Asking For Help

Solar2D General Questions/Discussion
#1

Hello to everyone.  I wanted to make a post about asking questions.  

A long time ago, I wrote a post called ‘AskA Better Question Get A Better Answer’.

Additionally, I often tell folks… “Your question isn’t great and could be improved.  Doing so will get you a better answer.”

I’m posting this for two reasons:

  1. I hope folks don’t think I’m a jerk when I say “your post needs work”.  I really think this will help us to help you.

  2. I am proof positive that this works and often leads to a self-solved issue.

Spending time on a detailed and quality forums post FORCES you to review your process and explain it to others clearly. 

When you do this you often see mistakes you have made and this sometimes leads to a resolution of your issue(s).

Testimonial

Today I was stuck on a  Vungle 4 versus Vungle 5 issue. 

So, I spent about 30 minutes putting together a detailed post and supporting code packed as a zip file. 

Then… just as i was getting ready to submit the post I realized my mistake.

Violla! I was back in business at the cost of spending just a little time, clearly explaining my problem so others could help me.

Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays to all!

#2

It is also worth pointing out, that the reason I was able to self-solve my post was:

  1. I wrote a complete example app to share my issue with others so they could run it themselves.

  2. I reviewed the docs as I wrote my post and linked to specific doc pages I was referring to in my post.  Not only would this save readers time and ambiguity, but it ensured I’d in fact read and understand the docs before asking my question.  

Between #1 and #2 I found that I had over-looked an argument which I thought was optional and was in fact required.  

#3

It is also worth pointing out, that the reason I was able to self-solve my post was:

  1. I wrote a complete example app to share my issue with others so they could run it themselves.

  2. I reviewed the docs as I wrote my post and linked to specific doc pages I was referring to in my post.  Not only would this save readers time and ambiguity, but it ensured I’d in fact read and understand the docs before asking my question.  

Between #1 and #2 I found that I had over-looked an argument which I thought was optional and was in fact required.