- Related to something technical I'm struggling with
- A concept that I don't understand
- A question about logistics in a course (quizzes, grading, final project submission)
For a technical question:
- What OS are you running?
- If asking about a specific piece of software or library, what version is it?
- What is your issue:
- Describe the problem in general terms
- What did you expect to happen?
- What actually happened? Give examples/screenshots of the error.
- Try to provide the shortest amount of steps to reproduce the issue.
- Steps already taken:
- What've you tried already?
- Any promising Google or Stack Overflow results?
- What do you think the problem might be?
For questions about concepts you don't understand:
- What's the concept you have a question about?
- Is it the course, if so, which module or lesson?
- What about this concept do you understand?
- What about the concept don't you understand?
- Using specific keywords, have you searched online or in the Discord?
- Link to any relevant docs. If you're asking about something not in the course, provide a link to the concept.
For questions about logistics in the course:
- What module/lesson are you having trouble with?
- Describe your problem in general terms.
- What did you expect to happen?
- What actually happened?
- What have you tried already?
- What do you think the problem might be?
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First, it helps in understanding the nature of the problem you're asking about. Sometimes doing so can help us solve our own problems.
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Second, it provides the valuable context mentioned above. This increases the chances of finding an answer as it reduces the amount of time & effort needed to grasp the basics of the situation. It also provides an asynchronous way of someone else understanding your problem so they can still try to help, even if you're unavailable.