NYJimbo
07-18-2009, 04:29 AM
I have been toying around with the idea of making a post, on my own, when I see someone make a request for advice and it looks like they didnt put in enough detail, didnt do any diags, didnt do any research, etc. I thought I would just make it a general reply to their post, its not meant to be specifically aimed at them. I am not trying to be moderator, but right now we dont seem to have anything that nudges posters to remember to try to create a better message with more info. I was thinking of something like this:
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I am not the owner of this forum nor am I a moderator. I am making this post just to offer some advice on how many of us prefer that members request for help:
1) When you ask for help with a computer or a specific piece of hardware it is important to list the manufacturer and model when you can. For example, if you are working on a laptop please specify it like this: “Compaq Presario 2200”, if there is a more specific model number on a sticker then put that in as well :“Compaq Presario 2232US”. If you are talking about computer parts please try to provide some specifics on make, model, part number, anything.
2) If you ask for help please let us know how much diagnostics you have done already. Try to give a little detail, be sure to use the correct terminology and when mentioning software try to provide the exact company names or software names. DOUBLE CHECK what you are typing. If you updated something like your BIOS as part of the process, please note it. Every bit of diagnostic info you provide helps avoid other members from having to ask the same questions over and over again. If you get a "Blue screen of death" its very important to post the BSOD hex codes, most members will want to know that before helping you.
3) Many of us here have found that “google” or “yahoo” search engines can provide a tremendous amount of information and help BEFORE you start asking others for help. Did you check google or yahoo or some similar search engine before coming here. Really put some effort into it and be creative with your search terms. Likewise you should try to search THIS FORUM for the same keywords or terms before you post a question. There are hundreds of threads here on many of the basic errors and problems you might experience. You might get flamed for asking a very basic question that is easily searched on google or here, most members do not like to have to point out that a simple search would provide many answers.
4) When you ask for help many of us expect you to follow up on the thread. Some people will offer advice, so it is considered polite to at least respond to those offering advice and when you use any advice please let the person know what the results are. This process helps to build very useful threads that can be searched by new users in the future.
5) If you find a solution to your problem it is very important you try to return to the thread and at least post some kind of follow up with enough detail as to what you did to solve it. This helps other people in the future as well as helps the others providing you with advice to see if their advice was valid.
As I said I am not owner, moderator or in charge of anything here. I am only making this post to remind anyone asking advice that there are some important things to remember in order to get the help you need AND to help keep down “flaming” from other members. You will find that if you do not follow some of the above advice that other members may at some point ignore you or question your knowledge even though you might have just failed to make a useful post.
Remember, many members here repair computers full time for a living and while we are often happy to provide advice or even support to others, if a poster is lazy or inconsiderate these same members will often take offense and you may find it difficult to get any future help from them.
This message is a canned response that I send out on some threads when I think it is needed. It is not specifically targeted at you.
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I am not going to post it for every thread I see nor will I catch all of the "bad threads", but I think if some of us come up with our own "reminder" posts we could see less flaming and more productive threads. If the moderators do not want me to do this then I will stop, but I think we need something like this.
-----------------------------------------------------
I am not the owner of this forum nor am I a moderator. I am making this post just to offer some advice on how many of us prefer that members request for help:
1) When you ask for help with a computer or a specific piece of hardware it is important to list the manufacturer and model when you can. For example, if you are working on a laptop please specify it like this: “Compaq Presario 2200”, if there is a more specific model number on a sticker then put that in as well :“Compaq Presario 2232US”. If you are talking about computer parts please try to provide some specifics on make, model, part number, anything.
2) If you ask for help please let us know how much diagnostics you have done already. Try to give a little detail, be sure to use the correct terminology and when mentioning software try to provide the exact company names or software names. DOUBLE CHECK what you are typing. If you updated something like your BIOS as part of the process, please note it. Every bit of diagnostic info you provide helps avoid other members from having to ask the same questions over and over again. If you get a "Blue screen of death" its very important to post the BSOD hex codes, most members will want to know that before helping you.
3) Many of us here have found that “google” or “yahoo” search engines can provide a tremendous amount of information and help BEFORE you start asking others for help. Did you check google or yahoo or some similar search engine before coming here. Really put some effort into it and be creative with your search terms. Likewise you should try to search THIS FORUM for the same keywords or terms before you post a question. There are hundreds of threads here on many of the basic errors and problems you might experience. You might get flamed for asking a very basic question that is easily searched on google or here, most members do not like to have to point out that a simple search would provide many answers.
4) When you ask for help many of us expect you to follow up on the thread. Some people will offer advice, so it is considered polite to at least respond to those offering advice and when you use any advice please let the person know what the results are. This process helps to build very useful threads that can be searched by new users in the future.
5) If you find a solution to your problem it is very important you try to return to the thread and at least post some kind of follow up with enough detail as to what you did to solve it. This helps other people in the future as well as helps the others providing you with advice to see if their advice was valid.
As I said I am not owner, moderator or in charge of anything here. I am only making this post to remind anyone asking advice that there are some important things to remember in order to get the help you need AND to help keep down “flaming” from other members. You will find that if you do not follow some of the above advice that other members may at some point ignore you or question your knowledge even though you might have just failed to make a useful post.
Remember, many members here repair computers full time for a living and while we are often happy to provide advice or even support to others, if a poster is lazy or inconsiderate these same members will often take offense and you may find it difficult to get any future help from them.
This message is a canned response that I send out on some threads when I think it is needed. It is not specifically targeted at you.
----------------------------------------
I am not going to post it for every thread I see nor will I catch all of the "bad threads", but I think if some of us come up with our own "reminder" posts we could see less flaming and more productive threads. If the moderators do not want me to do this then I will stop, but I think we need something like this.