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There is an old proverb that the quality of an answer is related to the quality of the question. Viewed another way, when the wrong question is asked then others cannot be held responsible for providing the wrong answer.
Asking for computer help is a challenge because computers are one of the most complicated and sophisticated tools ever invented by humans. Many people are not computer experts or tech savvy. Yet there are simple steps any person can follow to receive quality computer help.
Understand that many computer problems are PEBKAC, which is a humorous acronym meaning “Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair.” That does not mean a person is being insulted. The term describes the fact that a person might not understand how something works and needs some knowledge and training. That training might need only a few seconds, but the cause of the problem is not the computer.
Some people use an acronym as a guide for responding to various situations: STAR.
S: Stop
T: Think
A: Assess
R: Respond
The first step is to stop moving. Somebody once defined insanity as repeating the same steps and expecting different results. So stop.
The second step is to think. What just happened? What are you trying to do? Are you performing a step or task you performed yesterday but now has different results? What might have you done since yesterday to cause this difference? Did you update some software? Did you clean the computer? Or are you performing an unfamiliar task and likely do not yet fully understand what to do?
Assessing the situation requires connecting proverbial dots. Why did you receive different results than expected?
There is an old computer truism that computers always do what they are told to do. The significant misunderstanding of this truism is computers do not always do what you think you told them to do.
A simple example is you thought you pressed the “t” key on the keyboard but you actually pressed the “y” key. When inadvertently pressing the “y” key the computer screen displayed a “y” character rather than a “t” character. The computer did what you told the computer to do, not what you thought you told the computer to do.
Assessing that kind of unintended result is easy. Responding also is easy.
More complicated computer tasks are not as easy to understand and this is where knowing how to ask questions becomes valuable to receiving quality help.
Consider trying to explain to an auto mechanic a problem you have with your car. The more details you provide the faster the mechanic is likely able to help. The same is true with computers. Details make all the difference.
Before asking somebody for help, understand that often you can help yourself. The world wide web is filled with information, Especially computer related information. Explain the problem to yourself as though you are helping another person. Then try the following:
- Search the web. Try different keywords.
- Read the respective documentation for the app you are using. Most programs have a Help menu in the menu bar.
- Read any appropriate FAQs. Often these are included in the program’s help but might be found at the program’s web site.
- Experiment to produce different results. Don’t be afraid to learn.
There are many places to find online help:
- General search engines
- Forums
- Mail lists
- IRC
Helping yourself often leads to solutions.
When explaining a computer problem, obvious to anybody with whom you seek help is you can’t get something to work as you expect. Focus on providing appropriate details:
- What you are trying to do.
- What steps you performed to produce the unexpected results.
- What you expect to happen.
A statement such as, “My computer mouse is not working,” is not helpful. Consider the following instead:
“My computer mouse is not working. My computer is on, my monitor is on, and my keyboard is working. I verified that my mouse is connected to my computer. I can see the mouse pointer in the monitor desktop. Yet when I physically move the mouse on my mouse pad the pointer on the screen does not move. The pointer should move. I checked that nobody played a joke on me by placing tape over the mouse optical LED sensor.”
Unless the person from whom you seeking help is already knowledgeable about your computer, be sure to include those details too. Such as, “I am using Linux Mint Debian Editon 2. The system is fully updated. The mouse came with my computer and is a model number m-i-c-k-e-y. My computer is a Bozo model number XYZ. The mouse was working fine yesterday. I have not noticed any related mouse problems until today.”
Share the steps you performed to cause the unexpected result. This step is important because these details help you understand what happened. You might then realize you inadvertently pressed the “y” key rather than the “t” key or you discovered that a living field mouse nibbled its way through the computer mouse cable.
Share why you do not understand the results. This ties into what you expect to happen. When sharing why you do not understand, do not be afraid to admit you do not know the correct technical terms to help describe the problem. Computers are complicated.
When English is not your native language then always mention that fact when seeking help online.
When seeking help online or through email, do not use texting language. Use acceptable English and punctuation. Texting might be convenient with cell phones but generally is frowned upon by people who provide computer help and often help requests written in texting language are ignored.
Young users (children and teens) should mention their age when seeking online help. Most people who provide help in forums love helping younger users.
When seeking help using email or an online forum, realize that human communication takes time. This is true when face-to-face and even more true when communicating remotely. The more details provided the better and faster the results. Vague questions or statements mean other people have to ask questions to obtain more details. This process takes time. The more explicit you are in the beginning the faster the process moves.
To summarize:
- Describe the symptoms of your problem with lots of details.
- When appropriate describe the computer environment such as model numbers, operating system, specific application or program, etc.
- Describe the diagnostic steps you performed to try to resolve the problem.
- Describe any possibly relevant recent changes in your computer or software configuration.
- Share the steps needed so others can try reproduce the same problem.
The more details provided when asking for help the more likely others can help.
Technical trivia: The first cell phone call was made on April 3, 1973. The phone weighed 2.5 pounds, had 30 circuit boards, and was as big as an adult shoe. The concept of cellular phones was conceived in the 1940s.
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