For new forum members and those who keep asking the same thing without searching, please refer to this before making a post or creating a new thread. It will help.

P.S. If you're only here for apps like Wazapp, then be patient and don't ask unnecessary questions; It's clearly marked "beta".

Before You Ask:

Before asking a technical question by e-mail, or in a newsgroup, or on a website chat board, do the following:

- Try to find an answer by searching the archives of the forum you plan to post to.

- Try to find an answer by searching the Web.

- Try to find an answer by reading the manual.

- Try to find an answer by reading a FAQ.

- Try to find an answer by inspection or experimentation.

- Try to find an answer by asking a skilled friend.

- If you're a programmer, try to find an answer by reading the source code.

When you ask your question, display the fact that you have done these things first; this will help establish that you're not being a lazy sponge and wasting people's time. Better yet, display what you have learned from doing these things. We like answering questions for people who have demonstrated they can learn from the answers.

Use tactics like doing a Google search on the text of whatever error message you get (searching Google groups as well as Web pages). This might well take you straight to fix documentation or a mailing list thread answering your question. Even if it doesn't, saying “I googled on the following phrase but didn't get anything that looked promising” is a good thing to do in e-mail or news postings requesting help, if only because it records what searches won't help. It will also help to direct other people with similar problems to your thread by linking the search terms to what will hopefully be your problem and resolution thread.

Take your time. Do not expect to be able to solve a complicated problem with a few seconds of Googling. Read and understand the FAQs, sit back, relax and give the problem some thought before approaching experts. Trust us, they will be able to tell from your questions how much reading and thinking you did, and will be more willing to help if you come prepared. Don't instantly fire your whole arsenal of questions just because your first search turned up no answers (or too many).

Prepare your question. Think it through. Hasty-sounding questions get hasty answers, or none at all. The more you do to demonstrate that having put thought and effort into solving your problem before seeking help, the more likely you are to actually get help.

Beware of asking the wrong question. If you ask one that is based on faulty assumptions, J. Random Hacker is quite likely to reply with a uselessly literal answer while thinking “Stupid question...”, and hoping the experience of getting what you asked for rather than what you needed will teach you a lesson.

Never assume you are entitled to an answer. You are not; you aren't, after all, paying for the service. You will earn an answer, if you earn it, by asking a substantial, interesting, and thought-provoking question — one that implicitly contributes to the experience of the community rather than merely passively demanding knowledge from others.

On the other hand, making it clear that you are able and willing to help in the process of developing the solution is a very good start. “Would someone provide a pointer?”, “What is my example missing?”, and “What site should I have checked?” are more likely to get answered than “Please post the exact procedure I should use.” because you're making it clear that you're truly willing to complete the process if someone can just point you in the right direction.

Source: http://catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html#before

Edit: On THIS forum, in any given thread, there are FIVE options for searching right in front of you. These can be seen in the screenshot below. Please use these options before actually asking questions or posting.

Great idea pal

How long will it be before someone asks a question about your opening post?

E: Answer - not long, I just did it DOH

I vote that this should be made into a Sticky thread...Please report your post to mods for them to do so

^ well, if you put it that way.. how many "new" users are gonna read this anyway?

But hopefully it should help everyone. Maybe I should tag it with every app name.. then this show up in the search result as well xD

have fun...

Added an "informative" screenshot :P

sorry for the OT but couldn't resist it

Mr. Scouser at 10men you still keeping trust?


Edit: This could be made into some kind of licence that all devs post on their first post of announce threads...Just like they link the GPL they should link this with the title; Need Help?

Extra 'stay-here-forever-scratching-one's-head' option added...

Let me give a bit of a counter-point. On the Pierogi thread, I want people to go ahead and ask their questions at the moment they have them. Even if the question has been asked before! As you say yourself,

I like to consider myself a "skilled friend". And, I mean, what's the point of having a forum in the first place? Creating barriers that keep newbies from ever dipping their toes in and asking that first question is not a way to keep this community alive...

... so far....