The main CoP homepage shows the list of categories in the community. Each category is for discussions on topics related to a general area of work with DHIS2, such as “Implementation,” “Research,” or “Development.”
Categories can also include subcategories for discussing more specific topics, such as “Malaria” (in the “Implementation” category) or “SDK - Android Development” (in the “Development” category).
Posting in the appropriate category and subcategory is important for two reasons: it helps keep discussion topics organized and easier to find, and it sends notifications to other users interested in that specific topic, which makes it more likely that you will get a response.

Here’s a brief overview of the sites main and subcategories:

1. Connect - Connectez-vous : Use this category to connect with others! Start with the Introduce Yourself topic and post your CV in the #marketplace (or announce a position).
2. Announcements - Annonces : shares DHIS2 announcements with the entire community. Only topics approved by staff are posted here.
3. Implementation - Implémentation : how are you and others implementing DHIS2?
4. Support - Assistance technique : what are the challenges you or others are facing? Get support or help the community.
5. Development - Développement : everything to do with software and app development.
6. Server Administration - Administration-du-Serveur : for all server and hosting related discussions.
7. Capacity building - Renforcement de capacités : resources for learning and training DHIS2.
8. Research - Recherches : share and find DHIS2 research and connect with DHIS2 researchers.
9. Resources - Ressources : share and find DHIS2 resources as well as FAQs.
10. Translation - Traduction : all topics and questions related to translation of DHIS2.

If you are not 100% sure which category to post in, pick the one that seems like the best fit for your topic. The CoP moderators will move your topic to the correct category if necessary.

When creating a topic, in addition to selecting the category, it’s possible to add a tag. Tags are keywords attached to topic posts which help identify the topic as well as send notifications to members watching this tag.

Here are some of the most popular tags and when to use them:

1. dhis2-security : used only by the dhis2-security team to send important security updates and notifications.
2. patch-releases : used only by the dhis2 team to post patch-release announcements and release notes.
3. copmonthly : our community monthly post.
4. android : use this tag for android/mobile topics.
5. server-admin : use this tag for server related topics.
6. tracker : tracker related topics such as program rules, program indicators…etc.
7. analytics : related to analytics such as visualizations, dashboard…etc
8. aggregate : for topics related to aggregate such as the data entry app.
9. education : for topics related to EMIS and education
10. api : API topics such as api queries, import/export through api, using the api…etc

You can choose which topics you want to receive notifications for (or mute those you’re not interested in) through the Tracking settings in your preferences, click here.

These are the different tracking levels:

1. Watching: notification for every new topic and post
2. Tracked: notification for new topics only (count posts)
3. Watching first post: notification for new topics only (not the replies)
4. Muted: you can choose to mute some topics and not receive notifications

Additionally, you can use the sidebar for further organization and navigation, check out this guide: New sidebar feature in the DHIS2 Community forum: navigate quickly and easily!

1. Navigation:

Navigate the user interface efficiently using the header and sidebar.
Header:


Sidebar: to check out the guide on how to customize the sidebar, click here.

2. Search bar:

one of the most important tools in the discussion forum is the Search bar. Check out the ‘Finding Information’ section for tips on how to use it.

3. Top Navigation Bar:

At the top of the discussion bar, we’ve added a global navigation bar for easy navigation across important DHIS2 resources: the main DHIS2.org website; Documentation; Developers Portal site; DHIS2 Demo instances; Apps Hub; and the Online Academy website.

4. Profile Preferences:

In addition to uploading your profile picture, members can add ‘about me’ description, Location, Web Site, Profile Header and User Card background as well as other features, click here to view your profile preferences.

5. Logging into the CoP:

Make sure you are logged in when navigating the community to improve your user stats. You can login using email/username and password, ‘Sign in with Google or LinkedIn’, or you can enter your email and select ‘skip the password; email me a login link.’

6. Invitations:

invites are restricted to trust level 2 members and when people accept your invitations you receive badges. To invite people, either use the Invite button at the top of the sidebar, or click on the ‘Share’ button under a topic then select ‘invite’. Invitees are automatically promoted to trust level 1.

Additionally, when joining the forum, members go through stages of trust levels to keep the forum safe as well as promote engagement. The higher a trust level, the more forum permissions you have. Trust levels range from 0 - 3:

1. New users: trust level is by default 0 to avoid spam so please don’t keep your account at this level because the system eventually deletes accounts that remain at 0 for a long period of time.
2. Basic user: trust level 1, get here by entering at least 5 topics, reading at least 30 posts, and spend a total of 10 minutes reading posts.
3. Regular Member: trust level 2, get here by visiting at least 15 days, 2 likes (one given and one received), replying to at least 3 different topics, entering at least 20 topics, reading at least 100 posts, spend a total of 60 minutes reading posts.
4. Member: trust level 3, get here by within every 100 days, must have visited at least 50% of days, must have replied to at least 10 different non-PM topics, of topics created in the last 100 days, must have viewed 25% (capped at 500), of posts created in the last 100 days, must have read 25% (capped at 20k), must have received 20 likes, and given 30 likes.

You will receive a list of new permissions as soon as you are promoted to a trust level.

User Cards: User cards appear when a profile picture is clicked and it’s a summary of your profile with your custom design.

You can use the following template to design your user card: Use Canva or [download ZIP User-card-resources (remove.zip from extension).zip.pdf]

Badges:
Badges are like special souvenirs that members collect across their DHIS2 journey. Yes, they’re a nice and special decoration in the profile, but they also provide more value and strength to your profile.

Some badges are granted automatically by the system based on the activity, and some are rewards granted for participation. You can check out all the badges and read their descriptions: DHIS2 Community Badges

Here are some tips and what to include in each topic:

1. Technical Support Questions:

• • Post in the Support - Assistance technique category
  • Versions: version of the DHIS2 instance and App version
  • Platform: is this issue happening in the web or Android capture app?
  • Authority: is this issue happening to users with ALL authority? Which authorities are given to the user?
  • Reproduction: if you can reproduce the issue in any of the play.dhis2.org instances, please share the steps to reproduce
  • Test first in your browser’s Guest mode to make sure it’s not a cache issue:
    1. Open the Network and Console tabs (F12 → Network)
    2. Reproduce the issue in Guest mode
    3. Check if any errors appear in the Network or Console during the reproduction
    4. Copy the error logs
    5. If this is a server related issue:
       1. Please share the entire Catalina.out log (without the sensitive/authentication information)
       2. Post in the Server Administration - Administration-du-Serveur category or use the ‘server-admin’ tag
  • Screenshots: screenshots of the entire window helps in understanding the issue faster as well as understanding the issue is.

Implementation Questions:

1. Post in the Implementation - Implémentation category
2. The most important question in implementation questions is: “what is the use case?”
   providing a closer picture at what you’re trying to achieve helps in finding the solution. Sometimes there is more than one way to achieve the same result and experts are able to suggest helpful workarounds when the purpose is clear.
3. Is this a bug?
   A bug is when something is already expected to work but it isn’t working the way it should, so we’re happy to find and triage bugs, and in this case please use the ‘Technical Questions’ guide above to provide the necessary information.
4. Is this a feature request?
   Feature requests come all the time from the community and some are helpful suggestions. It’s important when discussing a feature request to explain why this is important for your use case, and keep the community as a whole in mind because it’s more likely to become implemented if more community members add their input and vote.

         After creating a new topic and discussing the issue you are facing, if it turns out to be a bug issue because something is expected to work in a certain way but it's not working as expected. You will be requested by one of the moderators to create a bug issue ticket in jira.dhis2.org. Refer to [Asking for Support](#Asking for Support) above for further details about what info to include.
          You will be asked to share the link to the ticket in the CoP posts so other community members can watch to receive notifications when there are updates.

   Please use play.dhis2.org 

   You're in the right place. Please post in the [DHIS2 Community of Practice](community.dhis2.org)!  

   If there's a issue, it might be a good idea to discuss in the CoP by creating a topic post, and then you can always contribute to the docs by creating a pull request through GitHub. Click on the 'pencil' :pencil: icon at the top of a docs page. 

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You're always welcome to post to the CoP! You can save time by asking the AI in docs.dhis2.org and it could be very helpful since it also references forum posts that have been solved and posts from the core team. If the AI doesn't cover your question, or if you'd like to have a direct interaction with the community members, you can post to the community. You could start by using the AI to learn more about a topic and then curate a new topic post for further discussion. When you create a topic post in the CoP, it is helpful for everyone to benefit from the discussion, and it makes it easier to triage if there's a bug issue or a feature request. Finally, remember that every minute in the CoP counts and is added to your profile stats as a DHIS2 Community Member.

 DHIS2 Online Academy learners have a private space for each digital course where they can join discussions about the topics they are learning. You can find instructions in the unit "Introducing the DHIS2 Community of Practice discussion forum" in the first module.

 If you received an invitation link, after you click on it, if you're an existing user then simply login; however, if you're new to the forum then please sign up.

 When a DHIS2 event is announced in the CoP there will be instructions on how to join. If there's a zoom meeting access, you will be provided with a link. You can always reply to the post and ask if there's anything not clear.

 The #CoPMonthly post is the post where we mention the most important highlights in the forum during the month, new and upcoming things to keep an eye for, and most importantly tag the helpful and active members in the community. There's a special DHIS2 Challenge each month where participants are awarded the CoP Activity Winner badge.

If we're still not able to find a solution after discussing the issue in the forum, moderators triage the issue to the DHIS2 Core Team. If the post needs follow-up, feel free to tag (@gassim or @moderators).

While posting to the online forum is for the benefit for the entire community, we understand that some requests are specific. Please see 'General inquiries for the core team' in the [Contact Us](https://dhis2.org/contact/) page.

For security issues, please reach out to the @dhis2-security team by sending an email to: (security@dhis2.org). 

For other issues, please send an email to post@dhis2.org