Below are a 10 simple guidelines on how to effectively post support questions and problems on CGSociety. These are designed to help resolve your problems quickly and accurately.
#1 - Read the instructions
Just to make sure you didn’t miss something obvious.
#2 - Read the FAQ
The Frequently Asked Questions page contains a list of the most common problems and questions that have been encountered. This should be your first stop whenever you are having problems, as the answer is usually listed on this page.
#3 - Search before you post
If your question is not addressed by the FAQ page, chances are that someone else has asked the question before you. The next step should be to use the forum search feature to try and find previous solutions to your questions. You should also check the threads on the first few pages of the support forums in case its a global problem and there is a solution right in front of you.
#4 - Start a new thread for new problems
If your question is not in the FAQ or in other forum threads, start a new thread. Do not reply to an unrelated thread and ask your question. By keeping unrelated topics separated, we can better keep track of issues.
#5 - Use a sensible thread title
“Help me!!11” is not a sensible thread title. “Portfolio images are not appearing” is more useful. Make your thread title reflect your problem, so the right person sees it and can respond to it quickly.
#6 - Post in the right place
Make sure you are posting in the appropriate forum for your problem:
General questions about CGTalk go in the CGTalk Support Forum.
Questions about Portfolios go in the CGPortfolio Support Forum
etc.
This will ensure that the right person sees your post quickly.
#7 - Be direct
We do not need your life story when dealing with a support question. Simply tell us your problem as simply as you can.
The vital stuff we need to know:
[ul]
[li]What you were doing when it broke ?
[/li][li]What error messages are you getting ?
[/li][li]What other methods have you tried ?
[/li][li]How many times have you tried ?
[/li][li]What Operating System (Windows, MacOS, Linux) and Browser (Firefox, IE, Opera) are you using ?
[/li][/ul]
All of this will help us answer your question quickly and accurately. These are going to be the first things we ask when we respond to your post, so you might as well save everyone the time and tell us from the start.
#8 - Read the error messages
Most of the time the system will tell you whats wrong through error messages. These are often enough to help you work out what is going wrong without needing to post a support thread. Keep an eye out for red, orange or yellow error messages when something is not working properly.
#9 - Be polite
The Forum Leaders here are all volunteers. Being abusive and angry in your support posts is unnecessary and makes the support team less inclined to want to help you. We understand it can be frustrating when things are not working properly, but swearing and yelling does not help the situation.
#10 - Be patient
The support team are humans too. They need to eat, sleep and socialise with other humans (some of us anyway). So occasionally they may not respond to your issue immediately. We ask that you please be patient and allow some time for your question to be resolved.