We're in an odd situtation as "stackers" have had a long-established community, and so has Ubuntu. We need to ensure that we communicate best practices to existing Ubuntu teams. Since I am a new "stacker" myself I have been learning how this works, the culture around it, and thought I would write these down for other Ubuntu folks.

Basics

• What is StackExchange and Stackoverflow? Joel's announcement for stackoverflow.com mentions the motivation behind this method of doing Q&A.
• Use launchpad.net/~yourusername as the openid (leave out the http), we're working on making that more obvious.
• Unlike forums and mailing lists, this concentrates on highlighting the good answers, and downvoting the incorrect or bad answers. It's not a replacement for discussion, just a more efficient way to get answers. The about page has a picture which illustrates this best. More information on the way stackers do thing can be found on the stackoverflow.com FAQ.
• A ton of value comes from finding a question and answer via a search engine. We want a good answer to be the top hit for "How do I use the me menu?". Don't worry if the questions are scrolling by too quickly on the front page, this isn't about tracking discussions.

Tips for integration into your team

• Many teams keep FAQs on the Ubuntu Wiki, since the exchange system lets you tag questions, you can use this system as a "living FAQ": See the kernel tag for an example.
• "I am already a subject matter expert on foo, give me rep and stuff to start weeding out junk" - No. It doesn't work that way. If you're an expert start answering questions it works itself out. This is the same system that keeps the junk out, so if you are an expert then you'll have no problem.
• This is not a replacement for the Howtoguides your doc teams have been working on for years. This is a place for answers to individual questions. Do ensure that in the answer you DO link back to the place in the documentation that your team is already maintaining. Consider this another avenue that users will use to get to your information.
• This is not a place to report bugs - while we get new users people will want to do that. Be patient by pointing them to the right place and downvoting the question.

Giving good answers

• Edit, edit, edit should be your mantra - If you've got a good answer and someone adds more detail, integrate it, and remember to always respect an individual's work.
• Don't link and run to random blog #56 on how to run an ldap server. If the information is good and under an open license just put it in the answer (don't forget to attribute the author). Try to make your answer THE definitive answer to the question and ALSO send them to the official documentation your team supports.

How you can help us

• We need help getting the word out, we have some ideas on how you can help, especially in places where users are already asking you for help.