77

I'd like to gather a list of boilerplate comments (AKA canned responses) for Ask Ubuntu which can be used in combination with the awesome Pro-forma comments userscript.

Post suggestions too, you are not required to use the script.

Please wrap your comments into a code-block for easier copying.

11 Answers 11

58

New method:

After you install pro-forma comments, attempt to comment on a question and press the "auto" button. Down the very bottom of the screen there are a couple of options. You can click "remote" and then paste this in:

https://raw.github.com/askubuntu/ProFormaComments/master/comments.jsonp

Opera & Chrome users will need to use a mirror (why?) @Nathan Osman set up (updates hourly) :

https://files.quickmediasolutions.com/au/pro-forma/comments.jsonp


However, if you're old school, or just don't like the idea of someone controlling what comments you have access to... you can do the following:

Old method:

After you install pro-forma-comments you can click "Import" and paste these in to have them handy:

[Q]Really a bug

This question should instead be filed as a bug report, and as such is off-topic, thanks! Instructions on filing a bug report are here.

[Q]Hardware

We need more hardware information to help you, can you look at this question and then edit your question adding the information.

[Q]Duplicate Closure

This question will probably be closed as a duplicate soon. If those answers don't fully address your question please edit it to include why and flag this for re-opening. Thanks!

[Q]Abandonment!

This question appears to be abandoned and unanswered. If you solved it, please post an answer explaining how it was solved (answering your own questions is not merely permitted, but encouraged when there is no other answer that does the job). If the question no longer applies you may voluntarily delete/close it.

[Q]Boot issues

It looks like this could be a boot issue, can you look at this question to get the information we need and then edit it into your question? Thanks!

[Q]Forums

Welcome to Ask Ubuntu! Questions like this that are open ended should be posted in the Ubuntu Forums, please see the [help/on-topic] for what is on-topic here, thanks!

[Q]Linux Mint & other non-official ubuntu distros

Most questions about non-official Ubuntu derivatives are classified as off-topic. This isn't the correct Stack Exchange site to ask questions about non-official Ubuntu distributions (see the [help/on-topic]. However, it would be on-topic at the [unix.se] Stack Exchange.

[Q]Merge accounts

Please use the contact us link at the bottom of this page to ask for your unregistered account and your new registered account to be merged. Thanks.

[Q]EOL Release Question

New questions about end-of-life Ubuntu releases are considered off-topic as per the [help/on-topic]. These old releases are unsupported and their use is not recommended. They don't even get updates for newly discovered security vulnerabilities, which makes using them risky. If you install or upgrade to a supported release and this question still applies, please flag and/or comment to request it be reopened.

[Q]More than one question asked

It is preferred if you can post separate questions instead of combining your questions into one. That way, it helps the people answering your question and also others hunting for atleast one of your questions. Thanks!

[A]Answers just to say Thanks!

Please don't add 'thanks' as answers. Invest some time in the site and you will gain sufficient privileges to upvote answers you like, which is the Ask Ubuntu way of saying thank you.

[A]Nothing but a URL (and isn't spam)

While this may theoretically answer the question, it would be preferable to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference.

[A]Half answer in a comment

Can you include a answer with instructions on how to do that? Leaving a half-answer as a comment can often cause more harm than good. Thanks.

[A]Comments as an answer (new users)

Please don't add comments as answers. Invest some time in the site and you will gain sufficient privileges to upvote answers you like, or to add actual comments when seeking clarification of any issues. If you have a new question please ask it.

[A]Comments as an answer (experienced users)

Please don't add comments as answers. Use actual comments when seeking clarification of any issues.

[A]OP adding a new question as an answer

Remember this is a Q&A site - so keep on editing your question with new information - this section is for actual answers. If you have another question, please ask it by clicking the Ask Question button.

[A]Answer that is a question

If you have another question, please ask it by clicking the Ask Question button.

[Q]OP providing facts in a comment

The best way to add additional information to your question is by editing it, with the edit button. It is better visible that way, and comments are mainly for secondary, temporary purposes. Comments are removed under a variety of circumstances. Anything important to your question should be in the question itself.

[A]OP using an answer for further information

Please use the Post answer button only for actual answers. You should modify your original question to add additional information

OP should accept an answer

@[OP]: If [type here] answer was helpful to you, then please consider marking it as the accepted answer so others may more easily find it in the future. This is also a polite way to thank the person answering your question for helping you out.

[A]Duplicate answers.

Please do not post duplicate answers on different questions. It just creates more work for the moderators. If the questions are so similar that the same answer works on each, then the later of the two is likely a duplicate and should be flagged as such.

10
  • Is there an alternative for answers? I often find myself going back to previous posts of mine, and copying a step or two, then pasting it into my answer. But having presets like "install compiz" or "how to launch compiz" would be nifty.
    – Alan
    May 6, 2011 at 22:29
  • This makes me sound like a cold-hearted robot.
    – nanofarad
    Jun 18, 2012 at 20:17
  • 4
    @ObseeeiveFOSS Yes it does. Me too. Jun 21, 2012 at 6:28
  • 1
    @EmersonHsieh It appears you have misspelled my user name. Note that if you start typing @ and then any username, a popup should appear allowing you to easily insert it.
    – nanofarad
    Jul 12, 2012 at 19:48
  • @ObsessiveFOSS Sorry Jul 13, 2012 at 1:45
  • 1
    @EmersonHsieh It's OK. Just know that these is a small JavaScript aid that can help with even more difficult names.
    – nanofarad
    Jul 13, 2012 at 11:56
  • thanks, this is great! (thought it'd be nice to have a comment like this for those who are eager to test the auto comment right away - go ahead fellas, knock yourself out and push that new "Half answer in a comment" radio button, or whatever. be sure to delete those after use, tho) Oct 19, 2012 at 23:21
  • 1
    Eol is used a lot. Why did you remove it? It needs to be documented somewhere at least.
    – Seth
    Apr 10, 2013 at 3:57
  • I don't think EOL is used as much as the other ones, the comments don't even fit on one screen if we keep adding to them. Apr 10, 2013 at 18:19
  • EOL is obviously used
    – rancho
    Aug 3, 2016 at 12:28
14

I use this one a lot now:

###Answered in comment
Congrats on getting it solved, can you add that as an answer? :)

2
  • 8
    No, if somebody gets it right in a comment, you're supposed to give them a 24-hour head-start, then post the answer yourself. Feel free to credit the original commentor: make it look like you're crediting a full-fledged source. Then, when the readers click on your citation, and it just scrolls them to the comment, it's funny. NOTE: This comment was written tongue-in-cheek. Please do not use this practice too often, or it will get noticed by Moderators, and prohibited. Dec 6, 2012 at 6:12
  • 3
    @JamesTheAwesomeDude Ah, but I am a moderator. Therefore, this is amusing. ;)
    – jrg
    Feb 11, 2013 at 23:30
13

Abandoned question:

You use this one after you've flagged a question as being abandoned - you then vote to close as too localized, as per this meta question.

This question appears to be abandoned, if you are experiencing a similar issue please ask a new question with details pertaining to your problem. If you feel this question is not abandoned, please flag the question explaining that. :)

shamelessly stolen from Marco Ceppi, and then edited

Here is why I recommend that you use this comment instead of other ones:

Person A asks a question, abandons it. Person B comes along with the same issue, then flags that question for reopening. if we leave a comment asking for more info, person A gets a inbox notification which will probably get ignored, and person B doesn't get it, so B can't add any information. Hence why I suggest that they ask a new question.

3
  • 3
    Could you please explain how to use this comment? I assume it's to be used after you flagged a question you find abandoned as too localized or something.
    – N.N.
    Nov 7, 2011 at 16:26
  • @N.N. Yes, it is after you've flagged a question as being abandoned - you then vote to close as too localized.
    – jrg
    Nov 22, 2011 at 19:56
  • This one makes no sense, it contradicts the ones on top? Dec 31, 2012 at 4:43
12

###Bug report
[What to do with questions that describe known bugs?](http://meta.askubuntu.com/questions/1317/what-to-do-with-questions-that-describe-known-bugs/) this has been reported on [Launchpad]() and as such is now closed.

###Comments
Welcome to Ask Ubuntu! In the future please edit your post with new information instead of [posting it in the comments section](http://meta.askubuntu.com/questions/1693/moving-question-related-discussions-from-comments-to-chat-seems-pointless-destro/1695#1695) :)

10

The OP needs to add more information to get a good answer.

###Needs more info
Welcome to Ask Ubuntu! As it stands, your question may need a little more information  in order for it to be answered. If you are not technically savvy don't worry, just add as much information as you can, so that you can get an answer (and a good one at that).
9

There should probably be one about information gathering for various hardware issues including lsusb, lspci, lshw -c <whatever-we-want-to-know> or a combination of the above.

Might be sensible to have a comment for graphics issues, another for network issues, etc.

9

For questions that are not constructive like this one.

###Not constructive
Welcome to Ask Ubuntu! This question is not a good fit to our Q&A format. We expect answers to generally involve facts, references, or specific expertise; this question will likely solicit opinion, debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. Please have a look at the _[What kind of questions should I not ask here?](https://askubuntu.com/faq#dontask)_ section of the [faq].

This is how the actual message looks like.

Welcome to Ask Ubuntu! This question is not a good fit to our Q&A format. We expect answers to generally involve facts, references, or specific expertise; this question will likely solicit opinion, debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. Please have a look at the What kind of questions should I not ask here? section of the faq.

I'm aware that most of it is just copied out of the close reason message but since the users can't see the message I think it is worth reposting it.

4

###[A] Linux Mint & other non-official ubuntu distros
Most questions tagged with non-official ubuntu distros are classed as *off-topic*. This isn't the correct Stack Exchange site to ask questions about non-official Ubuntu distributions (see the [FAQ](http://askubuntu.com/faq)). However, it would be on-topic at [the Unix & Linux Stack Exchange](http://unix.stackexchange.com).

###[A]Comments as an answer!
Please don't add "comments" as answers. Invest some time in the site and you will gain sufficient [privileges](http://askubuntu.com/privileges) to upvote answers you like, or to add actual comments when seeking clarification of any issues.

###[A]Comments as an answer - to those that should know better!
Please don't add "comments" as answers. Use actual comments when seeking clarification of any issues.

###[A]Answer that is a question - variation on Jorge's suggested answer.
Remember this is a Q&A site - so keep on editing your question with new information - this seciton is for actual answers. If you have another question, please ask it by clicking the [Ask Question](http://askubuntu.com/questions/ask) button.

3

I use this when I'm about to cast the 4th or 5th close vote on some duplicate questions:

###Duplicate Closure

This question will probably be closed as a duplicate soon. If those answers don't fully   
address your question please edit it to include why and [flag this for re-opening](http://meta.askubuntu.com/a/6073/44179). Thanks!
1

Have you considered converting these comments into a (greasemonkey) user script ?

Edit: Just added the pro-forma user script, add these lines for cleanup (at the bottom of the //default comments

      {Name: "Abandoned question", Description: 'This question appears to be abandoned, if you are experiencing a similar issue please <a href="http://askubuntu.com/questions/ask">ask a new question</a> with details pertaining to your problem. If you feel this question is *not* abandoned, please flag the question explaining that. :)' },

You then click the "reset" button (test) at the bottom to re-load the comments.

Edit: Added many of these onto the pro-forma script - thanks

2
  • Click on the Pro-forma link in my question. Those comments are meant for such a userscript. Feb 26, 2012 at 19:17
  • Just saw that :redface:
    – Panther
    Feb 26, 2012 at 19:18
1

Eol release question:

###[Q]EOL Release Question`  
New questions about [end-of-life](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases#End_of_Life_.28EOL.29) Ubuntu releases are considered off-topic as per [the FAQ](http://askubuntu.com/faq). These old releases are unsupported and their use is not recommended. They don't even get updates for newly discovered security vulnerabilities, which makes using them risky. If you install or upgrade to [a supported release](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases#Stable) and this question still applies, please flag and/or comment to request it be reopened.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .