Guidelines
Thanks for using my (Larry Ullman's) support forums. Please take a moment to read these guidelines. Doing so will guarantee you a faster response. The most important thing to remember is that you're asking for FREE help from strangers here. You don't have to compliment me to use these forums, or even buy my books (although I would appreciate that), you just need to appreciate that you're getting FREE help from strangers. In particular...
PLEASE DO NOT:
- ...email me a question after you have posted it in the forum.
- ...post your message more than once (if you have more information to add, that's fine, but don't post the same message multiple times or in multiple forums).
- ...post messages that add nothing to the description of the problem (like just posting "Help please?" or "Anyone?").
- ...post meaningless messages, just to move your thread back to the top of the list.
- ...reply to one of my postings by emailing me. I would prefer to leave correspondence in the forum so that other readers can benefit.
- ...be insulting to anyone.
- ...think your situation constitutes an exception to these rules.
PLEASE DO:
- ...consider searching the forums first.
- ...consider searching the Internet and any relevant manuals or book indexes.
- ...make sure you are in the right forum (if it relates to a specific book).
- ...reference the script name, script number, and page number (if it relates to a specific book).
- ...include the complete error message (when applicable).
- ...say what version of whatever technologies you are using.
- ...say what operating system you are running (if appropriate).
- ...provide the versions of whatever other applications are involved.
- ...show some relevant code!
- ...be as explicit as you can in saying what is not working, what it should be doing, etc. (including the complete, actual error message, if there is one).
- ...post the solution or say that a solution worked when the problem's been solved (so that others might benefit).
Failure to abide by the above, in particular not including the versions you're using, will virtually guarantee that I don't answer your question or that it takes longer for your question to be answered. I do see all forum postings and will answer all questions as I have time. I normally answer forum postings three days per week (assuming I'm not traveling) and ALWAYS answer forum postings days before emails sent directly to me.
Don't get me wrong: I'm happy to assist and, more importantly, I want you to be able to solve your problem/find an answer to your question as quickly as possible. These policies are intended to help ensure that result. They also allow me to offer up this free support in the face of the oodles of emails I get per day and the actual (paying) work I have to do.
Thanks,
Larry