## Get Help

- Documentation
- Chat & Help
- Mailing Lists
- Web Forums

# Online Help

There are several options to get online help from the openSUSE community.

Please, choose from the links on the left for further information and direct access.

## Documentation

The openSUSE community creates, edits, and refines comprehensive documentation in the form of a wiki.

A lot of articles, howtos and guides are available, including:

- the Support Database (SDB): solutions to problems with openSUSE, as well as more detailed explanations of certain topics
- the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL): compatibility of various hardware and full systems with openSUSE

Novell also provides official documentation for the openSUSE distribution.

Clicking the button below will bring you to the welcome page of the openSUSE wiki, from there you can browse pages by category or search for content:

Take me to the Wiki!

## Chat & Help

Unofficial, free, and real-time online help with openSUSE, as well as a place to chat to other openSUSE users over IRC.

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is an interactive and text-based online chat system that enables you to get help and discuss in real-time with other members of the openSUSE community.

Please make sure to have read the channel rules before connecting, to make both your and our time there as friendly and enjoyable as possible:

- read the #opensuse channel rules
- see the list of all openSUSE IRC channels (by topic)

Clicking the button below will start an IRC client application on your desktop and directly connect you to the #opensuse chat room:

Connect me to #opensuse!

## Mailing Lists

Mailing lists are a great way to communicate and get support with other openSUSE community members via email.

Make sure to post your question(s) with as much details as possible (which openSUSE version you are using, which architecture (x86, x86_64, ppc, ...), exact error messages if applicable, etc...). Please follow these guidelines.

In order to subscribe,

1. send an email to opensuse+subscribe@opensuse.org
2. wait for an automated confirmation request email and follow the instructions (just need to reply to it once)
3. you will then receive a welcome email and from there on, you can simply post your question(s) using the following email address: opensuse@opensuse.org

In order to read past email threads on the list, you may also check the archives.

Clicking the button below will start an email client on your desktop, with the email address to subscribe to the openSUSE technical support mailing-list. You just need to send the email.

Subscribe now!

## Web Forums

Web Forums are helpful communities of openSUSE users, where you can ask questions using your browser.

You first need to register an account with a nickname, a valid email address (for confirmation) and optionally an avatar.

Once registered, you can ask your question(s) there by choosing the appropriate topic.

Several openSUSE web forum communities currently exist, with slight differences in atmosphere and habits -- pick one or try them all and see which one suits you best.

Clicking the button below will take you to the openSUSE wiki page that lists the currently available openSUSE community web forums:

Take me to the forums list!