It Doesn't Work: Difference between revisions

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Please take the following with a sense of humor, it is supposed to be funny:
Please take the following with a sense of humor, it is supposed to be funny:


You would not believe the number of times I get a message saying something to the effect that "it doesn't work, please help!". Perhaps some perspective would help you understand why there is no way I can help with a statement like that.
It surprises me how many times I get a message from a user saying something like "it doesn't work, please help!". Believe me I would like to help, but without any further info, it's not possible.


Suppose you go to a car mechanic and say "something is wrong the car, can you fix it?". Do you think the mechanic has enough information to diagnose the problem? Really, how could the mechanic POSSIBLY help you, when you have not supplied any information that could help narrow down the possibilities?
Suppose you go to a car mechanic and say "something is wrong with the car, can you fix it?". The mechanic at this point does not have enough information to diagnose the problem, right? He needs more information to help narrow down the possibilities!


Now what if you said: "when i drive over 39 mph, the steering starts to vibrate and the car pulls to the right. the faster i go, the worse it gets".  Saying something like that helps to the mechanic to diagnose the problem.
Now what if you said: "when i drive over 39 mph, the steering starts to vibrate and the car pulls to the right. The faster I go, the worse it gets!" Saying something like that helps the mechanic to diagnose the problem, and get to solving it! :D


So if you feel compelled to say "it doesn't work", then at least assume i'm going to ask questions like:
So if you say to me "it doesn't work", then at least assume i'm going to ask questions like:


* are you on Mac or Windows?
* are you on Mac or Windows? What OS version number?
* Lite or Pro?
* Lite or Pro or 2?  32bit or 64bit?
* are you using the VERY LATEST version of kJams? if not, get that FIRST
* are you using the VERY LATEST version of kJams? (if not, get that FIRST)
* what *exactly* doesn't work
* what *exactly* doesn't work
* what did you try to do, and at what point did it fail
* what did you try to do, and at what point did it fail
* give me a list of the exact steps you took
* give me a list of the exact steps you took
* how much ram do you have, how many songs in your library
* how much ram do you have, how many songs in your library
* what OS are you on, exactly?
* did you get any assert fails?  error messages?  what are the exact words?
* did you get any assert fails?  error messages?
* do you know the difference between a hang and a crash?
* do you know the difference between a hang and a crash?
* did it hang?  
* did it hang?  
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Help me help you by anticipating that i will NEED as much information as you can supply in order to diagnose and fix the problem.
Help me help you by anticipating that i will NEED as much information as you can supply in order to diagnose and fix the problem.


Also read this about "[[Bugs/Repro|repro steps]".
Also read this about "[[Bugs/Repro|repro steps]]".

Latest revision as of 19:01, 28 May 2021

Please take the following with a sense of humor, it is supposed to be funny:

It surprises me how many times I get a message from a user saying something like "it doesn't work, please help!". Believe me I would like to help, but without any further info, it's not possible.

Suppose you go to a car mechanic and say "something is wrong with the car, can you fix it?". The mechanic at this point does not have enough information to diagnose the problem, right? He needs more information to help narrow down the possibilities!

Now what if you said: "when i drive over 39 mph, the steering starts to vibrate and the car pulls to the right. The faster I go, the worse it gets!" Saying something like that helps the mechanic to diagnose the problem, and get to solving it! :D

So if you say to me "it doesn't work", then at least assume i'm going to ask questions like:

  • are you on Mac or Windows? What OS version number?
  • Lite or Pro or 2? 32bit or 64bit?
  • are you using the VERY LATEST version of kJams? (if not, get that FIRST)
  • what *exactly* doesn't work
  • what did you try to do, and at what point did it fail
  • give me a list of the exact steps you took
  • how much ram do you have, how many songs in your library
  • did you get any assert fails? error messages? what are the exact words?
  • do you know the difference between a hang and a crash?
  • did it hang?
  • did it crash? if so, did you send the crash report?
  • does it crash on startup? can you even get to the main screen?

Help me help you by anticipating that i will NEED as much information as you can supply in order to diagnose and fix the problem.

Also read this about "repro steps".

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