Lately there seem to be some individuals who are less than courteous in the forums so I have decided to write a simple how to that outlines the guidelines one should follow when posting questions and asking for help in the forums. You can also find more information about the same topic here:
http://community.spiceworks.com/how_to/show/981
Step 1: Create a relevant and descriptive title
When someone is trying to help you, and they see a title like “OMG MY WHOLE COMPOOTER IS BORKEN!” it is very difficult for them to determine what could actually be wrong with your machine, making it more difficult to help you.
Step 2: Create a relevant and descriptive description of the issue.
The more details you initially put in the description, the less SpiceHeads will have to bug you about details, and the quicker we can resolve your issue. Any error messages and screenshots that are relevant should also be included.
Step 3: Answer any questions that may be asked
If someone asks a question that they feel is needed to be answered in order for them to help you troubleshoot, answer the question without snide remarks or getting upset/frustrated.
The only reason we are asking questions is to help you solve your problem, not to make you upset or treat you like you don’t know anything. Most of us spend 40 hours a week talking to end users who may not be technically saavy so sometimes we dumb things down without thinking about it. Don’t take it personally.
Step 4: Respond Promptly
When a question is asked of you, please respond as quickly as possible to resolve your issue. There are IT Professionals from all over the world in the forum so time may be a factor for them. The sooner you get back to them, the sooner they can, in turn, get back to you.
Step 5: Be patient with us
We don’t get paid to answer questions on Spiceworks, we are simply doing it because we want to help each other out. A lot of the information is very useful and you can pay consultants bushels of dollars for the same advice. Most of us also have day jobs so we don’t have lots of time to spend researching and fixing your issues.
If we missed a detail because we speed read the original post, please help us by letting us know in a kind way. Please do not say “I ALREADY SAID THAT IN THIS POST! DON’T YOU READ?!”
Step 6: Award Best Answers and Helpful posts when your issue is fixed
We Spiceheads thrive off of the BA’s and HP’s that are handed out when an issue is fixed. If you feel that your question has been answered to your satisfaction, please hand out as many as possible for that post. Even if we only helped a little.
Step 7: Show Appreciation
When the issue is fixed, we don’t want to hear “IT’S ABOUT TIME!” Please show appreciation to those who have taken time out of their day to help you out and say thank you.
We are all here to help each other out, so let’s do it in a courteous way. Just remember how it feels when an end user doesn’t appreciate the work you do. It may be corny, but please treat others as you would want to be treated.
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