Support

Best way to get assistance on the messages boards.

There are literally thousands of different message boards on the Internet where you can find technical information from fellow IT professionals.  When asking questions on these boards there are some basic guidelines which most people like to have followed.  They are sometimes informal, but they are fairly common across most of the boards.

1. Don’t use topics like “Help!!!” or “It doesn’t work”.  Using a descriptive topic will make more people want to read your thread and help you out.
2. Be polite when talking to the people who are trying to help you.  They aren’t getting paid to do this, so be nice to them.  It’s always nice to get a thank you from the poster.
3. Check your spelling and grammar.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, but many people prefer proper spelling and grammar. (Mine isn’t the best, but I do try.)  If English isn’t your first language and people are giving you a hard time about your spelling or grammar some people will be a little more forgiving once they know that you are not a native English speaker.
4. If the message board is in English and you are posting an error message which is in another language, please translate it to English.  More people will be able to read it that way.  You may not get the translation perfect, but it’s usually close enough to get the point across.
5. Don’t post just the error number.  There are thousands of error messages and we need the entire error message.
6. Don’t just say that it’s broken.  Be specific about what isn’t working.
7. Let the readers know what you have done to try to fix the problem already.  That will save you time as the people trying to help won’t have to have you try stuff twice.
8. If you find the solution your self post it to the thread.  This will help the next person who has the same problem.  These forums are all about helping others and this is a great way to give back to the community.
9. Please remember that the people responding aren’t computers.  It may take time for someone to read your thread who knows the answer.

Denny

MS KB Article with all the hot fixes listed

I found this great little MS KB article today.  It’s got all the SQL Server 2005 post SP2 host fixes including bug numbers and descriptions of the bug.  The MS KB article ID is 937137.

Denny

A well timed code freeze is critical to keeping your sanity.

Doing a code freeze at this time of year can be crucial to keeping your sanity this time of year.  Often times the business unit likes to push out last minute changes before the year end.  This often means pushing last minute code (which as everyone knows isn’t always perfect) which can lead to unpleasant little phone calls from the business or the NOC in the middle of holiday festivities.

Do your self and your family a favor, push for a code freeze until after the new year.  The developers will thank you, the business with hate you (but really what else is new).  I like about a three week code freeze (emergency bug fixes are except, but they have to actually be bug fixes, and they have to be an emergency) starting about December 15 ending about January 3 (depending on when the weekends fall).

It can be tough to get a code freeze implemented at first.  But after the first year with the code freeze everyone will want to go it the next year.

Denny