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How to ask for help over the Internet and get the best solution

These days Internet seems to be the first place we seek for help or suggestions. And why not? It seems to be the fastest way to get answers whether the problem is related to health, programming or shopping.

Facebook, Stack Overflow or whatever platform we use, it’s not always easy to get an adequate answer. And this happens mostly because we don’t ask the question the right way.

Before getting into the right way of asking questions, let’s see two scenarios.

Scenario 1

Scenario 2

As you can see, Solimuddin got more questions instead of getting adequate answers. He even managed to attract a spammer.
On the other hand Mr Nihal got some constructive answers, and is now ready to place his money on a brand new phone.

So, what exactly made Mr Nihal’ s question perform better than Solimuddins?

Here are some key points to remember before posting any question online

• Proper grammar: Grammar is very important in your question. If English is not your first language, at least make sure your post is intelligible.
• If you try, they’ ll try: Remember none is paid to solve your problems. So, always let them know what you have tried already to solve the problem. You may cite websites you have visited or books you have read trying to solve the problem.
  Remember, a one line question may just bring you an effortless short answer that won’t help you at all.

Do you want the single stove or the double one? Cylinder or Gas line? If you can’t work as much as writing the details according to your necessity, why should I work on writing a proper suggestion?

• State what you know: This way people will understand your depth of knowledge in that topic, so they will state the solution using terminologies you can understand.
  Instead of writing “I know a few things about economics”, write the few things you know, so people will have a better idea about you.
• Resources: Include as much information as you can related to the problem. For example, include code error number, products you’ve considered, pages you’ve visited etc. given different circumstances.
• Don’t make it vague: The more specifically you write your problem, the more detailed answers you will get.
  Writing just, “I want to build a house, please help” won’t help. It will just raise more questions.

What kind of expert do you need?
What have you tried so far to fix the problem?
What is the problem?

• Don’t ask what has been asked before: First of all search on Google. Then make sure to search the platform to see if your problem hasn’t been solved already.
  Asking a question that has been already answered a zillion times might get you some rude responses, and you are the one to be blamed.
• Sum up your question: This is very important. Always sum up your whole problem in a one line question and add it to the top. Also add specific TAGS.

Now, let’ s see, how you might ask for help when you face a problem during programming:

A sample Problem

What people shouldn’t ask but they do anyway:

My laptop is a an HP pink laptop. I see this blue screen in the middle of watching twilight. Help me please! Can’t live without this laptop.

Blue Screen of Death

What they should be asking instead:

How to fix the blue screen of death?
I’ve recently updated my Windows from 10.XX.XX to 10.YY.YY. And now I see the blue screen of death every time I open any software that requires internet.

I’ve looked up the update log from windows and found no solution.

#Computer #OperatingSystem #Windows #BlueScreenOfDeath

Error Code = ABCD_INITIALIZATION_FAILED 0xc000021F

Summing up:

Remember, every time you are asking for a solution, you are also helping other people that may face the same problem in the future. So, try to follow these guidelines properly and your life will become a lot easier.