The Water Cooler

Best Practices for Asking a Question 

Apr 20, 2017 10:35 AM

We all want to get answers to our questions as quickly as possible. Including some key info and following these best practices will ensure a quicker and more accurate response to your question.

 

Information to Include

Explain how you encountered the problem you're trying to solve, and any difficulties that have prevented you from solving it yourself. The first paragraph in your question is the second thing most readers will see, so make it as engaging and informative as possible. Other important information to include

  • Product & version/release (full product name)
  • Has this ever worked/when did it stop working?
  • What changed recently when the problem started?
  • Is this reproducible or intermittent?
  • Steps to reproduce the issue
  • Screenshots displaying the problem
  • What is the full error message? Include any relevant log files or messages as an attachment

 

Following Up

When someone replies to your question with useful information, it's good practice to mark their reply as either Helpful or Correct. Correct and Helpful answers earn status points for their creators.

  • Correct Answer - When a reply comes that answers your question be sure to mark that reply as the "Correct Answer." This will update the question allowing others with similar questions know that you have received a helpful answer.
  • Helpful - Marking a reply as helpful means it offered some particular useful insight and assisted you on the correct path to your answer. Others can look at which replies have been marked and can use these markers to assist in offering more accurate replies.

 

Additional info that may help

  • Adding tags - this will make it easier for you and others to find your question later. be sure to tag with product name, version, and keywords!
  • Has your question already been asked/answered? - Use the "Ask a question" search bar to see if other users have already asked this question and received answers from our product experts.

Type Your Question

Statistics
0 Favorited
15 Views
0 Files
0 Shares
0 Downloads

Related Entries and Links

No Related Resource entered.