I like being part of the wider geek community. When I’ve written a piece of code that I think works well and solves a problem that other people will have, I like to share it so other people can use it. When people have problems with those pieces of code, I like to help them. But people, please, learn how to ask effectively.

This is an actual email I received this morning, referring to a cursor creation function I posted at pygame.org:

Hey, I’m in a hurry, so this isn’t going to tell too much. I was having problems with your cursors pygame code. See if you can see what’s wrong/fix it. I need to leave the office, see you later.

What am I supposed to do with this? Even if I wanted to spend time figuring out what this guy needs, where would I start? There’s no information here. When asking for help, keep these tips in mind:

• Ask nicely.
• Put some effort into your question.
• Be specific about the problem you are having. If you say, “I was having problems”, I’m going to have to say, “What problems?” You might as well send the actual error message (or whatever) the first time.

This isn’t just me being difficult. These things always make it easier for the helper to help the helpee.