Asking for Help Effectively

If you're asking a question (whether 1:1 or in a group setting), frontload as much context as possible. Always give:- some minimal description for the problem you're trying to solve- what you've tried already, and why it hasn't worked----Bad:> "Hey! Does anyone know how to use X"?...time passes...> "Sure, I can help with that. What are you trying to do?"...time passes...> "I'm trying to do Y."...time pa

"I've worked with similar problems in the past, let me know if you want to pick my brains" would be a much better start. Don't assume people want help, even if it seems crystal clear to you help is needed.

things to learn on their end- askign the right questions- trying something before asking for help- giving all the context i need instead of making me ask for it one by one

I've found that how you ask makes a big difference in how likely you are to get an answer. For example:1.) On a mailing list, listing things you've already tried and other resources you've already read makes people more inclined to answer you. It shows that you're serious about solving the problem and just need a little help to get there, and keeps them from having to play 20 questions with what you already know.2.) If you're asking a coworker to do something, ask if you can watch. They

usual answer before was get better.get better at searching, read documentation, manuals, books, articles, etc.When you are stuck with something non trivial usually other people will jump to help as they've likely spent time on it as well.If someone fails to do that then it's on them. They lack basic grit or other skills that they should learn.

Many people looking for help aren't up to asking an SO style question.

It's easier to ask for help NOW and get customized answers NOW than to dig through a wiki/documentation for the answer.

Parade: always ask "what have you tried?" first. Then it's acceptable to just give just a direction (the simplest of which is "try googling for it") and to tell them to come back when they've tried if the problem persists.

I treat SO like a technically superior colleague - if I'm stuck with something and have exhausted my other options (documentation, examples, research, SO search), then I'll phrase my question clearly, showing my progress and what I'm stuck on. This makes me look good to my colleague, and enables him to understand where I'm coming from. A lot of the time by writing out the question in full I'll be able to solve it myself by getting my thoughts organised.

How many times do I need to go down this path: ... - ask for help - try to explain how it's supposed to work - try to explain how it's not working - Listen to them come up with all the ideas that I've already ruled out - Try to explain why their preferred idea has already been ruled out or is not actually relevant to the problem - conclude they still don't understand the problem or even how this part of the system works - go ahead and just