First, “OSR people” are not trying to ban you. If we were, you would already be banned and traces of you expunged, like Mr. “Yahoo Man”
I’ve written this REPEATEDLY over the past couple of months, to the point where I’m going to make it a FAQ when I have time:
The members of this forum range from newbies to people who have been writing Windows drivers for more than 20 years. Many of us have been dealing with devices and writing drivers since before Windows even existed.
We respect and consider every question that’s posted here. Whether it’s a simple sounding question from a newb or a detailed complex question from an advanced dev. Some of the simplest sounding questions can be some of the most challenging to answer.
The corollary to the above is that whenever you post a question here, we expect you to post that question with the same thought and respect that you would give to asking a question to a very senior colleague that you work with. That means you should only post your question if you REALLY can’t solve it yourself, using ALL the means and methods available to you.
Before posting your question research your problem online first. Use Google. Use the documentation. THINK about your question. Describe your problem clearly and concisely. Be specific. Tell us what you’ve already tried. Tell us the behavior you’re seeing and the behavior you want to see. Remember you’re talking to experienced driver devs who know nothing about what you’re trying to do – we don’t know your hardware or what you’ve already tried. Try to put yourself in the position of the person who’ll be reading your question, and anticipate what information they might need to be able to give you a good answer. You get questions and problem reports from customers, right? You know how you’d like them to be clear and explicit when they describe their question or problem? That’s what we want HERE.
ALWAYS always always tell us the overall problem you’re trying to solve. If you’re having a hard time doing something a particular way, it’s often because you’re trying to solve a larger problem the wrong way. Remember that Windows is not Linux. And remember that the way you’ve chosen to solve a given problem may not be the best way to solve your problem on Windows.
Give time for us to respond. Remember, the community literally spans the globe. We have people who regularly answer questions who live in the US, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and all throughout Asia (India and Greater China, for sure). Nothing annoys the community more than somebody who posts a question and then follows-up 2 hours later with “Hello? Can anybody help me?” If you’re LUCKY, that’ll only get you a reply akin to FOAD.
Remember nobody is paid to answer questions on this forum. So if you get a reply, it’s from somebody who actually WANTS to help you. Be grateful of any answer you receive.
Try to give-back to the community by answering questions THAT ARE WITHIN YOUR AREA OF PERSONAL EXPERTISE. If somebody asks a question on something you’ve done personally, and know how to do, please answer them. DO NOT answer questions by Googling for the answer. More than half the time, the answer will be wrong.
I’m going to post this someplace for the ages so we can refer people to it… once I get through my two-week backlog of “urgent” client issues.
Peter
OSR
@OSRDrivers