FAQ:

The wiki is not the proper place to make support requests. Why mix the support forum and the documentation wiki?

The point is not to turn the wiki into something that it is not. The forum remains the place to get support. The problem is that a wealth of information goes through the forum, that is not easily found when needed even by using the search function. This policy is just a way to encourage people to contribute a little something back each time they receive help from the community. It's just a way to ask the members of a community to filter the useful information out from a discussion thread and put it into the documentation wiki.

Why should a user put in the wiki a link to the forum topic with the question?

Users don't have to do that. Users are responsible beings free to do as they please. It also depends on the exact policy adopted by the community.

Still, we encourage users to do so, because we believe it could be the best practice that may prove to be beneficial to the whole community.

1. It is a way to make a placeholder in the wiki, where the answer will be put later.
2. It is a way to make a personal yet public commitment to improve the wiki when they get help.

Isn't it enough if the user edits the wiki only after having received the answer?

Again, the users do whatever they want, and each community can adapt the policy the way they wish.

Still, we believe it's a good idea if users make a placeholder in the wiki with a link back to forum topic until they have received an answer for the three following reasons:

1. Users are thus making public their commitment to improve the wiki using the answers they would have received from the community. In some communities, members may be more willing to help users who make such a commitment: it would mean that the members' time in replying to support requests would help not only one person, but many, i.e. all those who will later be making use of the wiki.
2. It may happen that users may not follow through their commitment to edit the wiki after they have received their answer, either because they forgot, they didn't have time, or they didn't care. At least, there would be a link back to the forum topic with the answer. Other users coming later with a similar question may find it when searching the wiki and thereby find the answer in the forum. Those users would then be able to do what the first didn't do: edit the wiki, put in the answer and remove the link to the forum topic.
3. It may happen that the users don't get a useful reply to their question. The problem may be due to a bug that occurs only in very specific circumstances, not encountered by the other members of the community. The question will remain open until another user experiences the same problem, finds the link in the wiki, sees a similar pattern in the questions/answers in the forum topic and thereby finds the solution.

Isn't it all a bit too complex? Wouldn't it take too much time to edit the Documentation wiki so many times?

If the situation were easy, you wouldn't need help in the first place.

Also, it takes time for community members to answer your support requests. Their time is no less valuable than yours.