Tons of questions get asked on STM every day. Although it’s true that there are no stupid questions, we can all stand to ask our questions in a smart way – and the pointers below will help us do JUST that!

(If you just want to be entertained – scroll down to the “Good and Bad Questions” section. :p)

(This post is adapted from “How To Ask Questions The Smart Way” by Eric Steven Raymond – you can find the original content here. I basically picked out all the important points that are applicable to this forum, then added notes in curly brackets { } to make the content more relevant to STM.)

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Before You Ask

  • Try to find an answer by searching {existing posts}.
  • Try to find an answer by searching the Web.
  • Try to find an answer by reading a FAQ. {You can find one here.}
  • Try to find an answer by inspection or experimentation. {Especially if it would only take a few minutes.}

The more you do to demonstrate that having put thought and effort into solving your problem before seeking help, the more likely you are to actually get help.

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