How To Submit a Question So You'll Actually Get Help

sjg · **Posted:** Sat Jan 07, 2006 7:55 pm

Hi everyone!

I often get Help requests (or bug reports) which are written in a way that's confusing to me, and it ends up taking me a long time and several back-and-forth responses before I can actually be helpful. So I thought I'd post something here which could potentially save everyone some time.

If you use this simple format, I (and other developers) will be able to help you much faster, and with less confusion.

How To Ask For Help

1. Make sure to provide all version information you can think of. It's better to include irrelevant data than it is to omit useful data. Example:

Quote:

Hi. I'm running CMS Made Simple 0.11.2. I'm using PHP 4.4.1, and MySQL 4.1.10. This is all working with Apache 1.3.38 running on Linux

(Obviously, you may not be able to determine all of those version numbers, but provide what you can. We can help you figure out the other version numbers if we need them.)

If the problem involves modules (or you suspect it might), include not only the exact modules, but also any dependent modules, and their configurations:

Quote:

I'm using FeedbackForm version 0.9.9, which depends on CMSMailer. My CMSMailer is version 1.73.6, and it's set to use the "mail" method.

2. Then state the problem, including as much detail as possible (especially including error messages):

Quote:

When I try to create a new form, I get the error message: Call to a member function on a non-object admintheme in /modules/FeedbackForm/FeedbackForm.module.php on line 985

alternatively, if you're asking a "how to" type question, please give us as much context as possible. Not just what you're trying to do, but why you're trying to do it:

Quote:

I'm trying to put an Ell-Nav menu in an iframe, and can't figure out how to do that. I need it in an iframe so the rest of the page can scroll, but the menu remains in place.

We may try to talk you out of the approach you're describing, but only if we have a good reason and can propose an alternative.

3. If it's a consistently reproducible error, detail the steps that you can use to trigger the condition:

Quote:

How to reproduce: Go to CMS MS Admin > Extensions > FeedbackForms, and click on the "New Form" icon.

4. If you have any ideas about what's wrong, or other information that might help, definitely include it!

Quote:

This was working before I upgraded from version 0.9.8. I also recently changed my admin theme, so I wonder if that's what it means in the error message.

5. If you're reporting a bug, please file it in the Development Forge (http://dev.cmsmadesimple.org) in addition to posting it here in the forum. That helps us manage the process of tracking and fixing it.

6. Spread the love. If you find a solution, or someone emails you a solution, post it here in the forum so other people can benefit. If you've fixed a bug, post a patch in the Forge.

If you follow these steps, you will save a great deal of time for both yourself and for us.

How Not To Ask For Help

Here are a few things guaranteed to slow down or prevent you from getting help:

1. Incoherence. "I tried to use CMS Made Simple, but the thing didn't work." Help me to help you -- I need something to go on. What thing didn't work? How did it not work? I realize that there can be a language barrier sometimes. If it's impossible for you to express in English, please describe the problem in your own language -- there are more than a few people in the community who speak multiple languages and who can help translate. Worst case, there's babblefish.

2. Demands. "I need this fixed today, or I'll switch to Mambo." When I read this kind of statement, I think to myself "gosh, too bad for those Mambo developers."

3. Insults. "This code is so crappy. I don't know why anybody would even try using it." When I read this, I lose all interest in trying to help, and figure that you can take your problem and shove it.

Things to Keep in Mind

The core team and many other volunteers on this board really want to be helpful and make things work for you. But remember that we all have jobs, families, friends, and other responsibilities -- none of us get paid for this work. Now, if you're exceptionally wealthy or a venture capital person, and would like to start a foundation to provide full-time support and CMS development, we'd be happy to speak with you. But as it is, CMS Made Simple can't be our number one priority at all times.

We understand that sometimes you find yourself with a problem and a looming deadline. Many of us are computer professionals -- we know what stress is. We'll try to be as responsive as we can, and we'll do whatever is possible to help you with the situation. But you will need to be patient with us if we can't solve your problem instantly.

Lastly, we appreciate that you use our software. If this posting seems negative or critical, it's certainly not intended that way. We're happy that CMS Made Simple is useful to people, and we're excited to see sites using it in ways that we hadn't even thought of.

Ron@Spikecity · **Posted:** Tue May 09, 2006 2:22 pm

As one of the lead devs of YaBB2 I can only say: "Amen to that !!"
And... good to read most of the dev teams work in the same way (ooohh if I only got one eurocent per hour for the time I spent on that project I could probably setup your foundation for you

)

Keep up the brilliant work guys, I've been there and done that and it's worth it every time

accountzcom · **Posted:** Mon Jul 17, 2006 8:53 am

Just one more thing to add...

MAKE THE SUBJECT RELEVANT (but don't SHOUT about it).

"Really urgent help needed now" is bad.

"How do I change the footer?" is great (but RTFM first)

When anyone looks at the forums, a good title will give them an immediate idea if:

They can answer it
They too are also looking for an answer

(This is based on 18 years experience of fixing bugs and answering technical/customer support questions Ouch!)

calguy1000 · **Posted:** Mon Aug 14, 2006 4:19 pm

I'm gonna add my oppinionated $0.02 worth.

Please, look in the docs for answers to your questions, and then try some exhaustive searches on the forum (try various combinations of words, different spellings, synonyms, etc).

Many of the questions people are asking are already answered (and have been answered five or more times already) on the forum.
We encourage you to spend some time looking around, you'll probably find what you need.

Although it may be more convenient to quickly post 2 lines in a question on the forum, hoping somebody may respond quickly... others are quite annoyed by answering the same question three or four times (sometimes three or four times a day).

Often the question is directly and obviously answered in the documentation too, which means people couldn't be bothered to read the documentation that is written, but then will complain when it's not there. If you post a question in the forum that is clearly documented in the online documentation, don't be surprised if you get a curt RTFM reply to your post.

We try to give the best support possible. but each time we answer a post on the forum it takes time away from development or maintenance of CMS. So please, be intelligent when posting.

Thanks.

calguy1000 · **Posted:** Sun May 06, 2007 2:23 pm

Another tip when you've got an issue:

If you're not running the most up-to-date version of CMS Made Simple, look through the changelogs for the newer versions to see if perchance your issue is solved in a newer release.

calguy1000 · **Posted:** Mon Sep 03, 2007 3:00 pm

Yet another point:

Don't spam the forum.
repeated posts that just change the subject line could result in your potential problem being ignored.

pixelita · **Posted:** Fri Apr 04, 2008 7:45 pm

One more tip to try to find an answer to your problem before running to the forum is to use Google and append this:

Code:

site: forum.cmsmadesimple.org

to your search query string. It's helped me a few times.

SimonSchaufi · **Posted:** Thu Apr 10, 2008 3:00 pm

here is a Firefox search plugin to search the forum: http://forum.cmsmadesimple.org/index.ph ... l#msg99829

Dr.CSS · **Posted:** Thu Aug 28, 2008 12:07 am

Think about what it is you have question/problem with then go to appropriate thread, changing look of site use CSS/HTML board, etc., and ask well research, fully explained, full disclosure of system site is on, question, the more info you give the better the answer

In the latest version of CMS Made Simple has a System Information, Site Admin » System Information, please use the info there to let us know what you have it helps a lot...

How To Submit a Question So You'll Actually Get Help

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