Asking Smart Questions

[Kenneth Brody]

Quoting Tom Pancero (Mon, 13 Jun 2005 07:40:02 -0400):
[...]
> I think y'all are missing a BIG point in this discussion.
> There seems to be a lot of haggeling over HOW someone asks for 'HELP'
> especially if it does not conform to YOUR standards.

The problem isn't _how_ someone asks.  The problem is that they don't
say what help they need.

> If I see someone bobbing up and down in the water and they are yelling
> "HELP!" I do not stand there, Life Preserver in hand, and yell back "Say
> PLEASE!"

Yes, but you can _see_ them, and you can see what help they need.  What
if you were in the woods and heard a "HELP!" echoing from somewhere, and
couldn't tell where it was coming from?  What if you yelled back "where
are you, what do you need" and all that came back was "I need help"?  What
if you were to yell back "are you bleeding? are you stuck? are you being
chased by a large animal", and all that came back is "why aren't you
helping me"?

[...]
> Think about it, what happens, on this list, when someone asks a really
> basic (to us) question like 'How do I make it show the date on a report?'

They would be told about @TD and @DT.

What does your company do if someone e-mails them and says "I'm trying to
send you stuff and it doesn't work"?

> You 'Top_Of_The_Mountain types put a LOT of effort into "Say PLEASE!"

Nobody is asking for "please"s.  (Though the occasional "thank you"
would go a long way.)  The effort is "give us enough information so that
we can help you", and "if you want help, you need to help us help you".

--
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