Asking questions

You asked for help but didn't receive any response or the responses you got weren't helpful. What should you do to get better help?

The list below goes through some very basic things that are common in several communities on the Internet. These will help you write better questions, and get better answers.

1. Clearly explain what you are trying to do, provide examples if possible (code, screenshots, diagrams, etc.). Use the right syntax and preferably something people can cut & paste to simulate what you have.
2. Let everyone know you're not lazy. Tell people what you have tried doing.
3. You did your own research first, right? It is embarrassing when the first results from using a search engine is the answer to your question. Let people know where you looked for answers and which search terms you have used.
4. Every program has some official documentation. Have you searched there before asking?
5. If you want help for a plugin or module, have you searched their documentation before asking for help?
6. You're submitting your question to a community of users. Did you search in old posts from that community before submitting your question?
7. Always put the error messages you get as part of your question. Try putting them in text, so that people can use that in their own search to help you.

Getting help with code

If you're sharing code, share it in text format: people will be more willing to try giving something and testing it if they have a lower barrier to reproduce your issue. Copy and paste is a lot easier than retype code from an image. Not to mention that typing again might unconsciously add or fix some errors (especially with quotes, for example) in your own code and prevent them from helping further or delaying useful answers.

If your code was generated by an AI, mention it. Tell which AI you used and share your prompts. Experienced people will know it is AI generated code anyway.

If you have little proficiency in that programming language, say it. Some answers might require more skills than you have now and experienced volunteers that are trying to help you can adapt more easily than they can teach you advanced things.

Finally…

Always remember that people are volunteering their time to help you.

Provide details, don't assume they know what you did, that they have the same settings as you do and even that their native language is the one you're using to communicate.

By helping people help you, you'll get better and faster answers.

Show your effort. Provide details. Communicate clearly.

Good luck!