Skip to content
Draft
Show file tree
Hide file tree
Changes from all commits
Commits
Show all changes
20 commits
Select commit Hold shift + click to select a range
bd8186c
Adding structure and content for first draft, and adding topic to TOC
sarahfarnborough-3di May 13, 2026
4d241ea
Adding content to first draft
sarahfarnborough-3di May 15, 2026
93e3b30
Adding content to first draft
sarahfarnborough-3di May 18, 2026
753f6c9
create-contributing-to-ros
sarahfarnborough-3di May 22, 2026
3ad0192
Update contributing to ROS
sarahfarnborough-3di May 26, 2026
5c0bdc3
Update Contributing to ROS and Contact article
sarahfarnborough-3di May 29, 2026
79dd65b
Peer review changes to draft3
sarahfarnborough-3di Jun 16, 2026
4a79014
Peer review changes to contact draft 2
sarahfarnborough-3di Jun 16, 2026
9992c2a
Final peer review changes to contact
sarahfarnborough-3di Jun 18, 2026
f7e7def
Fix email links in contact
sarahfarnborough-3di Jun 19, 2026
4590bc8
update links and apply peer review comments
sarahfarnborough-3di Jun 25, 2026
f35cfbb
Merge branch 'rolling' into create-contributing-to-ros
sarahfarnborough-3di Jun 26, 2026
557d3e4
updates following peer review
sarahfarnborough-3di Jun 26, 2026
aeec276
Add newlines after headings
dmarshant Jun 29, 2026
9d27c9a
delete whitespace and add newlines
sarahfarnborough-3di Jun 29, 2026
9f0eeff
Merge branch 'create-contributing-to-ros' of https://github.com/3di-f…
sarahfarnborough-3di Jun 29, 2026
84b93b7
fix lint errors and update links
sarahfarnborough-3di Jun 30, 2026
2979415
Fixing duplicate and broken links
dmarshant Jul 1, 2026
d3556cf
Merge branch 'rolling' into create-contributing-to-ros
gbiggs Jul 6, 2026
9721246
Merge branch 'rolling' into create-contributing-to-ros
keithkirkwood-3di Jul 9, 2026
File filter

Filter by extension

Filter by extension

Conversations
Failed to load comments.
Loading
Jump to
Jump to file
Failed to load files.
Loading
Diff view
Diff view
184 changes: 82 additions & 102 deletions source/Contact.rst
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -1,147 +1,127 @@
.. _Help:

Contact
=======

.. _Using Robotics Stack Exchange:
Contact us the ROS community to ask for support, offer help, or suggest ways we can improve.

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Collaborator

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Suggested change
Contact us the ROS community to ask for support, offer help, or suggest ways we can improve.
To contact the ROS community to ask for support, offer help, or suggest ways we can improve.

@vmbrasseur vmbrasseur Jul 14, 2026

Copy link
Copy Markdown

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Remove the 'us'.

Suggested change
Contact us the ROS community to ask for support, offer help, or suggest ways we can improve.
Contact the ROS community to ask for support, offer help, or suggest ways we can improve.

This article introduces the ways in which you can contact us.

**Area: community | content-type: about | experience: beginner, intermediate, expert**

.. contents:: Table of Contents
:local:

Support
Summary
-------

Different types of questions or discussions correspond to different avenues of communication;
check the descriptions below to ensure you choose the right method.
You can contact the ROS community in the following ways:

* `Stack Exchange <https://robotics.stackexchange.com/>`__: Ask for support or discuss an issue

Copy link
Copy Markdown

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

"Issue" implies a GitHub issue to me. Suggest "problem" instead.

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Suggested change
* `Stack Exchange <https://robotics.stackexchange.com/>`__: Ask for support or discuss an issue
* `Stack Exchange <https://robotics.stackexchange.com/>`__: Ask for support or discuss a problem


* Issue tracker: Submit an issue or suggest an enhancement: <Placeholder link to new "Submitting an issue" article>

* :ref:`Discourse discussion boards <discussion-boards>`: Share ideas or discuss best practices

* `Zulip chat <https://openrobotics.zulipchat.com/Recent>`_
(QUESTION FOR THE REVIEWER: What is the purpose for this one?
Is it meant more for people who are involved in developing ROS rather than for users with questions?)

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Collaborator

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Yes, both, it is basically a Discord server. If you want to chat with someone in real time it is probably your best bet. Questions should be directed to the General or the ROS General topics.

Comment on lines +23 to +25

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Suggested change
* `Zulip chat <https://openrobotics.zulipchat.com/Recent>`_
(QUESTION FOR THE REVIEWER: What is the purpose for this one?
Is it meant more for people who are involved in developing ROS rather than for users with questions?)
* `Zulip chat <https://openrobotics.zulipchat.com/Recent>`_
Chat with other community members, including the maintainers, about ROS, and see project work happening in real-time


* `Email <mailto:ros@osrfoundation.org>`_: Contact us directly if you have a private, sensitive, or security issue

Copy link
Copy Markdown

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

I believe this should be ros@openrobotics.org. @gbiggs ?

Copy link
Copy Markdown

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

I thought we had a different email for security reports, but I only see a security@osrfoundation.org address and I don't think that's the one we want. @gbiggs ?

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Suggested change
* `Email <mailto:ros@osrfoundation.org>`_: Contact us directly if you have a private, sensitive, or security issue
* `Email <mailto:ros@openrobotics.org>`_: Contact us directly if you have a private or sensitive issue
* `Email (security matters) <mailto:security@openrobotics.org`_: Contact us directly if you have found a security problem in ROS


.. _asking-for-support:

Asking for support
------------------

Need help troubleshooting your system?
First, search `Robotics Stack Exchange <https://robotics.stackexchange.com/>`__ to see if others have had similar issues, and if their solution works for you.

If not, ask a new question on `Robotics Stack Exchange <https://robotics.stackexchange.com/>`__.
Make sure to add tags, at the very least the ``ros2`` tag and the distro version you are running, e.g. ``{DISTRO}``.

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Suggested change
Make sure to add tags, at the very least the ``ros2`` tag and the distro version you are running, e.g. ``{DISTRO}``.
Make sure to add tags, at the very least the ``ros`` tag and the distro version you are running, e.g. ``{DISTRO}``.

We are moving to just saying "ROS" everywhere, now that ROS 1 is a year past EOL.

If your question is related to the documentation here, add a tag like ``docs``, or more specifically, ``tutorials``.
If your question is related to the documentation, add a tag like ``docs``, or more specifically, ``tutorials``.

Copy link
Copy Markdown

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

To me this reads like the suggestion is to use a tutorials tag on all docs questions. Perhaps: "If your question is related to the documentation, add a docs tag and, optionally, a tag for the specific area of the documentation like tutorials."

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Suggested change
If your question is related to the documentation, add a tag like ``docs``, or more specifically, ``tutorials``.
If your question is related to the documentation, add a tag like ``docs``, and, optionally, a tag for the specific area of the documentation, such as ``tutorials`` or ``concepts``.


Please don't contact the developers/maintainers directly.
The community can't see question or answer(s) not asked or answered publicly.

Copy link
Copy Markdown

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Suggested rephrase: "The community can't benefit from private answers and questions. Keep your questions out in the public to help others solve their problems."

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Suggested change
The community can't see question or answer(s) not asked or answered publicly.
The community can't benefit from private questions and answers. Keep your questions in public to help others who encounter similar problems.

Open Source development works best when the entire community participates in discussions and helps to answer questions.
It's better to send all questions to `Robotics Stack Exchange <https://robotics.stackexchange.com/>`__ and report all issues to the issue tracker.

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Suggested change
It's better to send all questions to `Robotics Stack Exchange <https://robotics.stackexchange.com/>`__ and report all issues to the issue tracker.


Contributing support
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ROS 2 users come from a wide range of technical backgrounds, use a variety of different operating systems, and don't necessarily have any prior experience with ROS (1 or 2).
So, it's important for users with any amount of experience to contribute support.
.. note:: If you can provide support to others, please do: <Placeholder link to new Contributing to ROS article>

If you see an issue on `Robotics Stack Exchange <https://robotics.stackexchange.com/>`__ that is similar to something you've run into yourself, please consider providing some pointers to what helped in your situation.
Don't worry if you aren't sure if your response is correct.
Simply say so, and other community members will jump in if necessary.
.. _reporting-an-issue:

Issues
------
Reporting an issue or suggesting an enhancement
-----------------------------------------------

If you identify bugs, have suggestions for improvements, or a question specific to one package, you can open an issue on GitHub.
If you identify issues, have suggestions for enhancements, or have a question specific to one package, you can raise an issue on GitHub.

Copy link
Copy Markdown

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Suggestion: replace raise with report. Not only is the latter more commonly used, it matches the wording of the soon-to-be-linked article.

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Suggested change
If you identify issues, have suggestions for enhancements, or have a question specific to one package, you can raise an issue on GitHub.
If you identify an issue in or have a suggestion for an enhancement to a package, you can report an issue on GitHub.


For example, if you are following the :doc:`tutorials here <Tutorials>` and come across an instruction that doesn't work on your system,
you can open an issue in the `ros2_documentation <https://github.com/ros2/ros2_documentation>`__ repo.
<Placeholder link to new "Reporting an issue" article>

You can search for individual ROS 2 repositories on `ROS 2's GitHub <https://github.com/ros2>`__.
.. note:: If you have a private, sensitive, or security issue, email us directly at `ros@rosfoundation.org <mailto:ros@srosfoundation.org>`__.

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Collaborator

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Security issues use a different e-mail address, namely security@openrobotics.org.

Also I don't believe the current address is correct.

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Suggested change
.. note:: If you have a private, sensitive, or security issue, email us directly at `ros@rosfoundation.org <mailto:ros@srosfoundation.org>`__.
.. note:: If you have a private or sensitive issue, email us directly at `ros@openrobotics.org <mailto:ros@openrobotics.org>`__. For reporting security issues, email us at `security@openrobotics.org <mailto:security@openrobotics.org>`__


Before opening an issue, check if other users have reported similar issues by searching across the ros2 and ament GitHub organizations: `example search query <https://github.com/search?q=user%3Aros2+user%3Aament+turtlesim&type=Issues>`__.
.. _discussion-boards:

Next, check `Robotics Stack Exchange <https://robotics.stackexchange.com/>`__ to see if someone else has asked your question or reported your issue.
Discussing ideas and best practices
-----------------------------------

If it has not been reported, feel free to open an issue in the appropriate repository tracker.
If it's not clear which tracker to use for a particular issue, file it in the `ros2/ros2 repository <https://github.com/ros2/ros2/issues>`__ and we'll have a look at it.
To start a discussion with other ROS community members, visit the official `Open Robotics Discourse <https://discourse.openrobotics.org/>`_.
Content on the Discourse should be high-level.

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Suggested change
Content on the Discourse should be high-level.
Content on Discourse should be discussions and announcements.

It's not a place to get *questions* about code answered, but it would be suitable to start a conversation about best practices or improving standards.

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Suggested change
It's not a place to get *questions* about code answered, but it would be suitable to start a conversation about best practices or improving standards.
It is not a place to get *questions* about code answered, but it would be suitable to start a conversation about new ideas, best practices, and improving standards.


When filing an issue, please make sure to:

* Include enough information for another person to understand the issue.

Describe exactly what you were doing or are trying to do, and exactly what, if anything, went wrong.
If following a tutorial or online instructions provide a link to the specific instructions.

* Use a descriptive headline or subject line.
Bad: "rviz doesn't work".
Good: "Rviz crashing looking for missing ``.so`` after latest apt update"
* Include information about the exact platform, software, versions, and environment relevant to the problem.
This includes how you installed the software (from binaries or from source) and which ROS middleware/DDS vendor you are using (if you know it).
* Any warnings or errors.
Cut and paste them directly from the terminal window to which they were printed.
Please do not re-type or include a screenshot.
* In case of a bug consider providing a `short, self contained, correct (compilable), example <https://sscce.org/>`__.
* When discussing any compiling/linking/installation issues, also provide the compiler version

As appropriate, also include your:

* ROS environment variables (env | grep ROS)
* Backtraces
* Relevant config files
* Graphics card model and driver version
* Ogre.log for rviz, if possible (run with rviz -l)
* Bag files and code samples that can reproduce the problem
* Gifs or movies to demonstrate the problem
Discussions about ROS development and plans are also happening on the `Open Robotics Discourse' ROS category <https://discourse.openrobotics.org/c/ros/111>`_.

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Suggested change
Discussions about ROS development and plans are also happening on the `Open Robotics Discourse' ROS category <https://discourse.openrobotics.org/c/ros/111>`_.
Discussions about ROS are in the `ROS category <https://discourse.openrobotics.org/c/ros/111>`_.

Participating in these discussions is an important way to have a say on how different features of ROS will work and be implemented.

The diverse community behind the ROS ecosystem is one of its greatest assets.
We encourage all members of the ROS community to participate in these design discussions so that we can leverage the experience of community members, and keep
the varied use cases of ROS in mind.
Comment on lines +72 to +73

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Suggested change
We encourage all members of the ROS community to participate in these design discussions so that we can leverage the experience of community members, and keep
the varied use cases of ROS in mind.
We encourage all members of the ROS community to participate in these design discussions so that we can leverage the experience of community members, and keep the varied use cases of ROS in mind when design decisions are made.


Pull requests
Offering help
-------------

When you feel comfortable enough to suggest a specific change directly to the code, you can submit a pull request.
Pull requests are welcome for any of `the ros2 repositories <https://github.com/ros2>`__.
See the :doc:`Contributing <The-ROS2-Project/Contributing>` page for more details and etiquette on how to contribute.
If you are in a position to support others, share your knowledge and help fellow developers work through challenges.

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Suggested change
If you are in a position to support others, share your knowledge and help fellow developers work through challenges.
If you are in a position to support others, share your knowledge and help fellow users work through challenges.


.. _Using ROS Discourse:
<Placeholder link to new "Contributing to ROS" article>

Discussion
----------
Contacting us privately
-----------------------

To start a discussion with other ROS 2 community members, visit the official `Open Robotics Discourse <https://discourse.openrobotics.org/>`__.
Content on the Discourse should be high-level;
it's not a place to get *questions* about code answered, but it would be suitable to start a conversation about best practices or improving standards.

Discussions about ROS 2 development and plans are happening on the `Open Robotics Discourse' ROS category <https://discourse.openrobotics.org/c/ros/111>`__.
Participating in these discussions is an important way to have a say on how different features of ROS 2 will work and be implemented.

The diverse community behind the ROS ecosystem is one of its greatest assets.
We encourage all members of the ROS community to participate in these design discussions so that we can leverage the experience of community members, and keep the varied use cases of ROS in mind.
If you'd like to contact us privately, for example, if your question contains information sensitive to your organization or project, or if it's regarding a
security issue, you can email us directly at `ros@rosfoundation.org <mailto:ros@rosfoundation.org>`__.

@kscottz kscottz Jul 13, 2026

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Collaborator

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

This e-mail address is not correct. I think ros@openrobotics.org is what you want.

Copy link
Copy Markdown

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Also, security issues should go to the security@ email address as Kat mentioned above.

Comment on lines +85 to +86

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Suggested change
If you'd like to contact us privately, for example, if your question contains information sensitive to your organization or project, or if it's regarding a
security issue, you can email us directly at `ros@rosfoundation.org <mailto:ros@rosfoundation.org>`__.
If you'd like to contact us privately, for example, if your question contains information sensitive to your organization or project, you can email us directly at `ros@openrobotics.org <mailto:ros@openrobotics.org>`__
If your message is regarding a security issue, email `security@openrobotics.org <mailto:security@openrobotics.org>`__.


Etiquette
----------

Assume 'good faith': It's easy to mis-interpret the meaning or tone of comments on the internet.
Assuming good faith gives the benefit of the doubt to those trying to help you, avoiding: insulting well meaning community members, and poisoning the mood.
Assuming 'good faith' when responding almost always works better even if the original response was not in fact in good faith.

Please don't send your question more than once: The question was seen.
If you didn't get a response then likely nobody has had time to answer you.
Alternatively, it could be that nobody knows the answer.
In any case, sending it again is poor form and akin to shouting and is likely to aggravate a large number of people.
This also applies to crossposting.
Try to pick the forum which you think matches best and ask there.
If you are referred to a new forum, provide a link to the old discussion.
---------

On `Robotics Stack Exchange <https://robotics.stackexchange.com/>`__ you can edit your question to provide more details.
The more details that you include in your question the easier it is for others to help you find your solution which makes it more likely for you to get a response.
* Assume 'good faith': It's easy to mis-interpret the meaning or tone of comments on the internet.
Assuming good faith gives the benefit of the doubt to those trying to help you, avoiding insulting well-meaning community members and poisoning the mood.
Assuming 'good faith' when responding almost always works better, even if the original response was not actually in good faith.

It's considered bad form to list your personal deadlines; community members answering questions also have them.
* Please don't send your question more than once: The question was seen.
If you didn't get a response then likely nobody has had time to answer you.
Alternatively, it could be that nobody knows the answer.
In any case, sending it again is poor form and akin to shouting and is likely to aggravate a large number of people.
This also applies to cross-posting.
Try to pick the forum which you think matches best and ask there.
If you are referred to a new forum, provide a link to the old discussion.

Do not beg for help.
If there is someone willing and able to help with your problem, you usually get a response.
Asking for faster answers will mostly have a negative effect.
* On `Robotics Stack Exchange <https://robotics.stackexchange.com/>`__ , you can edit your question to provide more details.
The more details that you include in your question, the easier it is for others to help you find your solution which makes it more likely for you to get a response.

Do not add unrelated content to posts.
The content of posts should be focused on the topic at hand and not include unrelated content.
Content, links, and images unrelated to the topic are considered spam.
* It's considered bad form to list your personal deadlines.
Community members answering questions also have them.

For commercial posts, see also `this discussion <https://discourse.openrobotics.org/t/sponsorship-notation-in-posts-on-ros-org/2078>`_.
* Do not beg for help.
If there is someone willing and able to help with your problem, you usually get a response.
Asking for faster answers will mostly have a negative effect.

Minimize references to content behind pay walls.
The content posted on `Open Robotics Discourse <https://discourse.openrobotics.org/>`__ and `Robotics Stack Exchange <https://robotics.stackexchange.com/>`__ should "generally" be free and open to all users.
Links to content behind pay walls such as private journal articles, text books, and paid news websites, while helpful and relevant, may not be accessible to all users.
Where possible primary sources should be free and open with paid content playing a supporting role.
* Do not add unrelated content to posts.
The content of posts should be focused on the topic at hand and not include unrelated content.
Content, links, and images unrelated to the topic are considered spam.

Single link posts are to be avoided.
Generally speaking, posting a single link answer is less helpful and can be easily confused with spam.
Moreover, links may degrade over time or be replaced.
Paraphrasing a link's content along with some contextual information and attribution is often much more helpful.
* For commercial posts, see also `this discussion <https://discourse.openrobotics.org/t/sponsorship-notation-in-posts-on-ros-org/2078>`_.

Private contact
---------------
* Minimize references to content behind pay walls.
The content posted on Open Robotics Discourse and Robotics Stack Exchange should "generally" be free and open to all users.

Copy link
Copy Markdown

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Generally doesn't need scare quotes here.

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Member

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Suggested change
The content posted on Open Robotics Discourse and Robotics Stack Exchange should "generally" be free and open to all users.
The content posted on Open Robotics Discourse and Robotics Stack Exchange should be free and open to all users.

Links to content behind pay walls such as private journal articles, text books, and paid news websites, while helpful and relevant, may not be accessible to all users.
Where possible primary sources should be free and open with paid content playing a supporting role.

If you'd like to contact us privately (e.g., if your question contains information sensitive to your organization or project, or if it's regarding a security issue), you can email us directly at ``ros@osrfoundation.org``.
* Single link posts are to be avoided.
Generally speaking, posting a single link answer is less helpful and can be easily confused with spam.
Moreover, links may degrade over time or be replaced.
Paraphrasing a link's content along with some contextual information and attribution is often much more helpful.
Loading