"asking good questions" guide

[edunham]

aka "how to get useful answers from open-source nerds"

Occasionally we have newbies wander into the channel with questions, but unable or unwilling to ask them in a way that's likely to get helpful results. I find myself having to repeatedly explain basic skills such as:

• don't ask to ask; just ask it
• do your research and tell us what you've tried
• we won't do your homework for you
• demonstrate genuine desire to learn (and hopefully also understand)
• try our suggestions or explain clearly why you won't, and report the results
• who to talk to if people are mean to you

I feel like having a polite writeup that we can point people to will reduce the experts' annoyance at newbies and improve the newbies' chances of success with their first steps in open-source-related things.

[pop]

I'm gonna write this over the next few days. It's a bit overdue.