\`\` ) to open/close a block.
+In other cases (multiple files, or long files), please **attach** them to the post - this greatly improves readability.
+
+If the problem arises during a complex operation (e.g. large script using pycaffe, long network prototxt), please reduce the example to the minimal size that still causes the error.
+Also, minimize influence of external modules, data etc. - this way it will be easier for others to understand and reproduce your issue, and eventually help you.
+Sometimes you will find the root cause yourself in the process.
 
 Try to give your issue a title that is succinct and specific. The devs will rename issues as needed to keep track of them.
 
+## Caffe-users
+
+Before you post to the [caffe-users list](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/caffe-users), make sure you look for existing solutions.
+The Caffe community has encountered and found solutions to countless problems - benefit from the collective experience.
+Recommended places to look:
+* the [users list](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/caffe-users) itself,
+* [`caffe`](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/caffe) tag on StackOverflow,
+* [GitHub issues](https://github.com/BVLC/caffe/issues) tracker (some problems have been answered there),
+* the public [wiki](https://github.com/BVLC/caffe/wiki),
+* the official [documentation](http://caffe.berkeleyvision.org/).
+
+Found a post/issue with your exact problem, but with no answer?
+Don't just leave a "me too" message - provide the details of your case.
+Problems with more available information are easier to solve and attract good attention.
+
+When posting to the list, make sure you provide as much relevant information as possible - recommendations for an issue report (see above) are a good starting point.  
+*Please make it very clear which version of Caffe you are using, especially if it is a fork not maintained by BVLC.*
+
+Formatting recommendations hold: paste short logs/code fragments into the post (use fixed-width text for them), **attach** long logs or multiple files.
+
 ## Pull Requests
 
 Caffe welcomes all contributions.