How to Post in Tech Support (Unofficial Guide)

How to post in Tech Support
(from a volunteer's point of view)

>> So you want to post in Tech Support?
Volunteers are standing by to help you especially if you provide the information they need first. If you follow this guide and use it as you post a new thread here, you should get a much better response. Volunteers are doing this in their spare time and, if they are like me, can very quickly get burnt out if they have to ask for the same info each time someone opens a new thread for help. Please help the volunteers by giving this information in your initial help request.

The following short guide will help you gather info and focus your thoughts. It is far from perfect though, and is only based off of my experience and ideas. If you need help following this guide, please say so, but at least acknowledge that you did read and try to follow along. The support here is unofficial. If you want official support, please contact them at http://help.funcom.com

*NOTE Try to leave out negative comments about the game or Funcom. That is not at all helpful.

Help Yourself

>> Searching
The first thing to try before asking for help is Searching for answers. At the search page, type in keywords to search for and select the Tech Help forum under Search Options. You may also like to select a longer time period to search through. Try searching all threads posted a year ago or later. Next, try all dates. The key here is patience and you need to be willing and able to read and sort through threads. Please understand, more than likely, your question has been asked and addressed already in the past by others.

>> Common Issues
Check through the rooted threads here in the Tech Help forum to see if your questions, concerns, or issues have already been discussed and dealt with. From there, you may find what you're looking for, be it a solution, workaround, or chance to continue your discussion in a thread which already pertains to your issue.


Gathering Info For Your Post

>> The Description
Tell us what happened exactly and what you did just before experiencing the issue. Give steps if possible to reproduce the issue. Give any error messages you may receive. Be as precise and accurate as possible here during this description step. List any changes you did to your system, if any, recently. Write legibly, without using abbreviations or other forms of shorthand. Use a spell-check or dictionary. Take the time to write well. It's analogous to going to a job interview in shorts and a t-shirt instead of dressing professionally.

*NOTE Rule of thumb: We need details. We don't know anything about your computer, internet connection, network, or your level of computer knowledge. Every system, situation, and person is different, so fill us in!

>> Technical Info
Post the contents of the log file generated by Hijack This. Hijack This is a favored tool among volunteer tech support folks. It takes the guessing game out of questions like "Do you have any programs running in the background?" This log will not only let us know what is running on your system, but could possibly let us know if you're infected with some kind of virus or trojan which is affecting performance or the stability of your system. Follow the Hijack This link above and download the program. There's a Quick Start guide on the site if you need assistance with this. All you do is run the program and press the "Scan" button. Once the program has finished scanning, the button changes to read "Save Log". Press this to be prompted to save your log file, which is really a text file. Save it to your desktop and open it in notepad. Copy and paste the entire log into your post. If nothing else, at least post the top half of the log which shows all running processes on your computer.

*NOTE This is a very simple procedure and can save us a lot of precious time and energy. It can also clue us in on other issues your system may be having.


Ready to Post

Double check your wording. Make sure everything is legible, accurate, and precise. The key is, if you don't have time to do any of the above (which doesn't take long! Come on!) then reconsider posting now. Copy and paste what you've already written to a text file and continue again when you have more time. When you're very sure of yourself and your wording, go ahead and submit the thread to the public.


Courtesies

>> Bump!
Please don't overly 'bump' your thread. The Tech Support forum is a little different from the other more social forums. Volunteers here often check the second or third page for unanswered requests. I personally look for threads that have Zero replies. So bumping is not exactly the most helpful action you could take in some situations!

>> Be Kind
Please be courteous to someone who's trying to help you. Don't take for granted the fact that they're not getting any compensation for their efforts other than helpful and kind responses from you.


Feedback
If something the volunteer has you do fixes your issue, please reply to your thread and acknowledge this. Not only does this help close the issue, it also helps others who have had the same trouble as you find the right answers.
Also, please give feedback if you find the solution on your own. Let us know what you've done exactly to help yourself.


Moderators, please do feel free to add to and edit this post! Consider this a tool.
Warm regards to all the volunteers,
Chimihou / Myste