Although not all of these guidelines are relevant to posting in the TAPI newsgroup, I think that they are a good baseline to keep in mind. --Michael Dunn

CHECKLIST FOR A GOOD NEWSGROUP POST.

1. Not all the information in this checklist will be needed in every post--choose what is appropriate for your problem or question. Before posting a question, review the newsgroup posts for the answer you need--it may already be listed. Check the program's help file and the Resource Kit if you have it. You may be able to solve your problem by using the newsgroup search engine at: http://www.deja.com or searching the Microsoft Knowledge Base at: http://support.microsoft.com/support/search/c.asp

2. There are certain administrative irritants you should avoid:

a. If you would like a courtesy copy email response, indicate it in one of the first few sentences of your post. Don't make it difficult to respond by spam proofing your address since your correct email address will be listed in the response in the newsgroup. If don't want an email response, clearly identify your email address as being false and avoid bounced emails.

b. Avoid "cute" titles and ambiguous ones in the subject line. ***HELP*** is not the right way to get attention. Make a concise, clear description of the help you need (printer problem, password help, help altering context menu, etc.) Don't attempt to put the entire problem in the subject line or to put part of it there and the remainder in the body.

c. Avoid cross posting and multiple posting to several newsgroups unless your problem fits the category of more than one group. If you do need more than one newsgroup, cross post (include all addresses on one message) rather than multiple-post (separate messages to several newsgroups). Server space becomes more critical each day as more people come on-line.

d. Always post in plain text unless using HTML would help explain your problem. Use upper and lower case letters instead of all capital or lower case letters. Use punctuation instead of a "non-ending" sentence. Proofread what you send before you send it. It often helps to have someone else read it before you post it.

e. Keep emotion and bad attitude out of your post. Swearing at Microsoft or some software product or using foul language turns people off. Be professional as people who may be able to help you might not because of your demeanor.

f. Keep your posts and follow-ups in the public forum so more than one person may benefit from your question/answer. Avoid personal email contacts unless you are asked to do so. Avoid asking for help from an individual or MVP. Why should anyone provide an answer if you are restricting who you want an answer from?

g. Don't post a new question in response to another person's post--create a new post of your own. Avoid "me too" posts indicating you have the same problem unless you can add substantial information about it.

3. In the first paragraph of your post, clearly define the problem.

a. Unless problems seem related, do not mix them together--make separate posts.

b. Accurately describe the problem including the *exact* verbiage in the error message, if any. Some error messages are followed by alpha/numeric characters in registers and those registers are not usually required. Don't skimp on information but don't provide unrelated details and confuse the issue.

c. If you are describing a screen, tell the name of the screen if one is listed. Don't attach screen shots or files. If you believe a screen shot or file is critical to people understanding your problem, advise that it exists and offer to send it.

d. Tell when an error occurs, not just that it happens. What exactly occurs? If doing some action or using some particular software triggers the error, identify it. Knowing if the problem occurs at a particular time or if it is random may be helpful.

e. Did the software/computer ever work right? If it did, what has changed? What were you doing just before the problem occurred? Knowing about a setting change, added software or hardware or some registry tweak that you tried may be essential to solving the problem.

4. Briefly describe your machine. Provide the CPU type and speed, amount of RAM, hard drive size and amount of free space. If you are having problems with a particular component, describe that hardware. Avoid listing every piece of unrelated hardware you own. Identify the operating system and version you are using: Control Panel, System, General Tab.

5. Identify the procedures you have already used to try to fix the problem. It is very aggravating to type up a long reply only to be told, "I already tried that." You are starting on the wrong foot with a post that begins with, "I have tried everything and nothing works."

a. If you have tried a procedure from a particular KB article, tell which one by its number. Saying you have searched the Knowledge Base with no results is not useful information as your searching techniques may be faulty.

b. If you reloaded the system in an attempt to fix the problem, tell if you formatted the drive and installed "clean" or if you just loaded over an existing system.

c. If you back up your registry, tell if you have tried to restore a good copy. If you don't back up your registry, so indicate.

6. Sit back and wait for a response. Don't get impatient--the newsgroup is manned entirely by volunteers. For this reason, you should carefully consider any advice that is passed along. If you only receive an email response and the answer is not posted, be careful. If there is bad information in a posted response, someone will almost always post the correct information. If you don't get a response, it is because nobody knows the answer--your question will be read by many people. Even if the volunteers cannot fix your problem, treat them as a friend--where else can you get free help? There are *very few* Microsoft employees answering questions in the newsgroups and they can only answer questions on their own time; therefore, don't waste your time asking for a response from them.