How to ask a question.

[bakedjake]

Microsoft has a very good, if not somewhat humorous summary on how to ask good questions that will make people want to answer them.

Page here [support.microsoft.com].

Definitely some positive tips that could be used here.

- Search the archives/FAQ before you post. Most forums and newsgroups have some sort of online FAQ (FAQ stands for Frequently Asked Questions) or archives. You should always perform a search on these resources before asking your "very important and unique" question. Many questions have already been answered, there is no point in answering them again, and some communities have members who will flame you for not doing so before asking. In fact, it's a very good idea to do a keyword search for words relating to your problem on the archives before you post. It may find you an answer, and if not it will help you formulate a better question.

- Use online search engines such as MSN Search, Google (which, by now, you should know is your friend), Yahoo! and others. Post the error message you're getting on your preferred search engine and see what you come up with.

Good examples of questions will include information from most of the following categories:

- What are you trying to do?
- Why are you trying to do it?
- What did you try already, why, and what was the result of your actions?
- What was the exact error message that you received?
- How long have you been experiencing this problem?
- What changes were made to the system between the time everything last worked and when you noticed the problem?

Although it might seem silly for some, selecting a good title for the question/thread will be the one of the main driving forces for others to want to actually read your item. Choosing a badly-formatted title will drive people away, thinking that since the title is so badly written, so must be the information and the question within the thread.

[wheel]

The right format for asking a question is important when asking in online forums. People just won't answer your question if you're going to make them work for it.

I think I know how to ask a question reasonably well. However the last programming question I asked (not on this site) I made it so general that nobody would answer me - not because they couldn't understand the questions, but because they claimed I was a student who was looking to get his homework done :).

[mona]

Nice find, bakedjake. I think we can all learn a thing or two from that.

[coopster]

The PHP Bug Reporting [bugs.php.net] page has always been forthright with it's guidelines but the reason I mention it here is the obscure little link near the base of the page which takes you to

Eric Raymond's and Rick Moen's How To Ask Questions The Smart Way [catb.org]

The read includes some additional gems such as "If You Can't Get An Answer" and "How To Answer Questions in a Helpful Way".