View source for ProbablePrime/Asking Good Questions

When users need help with Resonite, its often difficult for me to understand what a user is needing help with. This often leads to lengthy conversations to narrow in on a solution which in Resonite tends to be quite varied but sometimes really simple. I try my best to help here, but one of the things you as a user can do is to try to change the way that your questions are formulated or how your word your issues. This page aims to explain how to think about that.

= Disclaimers =

This isn't meant to be a mean, Prime is mad article. I'm trying to help you, usually at all times of the day in a variety of problems. I just need you to help me to help you. I don't mean anything bad by it.

= The XY Problem =

A common example of how asking questions can lead you astray, is the XY Problem. The XY Problem is defined loosely as "asking about your intended solution, rather than your problem". This usually occurs because a user has already progressed on their journey to find a solution using the knowledge that they already have. They may have been working on the problem for quite some time and potentially become quite distanced from their problem.

== Example ==

Here's an example of a Resonite specific XY Problem I often see:

* User: "Hey, How do I do animation in Resonite?"
* Resonite Helpers: "Ahh we don't really have that good of animation support right now, you'll need to use blender to make your animation and import it as an FBX"
* User: "That's scary" 

Here the user is asking about their intended solution(creating an animation), and we don't know what their problem is.

Here's that same question with added information that removes the XY Problem:

* User: "Hey, I want to turn my Hat on and off on my avatar, do I need animations to do that?"
* Resonite Helpers: "No, you can just change the active state using a simple checkbox or context menu, here I'll show you how to do that."
* User: "Thanks!" 

The user elaborated and explained their problem, they want to turn a hat on and off. That's done differently here on Resonite, then it is on other platforms.

== Further Reading ==

You can read more about the [https://xyproblem.info/ XY Problem here]

= Give a full picture =

In a similar manner to the XY Problem, it often becomes an issue if we don't have the full picture of the problem. When asking for help try not to piecemeal out a problem, especially at the start. Ask all the questions you need before starting, fully explain your issue, your ideas etc.

Not doing this might lead to day-week long conversations as we try to identify what's going on.

= Log Files & Debugging =

This one is especially for those times where Resonite is failing, crashing or you're seeing "an error". 

== Give us the details ==
For us to help you, you need to provide as much information as possible. When we ask for information please give it to us in as much detail, also please follow our instructions as closely as you can. 

== Log Files specifically ==
Send us the whole file. Do NOT:
* Send us screenshots of the file, I can't copy and paste or scroll around screenshots
* Send us partial log files, you may think a section is important but it might not be send us the whole file
* Send us an old log file. We need the most recent log file which contains the issue