Every once in awhile I have to write something like this and it always pains me, but it's important and since the community is always growing, with new people coming aboard, here's a few things we want you to keep in mind with the community.
Asking Questions
A few simple rules to follow and I'll give some reasons below:
- Post in the right forum
- Don't Cross Post - Post once only on this site.
- Be polite and professional
- Describe your problem
- Don't expect us to do all the work
I think this type of stuff is fairly obvious, but I forget every year there's a new group of people that start in this business and are yet another year removed from the old world of Usenet and BBS's. So here are a few reasons why and examples.
Post in the right forum - Questions about SQL Server, problems with code, issues, pretty much anything except a page on the site being broken should be posted in our forums. I hate to mention this, but the link in the previous sentence is the place to do this, not the Report a Problem menu item.
Select the forum that seems most appropriate. It doesn't have to be perfect, but if you need help with a piece of code, you might want to go into the T-SQL forum for your version. For 2005, you should be here.
Notice there is a "New Thread" button at the top of the thread list. There's also one at the bottom and this is what you use to start a new thread. Or post a new question. Or post a comment.
To answer a question, or add a comment, or respond in any way, use the "Post Reply" button which appears within a thread. For example, I'd use the button below to respond to this editorial:
If something is in the wrong place, you can always email the webmaster to get it moved (please include the url). Otherwise, pay attention to which forum you are in and post questions where it seems appropriate.
Don't Cross Post - I know that when you go to the Microsoft public forums or you're on Usenet, there's a huge number of forums and this tendency to post in two or three places if you're not sure where your question goes. However many of the people on this site who answer questions use our Active Threads page. This lists all posts with activity since they last logged in.
So if you cross post we see it 2 or more times.
And it's annoying.
And you might get half an answer in each place.
Post in one place and if someone knows the answer, they'll answer it.
Be Polite and Professional - Writing this section feels like I'm lecturing my kids, but it needs to be said.
This is a volunteer community. People answer questions out of basic human kindness. They are paying it forward in anticipation of the time they need help. Or maybe they're giving back because years ago someone answered questions of theirs.
In any case, no one deserves to be berated or personally attacked because of their post. If you disagree, do so politely. State your own argument and agree to disagree, but do not insult anyone else' work.
Also many people are posting questions here because of ignorance. They're not stupid and they're not trying to waste time. They need help because they don't understand something. As I learned many years ago, if you can't say something nice, don't say anything.
If you feel like you need to insult someone, click "Start | Run ", type Notepad, and write every insult you can think of. Then click "File | Exit" and don't save your work.
I rarely delete or censor anything, but I don't tolerate personal insults, profanity, or unprofessional behavior. You'll get an "deleted by the editor" comment instead of a post. The exception being you can insult me if you really want to.
Describe Your Problem
"I have an error in my error log and I'm not sure what it means"
That's not a question. And it's not a good post. Don't give me a script of your database, but give me 100-200 characters that describe the schema, that explain what problem you are having or specifically what you don't understand. Computers are complicated, clue us in as to what type of help you are looking for.
Don't expect us to do all the work - I don't get annoyed often, but I do get annoyed. When someone asks me to help them with their homework, it's annoying. Or when someone (as happened recently) says they can't look anything up in Books Online because they don't have time, I get annoyed.
And so do many others.
If you are asking how to solve a problem and we tell you that you can read about xxx in BOL, go do it. If you don't understand what you read, post back the snippet that you don't understand and tell us what you think it means or what doesn't make sense. We'll try to help you. We'll answer what we can.
But we're busy.
Even me, with the best job in the world, with my days spent trying to be creative and write things in addition to run this site, I don't have time to write a specific article tailored to your problem. I'll give you a hint or an idea, and maybe post some sample code, but that's it. Do some work yourself.
We're teaching fishing here, not catching fish.
We want to help - We really do. Most of us are giving back to the community for whatever reason, trying to help, and happy to share our knowledge.
Respect us and each other and we'll get along fine.