The wisdom of asking questions. Smart Copyright (C) 2001byEricS. Raymond Chinese Copyleft2001byD. H. Grand (nOBODYGinux) English version: www.tuxedo.org ~ Esrfaqssmart-questions.html thanks Eric for his wisdom.
Copyright (C) 2001 by Eric S. Raymond
Copyleft 2001 by D. H. Grand (nOBODY/Ginux)
Http://www.tuxedo.org /~ Esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
Thanks to Eric for his patience and consent, this document will be completed and published. this guide
The English version is copyrighted by Eric Steven Raymond,
The Chinese version is copyrighted by D. H. Grand [nOBODY/Ginux.
In the hacker world, how can you answer a technical question? It depends on digging
The difficulty of the answer also depends on how you ask questions. This guide aims to help you improve your questioning skills
Obtain the answer you most want.
First, you must understand that hackers only prefer arduous tasks or good questions that can stimulate their thinking.
If not, what should we do? If you have a good question that deserves our taste
I am very grateful to you. The good question is motivation, courtesy, which can improve our understanding, and usually
It exposes issues we have never realized or thought about before. Target hackers
Well, "ask !" It is a heartfelt praise.
Despite the bad reputation of hackers who despise simple problems and are unfriendly, sometimes it seems that we are new to users,
This is not the case if you are hostile to people with poor knowledge.
We don't want to hide your contempt for such people-they don't want to think about it, or they don't want to finish it before asking questions.
What we should do. This kind of person will only murder time-they only want to ask for it, never pay, and will consume me for no reason
And we could have spent time on people who are more interesting or worth answering questions.
We call this artificial "Loser" (for historical reasons, we sometimes
Put it together as "lusers ").
To a large extent, we are volunteers who take time out of busy life to answer questions.
Overwhelmed by questions. Therefore, we will relentlessly filter out some topics, especially those that seem to be losers.
Guys, so that they can use time to answer the winner's questions more efficiently.
If you think that our arrogant attitude will upset you and make you feel wronged, you may wish to put yourself in a bid. Me
They didn't ask you to give in to us-in fact, most of us do not like fair trade
As long as you make a little effort to meet the minimum requirements, we will welcome you to join us.
Culture. But let's help those who don't want to help themselves.
Meaning. If you cannot accept this type of "discrimination", we suggest you spend some money to sign for a commercial company.
The technical support agreement is successful. do not ask hackers for help.
If you decide to ask us for help, you certainly do not want to be regarded as a loser, or even less willing to be one of the losers.
Member. The best way to get an effective answer right away is to ask questions like the winner-be smart, confident, and have
The solution only occasionally requires some help on specific problems.
(Suggestions for improvement in this guide are welcome. Any suggestions please e-mail to esr@thyrsus.com, however
Please note that this article is not a general guide to network etiquette. I usually refuse not to help you get it in technical forums.
Suggestions for useful answers .)
(Of course, if you write Chinese, it is better to send it to DHGrand@hotmail.com ;-)
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Before asking questions
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Before asking technical questions via email, newsgroup, or chat room, check whether you have done the following:
1. read the manual and try to find the answer by yourself.
2. find the answer in the FAQ (a well-maintained FAQ can be all-encompassing :).
3. search online (google is recommended for personal use ~~~).
4. ask your friends here.
When you ask a question, first you need to explain what you did before that. This will help you establish
Image: You are not a beggar, and do not want to waste others' time. If you ask
We are more willing to answer his questions.
Think carefully and prepare your questions. you can only answer questions rashly or simply ask questions.
No answer. The more you try to solve the problem before asking for help, the more practical you will be.
Quality help.
Be careful not to ask the wrong question. If your problem is based on incorrect assumptions, common hackers (J. Random
Hacker) you are often answered with meaningless literal explanations, thinking "stupid questions ...",
Looking at you, you will learn from the answer (not the answer you want.
Never think that you are qualified to get the answer. you are not qualified. After all, you did not pay for this service.
What is compensation. You need to "earn" the answer by yourself, by proposing a meaningful, interesting, and thoughtful
The question of incentive-a potential contribution to community experience, not just passive
Ask for knowledge from others-to earn this answer.
On the other hand, it is a good start to show what you are willing to do in the process of finding the answer.
"Who can give me some tips ?" "What is missing in my example ?" And "What should I check?
Place ?" It is easier to get a response than "post the exact process. Because you seem to have
People give directions and you have the ability and determination to complete it.
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Question
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Exercise caution when selecting forums
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Select the case where you want to ask questions. If, as described below, you are likely to be ignored or considered a failure:
1. post your problem on the forum where Feng Ma Niu is not compatible
2. post very basic questions on forums discussing advanced skills; and vice versa
3. cross-posting in too many different newsgroups
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The words are correct, the syntax is correct, and the spelling is correct.
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From our experience, we found that careless writers are usually careless thinkers (I dare to make a ticket ).
It is not worthwhile to answer questions from careless people. we would rather spend time elsewhere.
Correct spelling, punctuation, and case are important.
More generally, if your questions are written as semi-illiterate, you are likely to be ignored.
If you are asking questions in a non-native forum, you can make minor spelling and grammar mistakes-but never
Careless thinking (yes, we can figure out the differences between the two)
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Titles with rich meanings and accurate descriptions
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In the email list or newsgroup, subject titles of less than 50 words are to capture the attention of senior experts.
Prime time. Don't use the chatbots to help you (not to mention "help !!!!!" This
If it is annoying) to waste this opportunity. Don't try to impress us with your level of pain,
Do not use spaces to replace the problem description, even a brief description.
Stupid question:
Help! My laptop cannot be displayed normally!
Smart question:
XFree86 4.1 mouse and cursor deformation, Fooware MV1005 display chip.
If you ask a question in the reply, remember to modify the content title to indicate that there is a problem in it. One
It seems that the issue like "Re: test" or "Re: New bug" is hard to attract enough attention. In addition
Use and delete the previous content to give new readers clues.
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Precise description, large amount of information
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1. carefully and clearly describe the symptoms.
2. provide the environment where the problem occurs (machine configuration, operating system, application, and anything else ).
3. explain how you studied and understood this question before asking questions.
4. explain the steps you have taken to solve the problem before asking a question.
5. list recent hardware and software changes that may affect the performance.
Try to imagine how a hacker will ask you and give him an answer in advance when asking a question.
Simon Tatham wrote an excellent short article titled How to effectively report bugs. We strongly recommend that you also read it.
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Not many words
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You need to provide accurate and effective information. This does not require you to simply complete the tons of error code or data.
The full dump is excerpted to your question. If you have a large and complex test condition, try to make it smaller.
The better.
This can be used at least three points. First, it shows that you have worked hard to simplify the problem.
The chance to answer is increased. Second, the chance to simplify the question so that you can get a useful answer is increased. third, you are refining
During your bug report, you may be able to locate the problem or correct it yourself.
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Only talk about symptoms, not conjecture
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It is of no help to tell hackers how they think the problem is caused. (If your inference is so effective, use
Ask someone for help ?), Therefore, be sure that you have told them the symptoms of the problem, and do not add them to your
Your understanding and inferences. Let the hackers diagnose the problem.
Stupid question:
I encountered the SIG11 error again and again during Kernel Compilation. I suspect that a flying line is built online on the main board,
In this case, how should we check the best?
Smart question:
A self-made K6/233 system with a motherboard of 256 MB, FIC-PA2007
Corsair pc.pdf
SDRAM, which frequently generates SIG11 errors during Kernel Compilation. this problem occurs 20 minutes after the kernel is started.
It never happened in the last 20 minutes. It is useless to restart, but it can work for another 20 minutes after being shut down for one night. All
The memory has been changed, but it does not work. The typical compilation record of the relevant part is as follows ....
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List symptoms in chronological order
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A series of operations before a problem occurs.
The operation steps and computer response should be included until the problem occurs.
If your description is long (more than four paragraphs), it will be helpful to briefly describe the problem at the beginning.
Sequence details. In this way, hackers will know what to look for in your instructions.
Copyright (C) 2001 by Eric S. Raymond Copyleft 2001 by D. H. Grand (nOBODY/Ginux) English version: http://www.tuxedo.org /~ Thanks to Eric for the esr/faqs/smart-questions.html...
