Help Me!

Within these castle walls be forged Mavens of Computer Science ...

— Merlin, The Coder

Prerequisites

• W1002 The Client, the Server, and the Shell

Background

Read: Asking for Help

Getting Help

We want your experience here to be both fruitful and enjoyable. We all need some help sometimes and all of us have more to learn. If you need help, ask, and sooner rather than later. Of course, this doesn't mean that you shouldn't try things on your own and struggle a bit, but it does mean that you shouldn't allow yourself to become stuck and get behind.

Available Avenues for Seeking Help

There are several options available for getting help which vary depending upon your circumstances and what type of help you need.  Coder Merlin™  has established several systems and processes for getting help, including:

Discord

provides a forum for leisurely conversation along with a dedicated channel for #homework-help. There's a link to  Coder Merlin™ 's Discord server at the bottom of (nearly) every wiki page.

Merlin Maven Mentors

The  Merlin Maven Mentor™ program provides help by connecting you with other  Coder Merlin™  members who are dedicated to providing you with the assistance that you seek. Help is generally available by going to the relevant wiki page on the topic that you need help with and then finding the  Merlin Maven Mentor™Chat Icon in the lower-right corner.

Support Ticket

Help for technical issues related to  Coder Merlin™  may be accessed by issuing a Support Ticket using the link available at the top-left menu bar of (nearly) every wiki page.

Help for Particular Topics

Help with Grades

• If you are working with a guide and need help with grades, then you have only one option, which is to contact your guide. Your guide is responsible for instructing you with the specific procedures.

Help with Missions and Other Homework

• Ask a nearby colleague. Unless you're being assessed (homework, quiz, test, etc.) asking a colleague is a great first step toward pursuing an answer to a problem. Be sure to thoroughly read, understand, and follow the Model Collaboration Policy and provide written credit in your assignment citing anyone that does provide you with assistance.
• Try an informal approach using
• If it would be helpful to have someone discuss a problem with you one-on-one in realtime, contact a  Merlin Maven Mentor™ using the Merlin Chat Icon in the lower-right corner. If mutually agreed upon by both you and the mentor, the mentor can remotely work together with you inside your terminal.
• If you are working with a guide, contact them.

Technical Challenge

• If you're having a technical challenge using  Coder Merlin™  (e.g. issues regarding shell access) open a Support Ticket using the link available at the top-left menu bar of (nearly) every wiki page providing all relevant information. Insufficient information will, at best, result in a delay, so be thorough.

helpme

Caution

• Be sure you've set your location before attempting to use helpme! See W1002

helpme is a simple, but very useful command that will queue your request in a classroom. The request will likely be displayed on a monitor and you'll be able to see your position in the queue.

To view an overview of available subcommands:

john-williams@codermerlin:~$  helpme

To request help:

john-williams@codermerlin:~$  helpme please <subject>

If there's a monitor present in the room you'll see your name appear within a few seconds. Go ahead and try it now, replacing "<subject>" with some text that you need help with. For now, you can simply try:

john-williams@codermerlin:~$  helpme please emacs

In the event that there's no monitor in the room (or if you can't see the monitor from where you're seated, you can check your position with:

john-williams@codermerlin:~$  helpme where

If you're able to resolve your question before someone comes to help you, you can cancel your request with:

john-williams@codermerlin:~$  helpme nevermind

Go ahead and try it now.