Prev
|
Contents
|
Next
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
Eric S. Raymond, Rick Moen
Revision 3.10 — Copyright © 2001, 2006, 2014
1
Disclaimer
2
Introduction
3
Before You Ask
4
When You Ask
4.1
Choose your forum carefully
4.2
Stack Overflow
4.3
Web and IRC forums
4.4
As a second step, use project mailing lists
4.5
Use meaningful, specific subject headers
4.6
Make it easy to reply
4.7
Write in clear, grammatical, correctly-spelled language
4.8
Send questions in accessible, standard formats
4.9
Be precise and informative about your problem
4.10
Volume is not precision
4.11
Don't rush to claim that you have found a bug
4.12
Grovelling is not a substitute for doing your homework
4.13
Describe the problem's symptoms, not your guesses
4.14
Describe your problem's symptoms in chronological order
4.15
Describe the goal, not the step
4.16
Don't ask people to reply by private e-mail
4.17
Be explicit about your question
4.18
When asking about code
4.19
Don't post homework questions
4.20
Prune pointless queries
4.21
Don't flag your question as
“
Urgent
”
, even if it is for you
4.22
Courtesy never hurts, and sometimes helps
4.23
Follow up with a brief note on the solution
5
How To Interpret Answers
5.1
RTFM and STFW: How To Tell You've Seriously Screwed Up
5.2
If you don't understand...
5.3
Dealing with rudeness
6
On Not Reacting Like A Loser
7
Questions Not To Ask
8
Good and Bad Questions
9
If You Can't Get An Answer
10
How To Answer Questions in a Helpful Way
11
Related Resources
12
Acknowledgements
Prev
|
Contents
|
Next