The golden rule of seeking help is:-
There is no silver bullet and no royal road.
In other words, you should not expect much if you don't put some effort
into your search. Sure, you might get lucky and hit the answer
immediately - once or twice. But in the long run your best strategy
will be to know how to solve problems. This page should help
you help yourself.
Analyse.
Make sure you're dealing with the right problem.
For example, a typical mistake is to assume that your problem requires
a specific technology, such as CGI - which might not
necessarily be the best way. Say you wanted to implement a calculator
on your web page. You can do it with CGI, but that will involve extra
network communications, which could be avoided by using a client-side
technology such as JavaScript.
Don't jump to conclusions! Many problems turn out to be browser bugs or
transient network glitches.
Check the problem in another browser first,
especially if you are using beta-ware.
Also try switching off style sheets.
You may sometimes find that switching to an alternate site may help
(Stars.com
or WDVL.com).
Know how to use the available tools.
If you have an HTML problem, you might get some clues by
validating it.
Browse.
Look in the places that specialise in your problem domain.
A good starting point is The WDVL; even if you
don't find the answer there it will direct you to more specialised
resources.
Be patient - a site such as The WDVL may have a thousand pages and try
as we might, we can't make everything obvious on the home page.
Try several paths, e.g:
Search.
Know your keywords and how to use the search engines.
If you just type "HTML" into
Lycos
your first result may well be a
picture of a plate of Japanese food (last time I tried, it was).
Try these search engines (in no particular order):-
Ask.
Formulate your question and supply relevant details, e.g.
Your name.
Symptoms of the problem.
What you are trying to achieve.
URL of page demonstrating the problem.
Your platform: browser (with version) and operating system.
Ask courteously; people answer your questions, not some
machine. You don't have to grovel, but a salutation and signature will
get you a higher priority (i.e. I'm very busy, am under no obligation
to answer you, so ask nicely).
Make sure you ask in the right place.
Don't ask CGI questions in the HTML newsgroup...
Here are some places to ask:-
This mailing list is for the discussion of the technical and practical
aspects of web development. Novices and experts alike are welcome.
This list offers help for all user levels, whether you just logged on to
the Net today or have been on since the start.
It's for
webmasters
and
Internet developers who are
creating web sites
with
HTML,
CGI,
Java,
JavaScript,
graphics,
VRML,
multimedia,
animation,
etc.
It's a forum where beginning and advanced WWW publishers and designers
can interact and learn from each other.
Acknowledge
It's a great help to people such as ourselves to get feedback
from people who came looking for help - even if they didn't find what
they wanted. We're not looking for 'thanks' (but will graciously
accept), we want to know how to improve the site for you and other
users. Giving constructive feedback helps everyone!
I often expend a substantial amount of time answering requests for
help. I rarely hear back. So I don't know if I wasted my time or not.
Recently someone asked how to make their web site respond to the
Language preferences that you can specify in Netscape and some other
browsers. I spent some time researching that issue and answered
promptly. A few days later I saw the same person asking the same
question in the newsgroups. The answers were pretty much what I'd
answered. So why should I bother again ?
If you find a
good source of information,
let others know - spread the word.
Tell your friends, pets, neighbours, colleagues, mailing lists,
newsgroups, web hosting service, senator, ...
