As the resident “computer guy”, I’m asked for advice on fixing computer problems all the time. I get queries from friends, family, acquaintances and occasionally random people I’ve just met. Usually the questions are pretty vague and it’s often difficult to figure out exactly what the problem is so I spend a lot of time asking different questions back which can sometimes be pretty frustrating.

Usually when you go to a website and ask for tech support, you’re asked to specify all kinds of information in advance – usually way more than is actually important – so the people on the other end won’t have to ask you later.

I found a site that went the opposite route.

From the GPSBabel FAQ:

What’s the worst way to get help with a problem?
There may be worse ways than this, but it’s a start.

* Vaguely describe a problem you’re having some place other than the GPSBabel-misc mailing list
* don’t list the operating system in use
* don’t list the versions of anything involved
* don’t offer a test case.
* Be evasive when asked about the precise steps to reproduce the problem.

Classic.