This guide helps you choose the right channel for getting help or contributing to CheckTick.

Quick Decision Guide

🤔 I have a question or need help

Use GitHub Discussions

Discussions are perfect for:

  • Questions about using CheckTick
  • Getting help with setup or configuration
  • Seeking advice on healthcare survey design
  • Troubleshooting deployment issues
  • General "How do I...?" questions
  • Community support and sharing experiences

🐛 I found a bug or want a specific feature

Use GitHub Issues

Issues are for:

  • Bug reports with clear reproduction steps
  • Specific feature requests with detailed requirements
  • Documentation problems or improvements
  • Security concerns (non-sensitive)

🔒 I found a security vulnerability

Use GitHub Security Advisories

For sensitive security issues that could be exploited.

Detailed Guidelines

When to Use Discussions

GitHub Discussions is our community forum for:

Questions and Support

  • "How do I create multi-language surveys?"
  • "What's the best way to handle patient consent?"
  • "Why isn't my Docker setup working?"
  • "How do I configure OIDC with my organisation?"
  • "What question types work best for clinical audits?"

Sharing and Community

  • Showcasing your CheckTick implementation
  • Sharing healthcare use cases and success stories
  • Discussing best practices for survey design
  • Getting feedback on your survey structure
  • Announcing community events or resources

Ideas and Brainstorming

  • "It would be cool if CheckTick could..."
  • Early-stage feature ideas that need refinement
  • Discussing potential integrations
  • Exploring new healthcare use cases
  • Getting community input before formal feature requests

Announcements

  • Release updates and changelogs
  • New documentation or tutorials
  • Community highlights
  • Project roadmap discussions

When to Use Issues

GitHub Issues are for specific, actionable items:

Bug Reports

Use the bug report template when:

  • Something is broken or not working as expected
  • You can provide clear steps to reproduce the problem
  • There's an error message or unexpected behavior
  • A feature that used to work is now broken

Include:

  • Clear description of the problem
  • Steps to reproduce
  • Expected vs actual behavior
  • Environment details (browser, deployment type, etc.)
  • Screenshots if helpful

Feature Requests

Use the feature request template when:

  • You have a specific, well-defined feature in mind
  • You can describe the healthcare use case clearly
  • You've thought through the user story
  • The feature would benefit the broader community

Include:

  • Clear problem statement
  • Proposed solution
  • Healthcare/clinical context
  • User story format
  • Consider implementation complexity

Documentation Issues

Use the documentation template when:

  • You found incorrect information
  • Instructions are unclear or outdated
  • Code examples don't work
  • Missing documentation for a feature
  • Broken links or formatting issues

Examples

Discussion Examples ✅

Good Discussion Topics:

  • "Best practices for creating patient satisfaction surveys"
  • "How to handle multilingual surveys in a diverse patient population"
  • "Sharing my experience deploying CheckTick for a clinical audit"
  • "Ideas for integrating CheckTick with our hospital's EMR system"
  • "Help with Docker deployment on AWS"

Issue Examples ✅

Good Issue Topics:

  • "Survey export fails with large datasets (>1000 responses)"
  • "Feature Request: Add support for conditional question logic"
  • "Documentation: API authentication examples are outdated"
  • "Bug: Encrypted fields not decrypting properly in Chrome"
  • "Security: Rate limiting not working on login forms"

Converting Between Discussions and Issues

Sometimes a discussion might evolve into a formal issue, or an issue might be better suited as a discussion:

  • Discussion → Issue: When a question reveals a bug or crystallizes into a specific feature request
  • Issue → Discussion: When an issue needs more community input or is too broad/vague

Maintainers can help with this conversion process.

Getting the Best Help

Before Posting

  1. Search first: Check existing discussions, issues, and documentation
  2. Check the docs: Browse /docs folder and the live documentation
  3. Try the demo: Test functionality at https://checktick.eatyourpeas.dev
  4. Gather information: Have your environment details ready

When Posting

  1. Be specific: Clear, detailed descriptions help everyone
  2. Provide context: Healthcare context helps us understand your needs
  3. Be patient: Community members volunteer their time
  4. Follow up: Update your post with solutions for others
  5. Be respectful: Remember the community guidelines

Healthcare-Specific Considerations

When asking questions or reporting issues:

  • Patient Data: Never include real patient information
  • Clinical Context: Explain the healthcare setting (audit, research, PROM, etc.)
  • Compliance: Mention relevant regulations (GDPR, local health laws)
  • Scale: Describe your expected survey volume and user base
  • Environment: Specify if you're using hosted or self-hosted CheckTick

Community Guidelines

  • Be respectful and inclusive
  • Help others when you can
  • Search before posting to avoid duplicates
  • Use clear titles that describe your question/issue
  • Tag appropriately to help categorize discussions
  • Follow up with solutions to help future users
  • Remember patient privacy - never share real healthcare data

Need More Help?

Remember: When in doubt, start with Discussions! The community and maintainers are here to help.