BeforeYouAsk

Read this before you write your questions to the public channels! It's in your own interest to respect those to get the best results for you. If you want good & fast answers, ask smart questions. The easier you make it for us, the easier we can (and want to) help you.

"after": return what you get.

• When you've been served well, stay long & prosper to help others (in MuttChannel or MuttLists and add to MuttWiki)!

"before": help make docs more useful for you, your problem probably has been already solved!

• Check manual.txt, MuttGuide, MuttFaq and MuttWiki before you ask:
  • use search instructions of MuttFaq if you don't know where to look.
• Search the ARCHIVES of all channels available: MuttLists have external ones, MuttChannel uses this MuttWiki.
• Analyze yourself what you can per DebugConfig before you ask.
• If you've already found the answers on your own by now, then tell us which docs helped you (not?)!

Please search those before you repost what has been covered before!

Save resources and time better spent dealing with new problems.

"while": Help us help you. We can help you only as much as you help us understand you: "it doesn't work" or "what I see" is not enough!!!

• Be supportive: tell us your operating environment and what made you think it should work as you expect?
  • What: is your technical context and setup?
    • - is your goal, - did you expect (why?), - was the result instead?
    • - are your used versions of: application, client, server, libs, external components, operating system, terminal?
  • How: we can't read your mind nor see through your eyes: explain as if to a blind person.
    • Give exact details as you experience them (where you start, each single step: action + result), not your summaries!
    • Be most specific + clear + exact + concrete + complete with your statements.
    • Don't guess, verify! Get facts, exclude ambiguity + misunderstanding.
  • Why: the more you provide, the better we can help you, you decide how helpful you are to yourself.
    • For in depth reasons: "how to ask [smart questions]" (<-- Must read this! Complain about that text to MuttChannel, not the authors!).
• Show commitment: this is not a (paid) service hotline, this is a do-it-yourself environment.
  • You are supposed to do the actual work, you get advice and pointers.
  • Look up references yourself, use existing docs, learn to help yourself.
• Be patient: just wait, eventually someone will answer, don't count on instant reaction.
  • This is a global channel: people live in different timezones, more or better response might happen at other times.
  • See MuttMaps and [WorldTimeZone] or [TimeAndDate] or [WorldClock]
• Be respectful + merciful (with yourself + fellows): answers are favours, not your right, and not all of us know everything, so beware of sub-optimal answers.

"technical": don't annoy bystanders!

• Every channel has its own additional specific technical clues to make all sides happier: the ones asking for help and those granting it.
• Please return to the referring page and read those, too, before you shoot.