Difference between revisions of "How To Ask Questions The Smart Way"
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| − | Eric Raymond has published | + | Eric Raymond has published a page to help people learn to help themselves. I highly recommend that everyone review this page occasionally - you should book-mark it in your favorites: [http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html How to Ask Questions the Smart Way] Eric would like to note that he is not a help desk for your project; his page is intended to give pointers on the best way to get your question answered - when you ask it in the proper forum! |
| + | So, you've read Eric's page, but it seems too... abstract. You have a problem and you'd like to get some help. Here are some places to ask for help in the Midrange world: | ||
| + | |||
| + | {| class="wikitable" | ||
| + | ! Type of question | ||
| + | ! Link | ||
| + | ! Organisation | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | RPG-specific | ||
| + | | http://archive.midrange.com/rpg400-l/ | ||
| + | | Midrange.com archives: Search here first! | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | RPG-specific | ||
| + | | http://lists.midrange.com/mailman/listinfo/rpg400-l | ||
| + | | Midrange.com Sign up to participate | ||
| + | |} | ||
| + | |||
| + | Now you know '''where''' to ask for help, but how should you word your request? Your first problem is the subject line. Summarise your problem in a way that will catch someone's eye. Subject lines like '''Urgent''', '''Problem with program''', '''HELP!!!''' don't do that. Many people reading the list will simply skip over these threads. We know you want help, and we can guess it's probably urgent, and also that it involves a problem of one sort or another. Better subject lines: '''CPF4101''', '''Array index error''', '''Decimal data error'''. | ||
[[Category:FAQ]] | [[Category:FAQ]] | ||
| + | [[Category:Quick_Reference]] | ||
Latest revision as of 03:24, 4 February 2016
Eric Raymond has published a page to help people learn to help themselves. I highly recommend that everyone review this page occasionally - you should book-mark it in your favorites: How to Ask Questions the Smart Way Eric would like to note that he is not a help desk for your project; his page is intended to give pointers on the best way to get your question answered - when you ask it in the proper forum!
So, you've read Eric's page, but it seems too... abstract. You have a problem and you'd like to get some help. Here are some places to ask for help in the Midrange world:
| Type of question | Link | Organisation |
|---|---|---|
| RPG-specific | http://archive.midrange.com/rpg400-l/ | Midrange.com archives: Search here first! |
| RPG-specific | http://lists.midrange.com/mailman/listinfo/rpg400-l | Midrange.com Sign up to participate |
Now you know where to ask for help, but how should you word your request? Your first problem is the subject line. Summarise your problem in a way that will catch someone's eye. Subject lines like Urgent, Problem with program, HELP!!! don't do that. Many people reading the list will simply skip over these threads. We know you want help, and we can guess it's probably urgent, and also that it involves a problem of one sort or another. Better subject lines: CPF4101, Array index error, Decimal data error.
