Question asked in Support forms

Repairatrooper · 2017-02-21T15:24:29.000Z

Is it just me or has their been an uptick in questions being asked that are user level in terms of quality of information supplied when asking questions. I have found recently that questions about hardware do not contain needed details on hardware such as model or brand. Anyone else notice this or am I just being a miserable git?

mradam · 2017-02-21T15:26:55.000Z

keep this handy

Asking Better Questions Best Practices & General IT

Over the years of reading questions on SpiceWorks, I've come to the conclusion that there are a few simple ways that nearly all of us could get better answers, better advice, more information by changing how we ask questions. Here are some tips that I've learned (this is not about break/fix questions but about guidance questions...) Always give the business background. No IT choice is made outside of a business context, so provide us with the drives on the decision. Need product type X? Do yo…

dbeato · 2017-02-21T15:27:11.000Z

Yes, this has been a trend lately more and more but that is why we need to ask more questions trying to get that information so then we can help. So you are not a miserable git

georgemcfarlin · 2017-02-21T15:28:13.000Z

They are always there it seems.

mradam · 2017-02-21T15:29:35.000Z

As IT professionals it is our job to gather a needed information before seeking elevated help, if you don’t know what to ask then say so.

DanielB1978 · 2017-02-21T15:30:05.000Z

Probably spiceworks appearing ahead of naff sites on search results in google…

biscuitking · 2017-02-21T15:36:57.000Z

Yes.

kellyflynn · 2017-02-21T15:37:14.000Z

If you check my activity 98% of it is here at the water cooler, so I’d have to say no.

Repairatrooper · 2017-02-21T15:40:51.000Z

daniel537:

Probably spiceworks appearing ahead of naff sites on search results in google…

Like “Fixya.com” some of the questions asked there are not even questions. I saw one once “I have a problem” That was it. no other words pictures or images. The answer is obvious, “yes you have a problem, either you are an idiot or you saw a squirrel and went to chase it before you finished your question.”

Denis-Kelley · 2017-02-21T15:41:26.000Z

Welcome to the Internet

mikecarpenter2 · 2017-02-21T15:48:07.000Z

Name of software

How to fix?

Those seem to pop up at least once a day.

xandski · 2017-02-21T16:01:06.000Z

My users stopped the whole “My computer has a problem” (nothing in body) emails after I created a canned response that read

"Yes, your computer does have a problem…

You!

#close"

I wonder if it is possible to get something similar here? We could tie it into the BOFH excuse generator for added fun

Repairatrooper · 2017-02-21T16:07:46.000Z

Maybe the Spiceworks team could create a reporting mechanism and then they could send an email to the offending users with suggestions on how to improve their question asking techniques. I find that requests for improvement usually get more attention than requests from peers, as peer suggestions often trigger defensive responses.

rebootssolveproblems · 2017-02-21T16:09:23.000Z

dbeato:

Yes, this has been a trend lately more and more but that is why we need to ask more questions trying to get that information so then we can help. So you are not a miserable git

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that he sin’t a miserable git… he is.

But he isn’t wrong.

kellycorbin · 2017-02-21T16:42:59.000Z

yes, I have noticed a bunch of stuff like that.

patrickmendyka · 2017-02-21T17:22:49.000Z

It drives me nuts, I’ll get tickets with a subject of “Help x isnt working” with a body of “See subject”. No other details or screenshots.

cweb · 2017-02-21T18:07:05.000Z

Is this a bad thing? Frustrating sure if you are fishing for BA’s or want to help, I agree.

It could be someone new the community, in a rush, or not sure what/where/how to even start.

As a community I think it is our collective “job” to help if we can. That includes coaching people into asking better questions, helping guide them to the right answer or where to find the answer.

Would you respond to a post in general hardware that said “help with hardware” subject and the body said something like “business owner needing to buy 5 PCs what should I buy?”

I don’t think anyone wants Spiceworks to become the yahoo answers forum for IT. I also think we should embrace even the hypothetical post like above. The owner would probably see 10-100 different posts with recommendations. Maybe the community helps build a bridge that connects said owner to a local Msp that can help them with further IT needs. I think that is why we have this community, and the community managers, and moderators.

lbair2 · 2017-02-21T19:05:02.000Z

all the cool people are miserable gits, so i dont see it being a problem,

danieledmondson · 2017-02-21T19:45:29.000Z

Learning how to properly ask a technical question isn’t a skill that everyone possesses. While it can certainly be irritating to those of us who know what a well formatted question (that includes all relevant details) looks like, we also need to remember that a lot of people who come here for help, aren’t necessarily IT people. I would imagine that plenty of people who stumble across this site looking for answers are really inexperienced when it comes to using computers and could use all the help they can get, including help knowing which questions to ask.

On the other hand, if you are an experienced IT person, please include the details you know we are going to ask for anyway to save everyone a little time

DanielB1978 · 2017-02-21T20:23:57.000Z

Perhaps having a separate forum for users off the home page - where IT people can choose, or choose not to browse. Or do we not associate with minions