Darren recently posted about getting help through networking.  I hadn't actually seen his post when I drafted the following, but it's really quite useful.  If you don't have a good network of people you can ask questions of then go and have a read (in fact, go have a read of it anyway).

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In all seriousness (or as serious as I can get) if you want answers to something then here’s your choices in increasing order of effectiveness.

Reference Docs

Go to the MSDN docs (or the manual for whatever you have a problem with).  It's OK if you know what you’re looking for – terrible if you don’t.  And if you knew what you were looking for you wouldn’t have a question now, would you?

Search Engine

Type a search phrase into Google.  Wade through 1,763,209 pages for that needle in a haystack.  Get confused with all the results, waste 3 hours.

Forums & Mailing Lists

If Phone-A-Friend fails (see below) and there’s no answer on that phone thingy, they’re busy, they don’t know, etc - then ask a forum or mailing list.  [You might want to use MSDN forums, ASP.NET forums, mailing lists, or whatever else is appropriate for you]

It’s what they're for.  Don't be a lurker and remember that the more active you are, the more you'll get known by others and the more likely you are to grow your network of contacts.

Give it a little time though - people might not always have an answer at the ready  (they might be busy, or they don’t know either) and if your question spawns an off-topic thread, feel free to slap people silly with a wet mackerel and bring it back to the question at hand.

Oh, try and maintain a sense of humour as well, and be aware that in large forums there will be a number of differing opinions.

Most importantly, don't just receive help, give it as well.  And always show your thanks and appreciation to those that offer assistance.

Phone-A-Friend

This is by far the best option.  Here’s how it works:

Think of someone who has dealt in the area you have a question in.

Ask them!!

I know, I know!  It's just like rocket science!

I also know that asking questions can be really difficult at times – so here's are a number of handy tools you can use to get over your fear of talking.

Send an email:

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Send an instant message:

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Or, if you are feeling brave, use a phone:

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(I know – it's scary using that phone thing isn’t it!)

Is that clear enough?  I hope so.  Now, go get networking and get those answers you seek :-)

 

P.S. I'm more than happy to be a part of your network - feel free to invite me.