Asking smart questions
I’m on a number of (mostly-technical) mailing lists and forums and I frequently see people post questions asking for help. Well in general thats what the mailing lists/forums are for, far too often people posting messages fall into one or more of the following categories:
* not having done any research (where a quick googling of the error string brings up an obvious solution)
* poorly labeled subject lines
* not providing sufficient background information (product versions, what has been tried already, etc)
which make it less likely the person will receive help, and also wastes additional time for the members of the mailing-list/forum that might be willing to try and help.
I found an article “How to Ask Questions The Smart Way” by Eric Raymond which is a good read covering the above problems and many more in detail. Even if you think your questions are well articulated, take a few mins and skim through the article. I definitely picked up a few pointers.