How to ask for Help

Aloha

I've been posting in this forum for a few months and during this time it's been my pleasure to have assisted many members with (mostly technical) problems that they have run into with their web sites. I've also seen a number of threads where other Warriors have freely given some great advice to assist other members when they run into problems or need an Internet Marketing concept clarified.

One thing that has been hard not to notice is that the members who ask for advice often don't provide enough details in their post. I have made (and have seen other make) many replies to these questions with something like "could you provide more details so I can assist you?". I have also seen many questions go unanswered, likely because not enough detail was provided to answer them.

If you need assistance this forum is an excellent place to ask your questions, but when you do please provide some details:

• If something is broken describe exactly what it is and what doesn't (and what does) work. A post like "I added a script to my site and now it doesn't work, please help" doesn't give anyone enough information to go on.
• I have seen posts where the OP says "I tried to do this and got an error message" without actually saying what the error message was! Make sure you note the exact text of error messages, they are there for a reason.
• Ask for what you really want to know. I have seen posts where the OP has asked "how do I make a PHP file" where the real question turned out to be "how do I create a simple web page".
• Give as much background as necessary. If the problem occurred after you changed a file or added a plugin make sure you mention this upfront.
• Let us know if we have helped you. If a fellow Warrior takes time to resolve a problem for you make sure you acknowledge it with a quick reply. Hitting the Thanks button doesn't hurt either!

I'm sure I've missed a number of other ones that other Warriors will spot.

Please don't interpret any of this as complaining, I enjoy helping people and will continue to do so. I also know that Internet Marketing has numerous aspects that can be confusing for newbies and not-so-newbies alike, and also that many of our members don't speak English as their first language and may have difficulty expressing their questions. The last thing I want to do is offend anyone, I'm just hoping that this post may help to get Warrior problems resolved as efficiently as possible while removing some of the confusion I often see in these help request posts.

Bill