December 18, 2017 at 11:10How to ask questions in IRC
- Transfer
Posted by RurouniJones on March 17, 2009
Greetings. If you came to this page of your own free will and intention, then keep in mind that this is an abridged, slightly more modern version of Eric Raymond's article “The Smart Way to Ask Questions ” - a great, but long text.
On the other hand, if someone else sent you to this page and you want to quickly understand what is happening here, then read on.
In short:
In this article, the participants in the conversation are called Terry and Gonad (in honor of the hypothetical igrodelov from the series of humorous reviews of the games “ Without punctuation ”). Terry will be the ever-suffering assistant on Spiffy's IRC channel, and Gonad will be the one who asks for help (ineptly).
It annoys many. Special bots work on a number of channels, which give out a whole tirade about the fact that you do not need to ask permission. So let’s figure it out first.
Let's look at the most obvious first. The entire channel is dedicated to helping with Spiffy, this is indicated in the channel name and topic. Do you think that someone harbored anger personally to you - and therefore will not answer? (Malice may appear later, but for now everything is in order). Of course, they will help you . Just ask a question right away.
What Gonad had to say:
Which immediately brings us to the next topic.
We continue the proposal of Gonad from the previous paragraph.
Moral of the story: "Helpers are not telepathic." When you report a problem, they need some details to move on. Preferably any or all of the following:
A note regarding the publication of the error page or the issuance. These things are usually gigantic, so if you post them directly on the channel, you will look like a clown at a funeral. Instead, post the full text on sites specifically designed for this, such as Pastie , Pastebin or Gist , and then publish the URL on the channel. These sites also support very useful syntax highlighting.
If the problem is complex or the description of the steps requires a long description, then publish a short summary in IRC, and a more detailed description in the text by reference.
So again, let's see what Gonad had to do.
And everyone will live happily ever after.
I hang out on several programming channels and constantly here and there we see questions of this type:
Take the equivalent of the real world. In your town there is a local club of big guys covered in engine oil, who like to mess around with car engines: tune them, repair and so on. They meet every night. Now imagine someone coming into their car repair shop and asking, “Hey guys, I want to design and build an engine, can you briefly explain how to do this? I have a notebook and all that. ”
Rejoice that you have at least some anonymity online and you are protected from immediate physical harm.
We have a help channel, which usually involves answers to technical questions. Non-technical questions sometimes come up, but don't ask anything that requires a full business / technical specification or a four-year education course to answer.
Help Vampire (which is very funny and better illustrated than this article) can be read on this subject . Make sure you are not such a character.
Common sense says that if you are in the position of a person who depends on the kindness of strangers, then you are supposed to be polite to them.
Remember how much you paid for a contract to support your software? Exactly. 99.99% of chat assistants help for free. These are volunteers and usually pleasant people who do their job because they feel a certain pleasant feeling, helping others. Being like an idiot, you really discourage them from continuing their noble efforts.
Examples of bad behavior:
This is the Internet, there are many time zones. Therefore, questions are not necessarily answered instantly. Let's look at Gonad once again.
Sometimes answers come in a few hours or days on relatively quiet channels, so ask a question and wait. Most people will indicate your nickname when replying, so make sure the IRC client is set to alert when your nickname is mentioned.
If you are here and really read everything, then congratulations. Now you know enough not to be an idiot and not to be ignored by asking any question in the IRC. But this is only the first step; I still recommend Eric Raymond's article “A Smart Way to Ask Questions ” for a more complete explanation of all the details ... let's not have to be content with what is - and get a full disclosure of the topic.
Time for a fun contest. Can you tell me what rules are violated in the following real-world examples? (Names changed to protect ... innocent).
Greetings. If you came to this page of your own free will and intention, then keep in mind that this is an abridged, slightly more modern version of Eric Raymond's article “The Smart Way to Ask Questions ” - a great, but long text.
On the other hand, if someone else sent you to this page and you want to quickly understand what is happening here, then read on.
How to ask questions correctly
In short:
- Do not ask permission
- Tell us the details.
- Ask Relevant Questions
- Be polite
- Wait
In this article, the participants in the conversation are called Terry and Gonad (in honor of the hypothetical igrodelov from the series of humorous reviews of the games “ Without punctuation ”). Terry will be the ever-suffering assistant on Spiffy's IRC channel, and Gonad will be the one who asks for help (ineptly).
1 - Do not ask permission
It annoys many. Special bots work on a number of channels, which give out a whole tirade about the fact that you do not need to ask permission. So let’s figure it out first.
[16:00] * Gonad joined the channel # spiffy-help
[16:00] * Topic: “Welcome to the spiffy help channel. Latest version 1.5 "
[16:00] <Gonad> May I ask a question about Spiffy?
[16:01] * Terry sobbed quietly in the corner
Let's look at the most obvious first. The entire channel is dedicated to helping with Spiffy, this is indicated in the channel name and topic. Do you think that someone harbored anger personally to you - and therefore will not answer? (Malice may appear later, but for now everything is in order). Of course, they will help you . Just ask a question right away.
What Gonad had to say:
[16:00] * Gonad joined the channel # spiffy-help
[16:00] * Topic: “Welcome to the spiffy help channel. Latest version 1.5 "
[16:00] <Gonad> Hello everyone, I have a problem with ...
Which immediately brings us to the next topic.
2 - Tell us the details.
We continue the proposal of Gonad from the previous paragraph.
[16:00] * Gonad joined the channel # spiffy-help
[16:00] * Topic: “Welcome to the spiffy help channel. Latest version 1.5 "
[16:00] <Gonad> Hello everyone, my Spiffy gives me an error page, what's the matter?
[16:03] <Terry> Wait a second, I will establish a telepathic connection with your brain and find out what you are talking about. I warn you, this can lead to loss of control over motor functions.
Moral of the story: "Helpers are not telepathic." When you report a problem, they need some details to move on. Preferably any or all of the following:
- Page with an error (or issue).
- The order of actions that led to the appearance of this page and what was expected instead.
- Software version with all installed plugins. If you think this matters, indicate the version of the OS and database, if used.
A note regarding the publication of the error page or the issuance. These things are usually gigantic, so if you post them directly on the channel, you will look like a clown at a funeral. Instead, post the full text on sites specifically designed for this, such as Pastie , Pastebin or Gist , and then publish the URL on the channel. These sites also support very useful syntax highlighting.
If the problem is complex or the description of the steps requires a long description, then publish a short summary in IRC, and a more detailed description in the text by reference.
So again, let's see what Gonad had to do.
[16:00] * Gonad joined the channel # spiffy-help
[16:00] * Topic: “Welcome to the spiffy help channel. Latest version 1.5 "
[16:00] <Gonad> Hello everyone, I get a page with an error in the new version of Spiffy 1.5, when I try to create a second admin. Steps and details here: pastie.org/417957
[16:02] <Terry> Wow, how well-formulated a request for help is, I am running, I RUN to help you.
And everyone will live happily ever after.
3 - Ask relevant questions
I hang out on several programming channels and constantly here and there we see questions of this type:
[16:00] * Gonad joined the #programming channel
[16:00] * Topic: “Welcome to the new #programming channel”
[16:02] <Gonad> Hello guys, how to create a search engine / forum / application for simulation of the hydrodynamics of the cooling circuit of a thermonuclear reactor
[16:07] <Terry> Just asking such a question you showed your own helplessness, and now I have to ignore you until the thermal death of the universe.
Take the equivalent of the real world. In your town there is a local club of big guys covered in engine oil, who like to mess around with car engines: tune them, repair and so on. They meet every night. Now imagine someone coming into their car repair shop and asking, “Hey guys, I want to design and build an engine, can you briefly explain how to do this? I have a notebook and all that. ”
Rejoice that you have at least some anonymity online and you are protected from immediate physical harm.
We have a help channel, which usually involves answers to technical questions. Non-technical questions sometimes come up, but don't ask anything that requires a full business / technical specification or a four-year education course to answer.
Help Vampire (which is very funny and better illustrated than this article) can be read on this subject . Make sure you are not such a character.
4 - Be polite
Common sense says that if you are in the position of a person who depends on the kindness of strangers, then you are supposed to be polite to them.
Remember how much you paid for a contract to support your software? Exactly. 99.99% of chat assistants help for free. These are volunteers and usually pleasant people who do their job because they feel a certain pleasant feeling, helping others. Being like an idiot, you really discourage them from continuing their noble efforts.
Examples of bad behavior:
- Arrogance.
- Refusing / ignoring answers because they do not instantly solve the problem or require you to use the brain a little.
- Lack of your own thoughts and the expectation that you will be fed from a spoon. (Do not google your problem before asking a question - a typical example).
5 - Wait
This is the Internet, there are many time zones. Therefore, questions are not necessarily answered instantly. Let's look at Gonad once again.
[16:00] * Gonad joined the channel # spiffy-help
[16:00] * Topic: “Welcome to the spiffy help channel. Latest version 1.5 "
[16:00] <Gonad> Hello guys, in what configuration setting does Spiffy enable email support?
[16:01] <Gonad> Anyone?
[16:04] <Gonad> Hello?
[16:09] <Gonad> Great, they don’t talk to me
[16:10] * Gonad left the channel # spiffy-help
[16:11] <Terry> Hello everyone, invented a cure for cancer, now back - someone needs help?
Sometimes answers come in a few hours or days on relatively quiet channels, so ask a question and wait. Most people will indicate your nickname when replying, so make sure the IRC client is set to alert when your nickname is mentioned.
Conclusion
If you are here and really read everything, then congratulations. Now you know enough not to be an idiot and not to be ignored by asking any question in the IRC. But this is only the first step; I still recommend Eric Raymond's article “A Smart Way to Ask Questions ” for a more complete explanation of all the details ... let's not have to be content with what is - and get a full disclosure of the topic.
Real world examples
Time for a fun contest. Can you tell me what rules are violated in the following real-world examples? (Names changed to protect ... innocent).
#passenger on irc.freenode.net
[21:58] <Gonad> what's wrong with this bullshit?
[21:58] <Gonad> *** Exception Errno :: EPIPE in Passenger RequestHandler (broken pipeline)
# kubuntu-offtopic on irc.freenode.net
[03:55]> Gonad has joined this channel (***).
[03:55] <Gonad> hello ... pls how to download and extract music from youtube?
[03:58]> Gonad left the canal.
[04:02] <Terry> Hmm. Tactics asked, run away.