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Five tips to ask better questions

Donny Wals on January 15, 2020

As developers, we all get stuck sometimes. When this happens we start searching for solutions on Google, or we ask questions on Stackoverflow, on t...
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Devendra Pratap Singh

Good read. I'll remember when asking for help next time.

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CardosoCharmoso

The best way to get answers is to just write:

I'm trying to do xyz:

// Code here

But I get this error:

Error here...

In my experience, the more context you immediately provide, the less there is a chance of an answer.

You gotta "hook" them with a simple question and then provide context. It's easier to get someone to help after they started, than to have them read 3 pages of context and give you an answer.

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Donny Wals

Right, which is tip 5 "Get to the point". If you're asking somebody for help, don't trick them or "hook" them. Actually the example you provided has context ("I'm trying to do xyz" and there is code). It shows code, errors and also what you've tried. And it's to the point. So it ticks all five boxes.

Providing context does not mean that you need to describe anything and everything that might ever be relevant. You need to provide enough information for somebody helping you to be able to actually help you.