How to Ask for Help - the Tutorial sozzled™ Choose a meaningful subject heading: If you choose the subject "My PC is behaving weirdly", you'll probably attract the weirdos and, unless that's what you're "into", it's probably not much help. PCs are strange machines - they seem to have a "personality" all of their own. The truth is that a PC's "personality" is a reflection of yours and what you did to it (although it's really easy to do things that you didn't mean to do). "I just clicked here and ... Oh, I don't remember what I did now ... and now everything is all messed up!" Calm down. Take it easy. Try to identify the symptoms, when they happen, what program you were using at the time. Use short sentences. Better still, use pictures. If you choose a meaningful subject you'll also be helping other people who might have the same problem in future. You'll be saving other people the trouble of asking the same question ... and you'll spare those who helped you the trouble of solving the same problem, too! Instead of "Has anyone had this problem before?" as a subject, try this instead: "Bogged SUV - Amazon swamp". Write in English: We're not going to do the "grammar police" on you, but it does help if you try to write sensibly. This is MSN Groups after all ... it isn't your mobile phone. "hav u got a mom. pls i need sum hlp w how 2 use my messenger 2 snd 2 evry1 on my favorites" Huh? "U tH1Nk 50? M5N 5P4C3S 5Ux" ... I don't do l33t! "i got this message the other day telling me that i needed to register my copy of vista is registered so i dont know whats going on do you know what i have to do because i dont want to keep getting these messages" ... give me a chance to draw breath, please! Have people never heard of elementary punctuation? A little bit of care in what you're trying to say can make a world of difference to someone at the other end. Tell us what you were doing at the time: this is really important. People who are reading your request for help aren't mind-readers. "My car is bogged" ... OK, we'll throw you a rope, but it's won't be a lot of if you tell us later, "I was crossing a suspension rope bridge, 100 feet above a mosquito-infested swamp near the Amazon while driving a 3-ton SUV, when the bridge gave way." What operating system are you using? No, don't tell us it's "the Microsoft one" ... because there are lots. What program were you using? If it's Internet Explorer, tell us what version. If you don't know what version, you've got a bigger problem than you might've first thought ... and a bigger problem than we might be able to you with. It's like trying to help someone who's bogged their car, but they've never read the owner's manual or they don't know what a fuel gauge looks like. It's a bit difficult to teach someone to drive a car by reading the instruction manual. Sometimes it helps to get some professional tuition. Try to use descriptive words: This doesn't mean you have to try to sound technical. However, try to avoid words like "thing", "thingie", "thingamawhatsit", "dooverlacky" ... or other nonsense. "The thingy on the dashboard that tells me how much stuff I've got in the car is busted. How do I fix it?" Do you want to fix the thingy or find out where to buy more stuff? What problem are you trying to solve? Oh, this is a beaut' one! "Does anyone know if there's a limit to the number of Favorites I can store on my computer?" This is the "how long is a piece of string question." It can't be answered. Why do you need to know the answer? Computers are gluttons: you keep feedin' 'em and eventually they can't do anything because they've become obese. Some people are a bit like that, too. Avoid jargon or, if you use it, explain what you mean: One of the worst words I've seen is the word "server". What the hell is a "server"? A server has a very specific technical meaning that is quite out of place in the following examples: - My server crashed so I had to reboot it.
- My server tells me that I need password authentication to my POP server
- My server keeps dropping out and I have to keep redialling
- I have a lot of servers running on my computer. Do I need all of them?
Your server is not your personal computer. OK, are we clear on that?
mispati3 State what OS (operating system) you are using. I've seen many times when someone goes to great length to explain how to fix the problem assuming the person asking the question is using Win XP, only to find out it's Vista or Win 98. Or better still, a Mac. If your question is internet related, state which web browser and version you are using. Especially if your question has to do with MSN groups. Internet Explorer, MSN Explorer, Mozilla Foxfire, Opera? They may even still be a few Netscape users. Let the person who is trying to help you know that you have read, understood and tried the solutions he/she has offered. Or at least ask for clarification if you are uncomfortable doing anything. I'm not a blind follower and do that a lot before proceeding.
sozzled™ It's your problem: be prepared to help: Web Design is a self-help Group, we're not going to fix your problems for you! When you ask for help you need to be prepared to answer questions or try suggestions that you might never have considered ... unless you're already an expert on the subject in which case ... ????  Provide feedback. When someone asks you a question "have you tried such-and-such", then take the hint: try the such-and-such and say what happened. "Yeah, I did what you told me to do and I got glue all over my fingers!" OK, it might not have helped you, but it helps the person trying to help: next time he/she will provide warnings about taking care when opening tubes of glue. Some things were meant to happen: "I have a problem with Windows Live Messenger". Say no more about it! Windows Live Messenger is responsible for 95% of all problems - don't use it! Simple as that! OK, I'm exaggerating, but everything you use poses an element of risks (It's just that instant messaging products have a higher number of problems associated with them: technical ones and social ones ...  ) The fact is that people think they can't live without their U-beaut' program. Accept the fact that there are risks with any program; if they continually give you grief then you can decide to persevere attempting to get a technical fix (and accept the extra burden this imposes on you) while you wait until the "next version" is released (which you might have to actually pay money for) ... or stop now and save your sanity! Ask yourself, why do I need this? The answer might be rather surprising. Is it really important to salvage the bogged SUV from the mosquito-infested swamp ... or would it be a better idea to walk instead? Say thank-you. It's not just a common courtesy, it provides real feedback on the quality of the help. It helps everyone. Try it ... see what a difference it makes.  Here also are a few other tips I found in How to ask questions the smart way. | 
